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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2882 |
24th August 2016 Mt. Biking: Tunstall Forest to Sizewell Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: Sunny and hot :) Max Speed: 16.67 kts (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 29.61 mile (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Wednesday 24th August – Bike ***** - Tunstall Forest to Sizewell via Aldeburgh and Thorpness – Sunny and hot :) We slept really well, over 8 hours!! We had had visions of waking really early and going off on our bikes at the crack of dawn but didn’t open our eyes till 6.15 and after we had breakfast and packed up we didn’t leave here until 7.30. Glorious morning again. We started off going through Tunstall forest on the way to the Viking Trail but staying on one of the main paths, coming out at the replica settlement. Out onto the road from Orford to Snape for a short way then down to the Iken Cliffs car park and along the footpath to Snape Maltings, stopping at the huge Beswick china style horse and cart sculpture. We can never make out what is supposed to be in the cart on the back – is it gigantic peanuts or marrows??? Have to say it looks better from further away – when you view it from over the fields it is actually quite beautiful!! We crossed the Snape bridge and started the Sailors Path which starts on the opposite bank to the Maltings. The path was really good and follows the river for a while then goes up into some woods. The sailors path actually forked off to the left but we went right hoping to pick up the loop which takes you a little further along the river bank and hopefully to a view up the river to Iken church and beyond. The path was really overgrown and definitely not made for mountain bikes but after ditching the bikes for the last few yards we did make it to a good view and were able to take stock of our many cuts and scratches from the brambles and gorse bushes!! Back along the same overgrown path to a gateway which took you into Snape Warren which the sign promised ‘Epitomises Suffolk landscape’. It was truly beautiful with a purple heather carpet as far as the eye could see with sandy soil and lots of bracken. The track brought you back to the sailor’s path which although away from the river took you through parkland with cows and lots of duckboarding over small streams. It eventually brought us to the road into Aldeburgh, coming out just near the golf club. We past Marsh House where our friend Mary’s Aunt was housekeeper in a bygone age and noticed it was for sale so popped into the estate agents when we got to Aldeburgh to pick up the particulars of this £1,650,000 property! To take home for her. We cycled through the main street and out to Slaughden, past the two sailing clubs and the shamrock shaped Martello tower. We went a little further to see if we could cycle along the track to Orford lighthouse but it is a nature reserve with ‘strictly no access’ :( We returned to Aldeburgh and cycled along the prom which was very quaint and still not very busy as it was only around 9.30. It is a lovely place and although we only live just down the coast, not somewhere we have really explored before. It is also very posh as was born out by our visit to the bakery for a couple of rolls to go with our lunch. We popped in and asked for the rolls but then decided to treat ourselves to a couple of homemade sausage rolls. The bill for these four small items was……. £6.60!!! We had to leave very quickly because we were bursting to laugh out loud!!! Good job we had the emergency wallet with us! We returned to the prom to visit the South Look-out Tower where there is an art installation which consists of members of the public writing messages and happy thoughts on large stones from the beach. When the installation is over these stones will be distributed along a long length of beach for future generations to find. We wrote our names and ‘happiness is biking the Sailors Path’ mainly because we don’t think you are actually supposed to bike it and it made us sound like rebels!!! Off on the prom again and the long track which takes you to Thorpeness via the sculpture by local artist Maggie Hambling of the Scallop seashell. This has long been a talking point in Suffolk and is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. We love it and stopped to take some photos. On again coming into Thorpeness and onto a grass path which took us past the most beautiful cottages right on the beach. We cycled as far as we could and when the path turned into shingle we sat on the beach and ate the first of our swanky sausage rolls. Unfortunately, the loudest child we had ever heard arrived with his large family and we made a quick getaway! We walked up a path leaving the beach and joined a track which took us up onto the cliffs. To start with it was open cliff top but soon turned into very narrow, overgrown paths and back to being sliced by the brambles again! We persevered and soon found ourselves in Sizewell with the huge brick building and white dome of the nuclear power station looming in front of us. If you don’t look at that eye sore, Sizewell is a really lovely little place with lots of fishing boats and several families playing on the beach and swimming in the sea. We sat for a while on some plastic tubs of fishing nets before setting off along the road to find the ‘Sandlings’ path which our OS map told us would take us back to Snape :) We were about 15 miles away from the van at this point. The path back was great taking us through forests and across heaths and to places we had never been before! We had intended taking a path back to Thorpeness where we were going to sit by the Mere and eat our lunch but we missed that and will have to return another time because we really skirted around Thorpeness and didn’t see anything but the beach. We carried on hurtling through the Suffolk countryside until we came to Knoddishall, then across the fields to Friston church where we finally got to eat that pricey 2nd sausage roll! It was a shame that there wasn’t a seat in the shade as it was getting very hot by this stage but we found a nice spot overlooking the village and old mill. We didn’t stop long as it was in full sun so carried on through Friston, across various fields until we found ourselves leaving the Sandling path and re-joining the Sailors Path, coming out at Snape Maltings. Then just a couple of miles on roads back to our lovely old van at the Sangalls car park in Tunstall forest. It was absolutely boiling in the van so we sat outside for a while then Mag resorted to her small desk fan and a cool block out of the van fridge on her forehead!! It must be the hottest day of the year so far! We didn’t really feel it too much on the bikes but when we stopped – phew!! A nice chill out afternoon reading our books and drinking tea and coffee!! We love it here and the sky tonight is beautiful again, blue and streaky :) More mountain bikers are arriving as the day cools off but we will have to wait and see if more arrive to do the Viking trail in the dark!! Photo Gallery here |
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