Gardens & Gallopers

Cycle along quiet Suffolk lanes through Buxhall to the pretty village of Haughley home to an 11c Motte & Bailey castle.  The castle was destroyed in 1173 and now only the motte remains.

Continue north through Walsham-le-Willows and Thelnetham then over the Norfolk border to Bressingham, famous for its landscaped gardens and superb display of herbaceous plants and heathers. Stroll through the gardens or see them from the narrow gauge steam railways, part of the fascinating steam museum which also boasts vintage vehicles and popular sets from  the TV series Dad’s Army.

Your overnight is in a comfortable historic inn at Rickinghall near Diss, a village split in two (Rickinghall Superior / Inferior – meaning upper and lower!) and joined at the hip with the ancient trading town of Botesdale.

Mileage: Rec 34 Min 20 Max 35

Nip into Norfolk for a short while today to spot a museum housed in the former control tower of a WWII American airbase, the centre for the Masters of Air TV series. Across the River Waveney, country lanes lead even further back in time at Wingfield, home to a former chantry college and church with magnificent Plantagenet tombs.

Beyond the vast village common you can just see the crenulations of its castle, but a few miles down the road past Saxtead Green’s restored post mill, there’s a huge 12th century curtain-wall castle and earthworks to explore with magnificent views across a mere to Victorian gothic Framlingham College – a school that looks just a bit like Hogwarts!

Your hotel – an historic coaching inn, now a hotel – is by the market square and is sure to serve up lots of local produce, although you might prefer to sit and sip a glass of ‘Frampagne’ at nearby Shawsgate Vineyard, just a short bike ride away.

Mileage: Rec 31 Min 25 Max 42

Today you’ll travel through Easton, home of what was, at one time, the longest ‘crinkle-crankle’ wall in the world. Built around the estate of the Hamilton family – one of whom claimed to be the legitimate King of Scotland – the Queen Anne hall is sadly no more, but you can visit Easton Farm Park – a model farm with a unique Victorian dairy.

Across the gently rolling countryside there’s a fine Elizabethan moated hall to spot across the deer park at Helmingham, but its gardens steal the show.   Stop perhaps for a cream tea? Finally on your way back to Needham Market and the River Gipping, pedal through the unassuming historic village of Coddenham, once a fine medieval manor and home to one of East Anglia’s most significant Roman settlements.

For those looking for a longer ride and a deeper delve into history, there is scope to pedal further towards Woodbridge by the River Deben and visit the ancient ship burial mound country of Sutton Hoo.

Mileage: Rec 23 Min 21 Max 33