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Suffolk Villages
22 July 2006

Photos

I had eagerly looked forward to this ride even though I had already ridden in Suffolk many times this year as well as doing so on the recent Dunwich Dynamo but this ride promised to visit a few parts I had not been to before as well as allowing time to do some sightseeing. It was a bit of a surprise that there was nobody else catching the train at Liverpool Street but at Stratford Dubravka Polic, who has been on a few of our rides recently although she owes her allegiance to Newham, and ride leader Neville Reid, boarded. So, it was a very select group that was to take on the delights of rural Essex and Suffolk.

Once off the train at Marks Tey we were quickly onto quiet roads but we were greeted by the start of some light drizzle as well. The route took us towards the Colne Valley and although there were not too many steep climbs we did enjoy some fine views of the Essex countryside. For about the first forty five minutes we suffered the light drizzle but after that the sun eventually broke out. In fact, by the time we got to Borley, it was hot enough for there to be a lengthy stop to put on sun cream and don hats as protection against the sun as opposed to waterproofs to keep us dry that had been the order of the day earlier.

Neville's leadership , navigation and timekeeping were all spot on as he had announced quite early that we would get to Cavendish, for lunch, at about 12:30 and we reached the incredibly picturesque village at 12:20. I had done a little net-based research on Cavendish and had also consulted my trusty Good Pub Guide so knew that there is a fine pub in the village. However we pulled into The Bull, a nice looking establishment, as I was asking Neville about The George, whose sign I could make out about 150 metres further on, he informed me that on his ride to recce the route he had met some people who advised that The Bull was a better venue. Apparently The George prides itself on being a superior gastropubs and has prices to match.

Neville's choice appeared sound and we were soon seated at a well shaded table outside that he had arranged to be reserved for us and, although they had reserved space for about eight they were not too disappointed by the small size of our group.

There was a largish family group also enjoying the warm sunshine and by the time we had ordered several more customers had arrived so the pub was certainly popular. Food was good and freshly prepared and there were nice touches such as the barmaid asking whether I wanted mustard with my ham baguette, I didn't as I don't really like mustard. Service was speedy and we were soon enjoying our lunch.

After a leisurely lunch which was extended due to our reluctance to rush back into the warm afternoon as well as some lively conversation we were soon back onto more very quite lanes after a short spell on an A road. The next major town we came to was Long Melford where we stopped briefly while I bought more energy drinks. Long Melford was another very nice town but we did not have time to look around and we became separated temporarily while I went into a shop and allowed Dubravka and Neville to carry on. I managed to miss a turning and had a much longer ride to catch up with the other two as I then had a short spell on a dual carriageway before once again reverting to quiet lanes.

On reaching Lavenham I received a call from the others who were concerned that I may have got lost as I had not managed to catch up with them but the call came when I was within 200 metres of rejoining them at the lovely church of St Peter and St Paul. We spent a few minutes there enjoyed looking at the opulent interior of the church whose size indicated that Lavenham had indeed been a very prosperous town when the church had been built.

After our brief stop at the church that was the venue of a flower festival we moved into the central square, The Guildhall, which I had not seen despite having been in Lavenham at least twice this year. Although Lavenham is fairly close to Cavendish we had tea and after a brief stop at the NT Tea Rooms started a lengthy walk round the lovely town which has a remarkable number of medieval properties. Neville had, clearly, spent his time on a recce ride well as he was equipped with a guidebook of the town and, he had even obtained a menu for The Bull where we had lunch earlier in the day.

Our exploration of Lavenham took at least an hour but I have to say that it was well worth the time and I may join Neville when he reprises the ride later in the year as there is still a lot that I would like to see. Eventually, we had to take to the road again and as we mounted up the weather briefly became threatening and so there was a brief delay while decisions were made about whether rain gear was the order of the day.

Our route took us in a generally south easterly direction as we headed for Manningtree where we were to get the train for the return journey. This final leg of the day was as good as the earlier parts as we passed through many of the locations made famous by Jogn Constable, including the mill at Dedham. Eventually we made it to Manningtree but missed a train by minutes and so had to wait for about thirty minutes before the next one.

All in all it was a splendid day which I would thoroughly recommend to all of you if Neville does repeat the ride in September.

STATISTICS
Riders 3
Distance 89.61K
Maximum speed 58.1Kph
Mechanical failures Nil

Ken Peters

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