Scorching hot weather has been the theme of this summer and our weekend in Castle Acre was no exception. A hot, dusty drive, plagued with roadworks, ended for most of us with a delicious meal at The Ostrich and a chance to unwind with a couple of drinks. Suitably relaxed, we returned to The Old Red Lion for some shut eye, ready for adventure the next day.
Most of us took to bicycles on the Saturday, and Jim had prepared a superb route for us. Passing through quaint villages on quiet roads, dusted by combine harvesters, we passed through Great Massingham before winding up at Jane’s Coffee Corner at East Rudham for morning coffee. Here we bumped into some older cyclists (well, maybe not older than Doug) who knew Alison at The Old Red Lion and asked us to pass on their regards.
From morning coffee it wasn’t a particularly long ride to West Raynham playground, where we stopped for lunch. Clearly the ride hadn’t been testing enough for some and there was a breakout of play on the zip wire. Not for all perhaps, as Trevor took the opportunity to rest his eyes for a few minutes.
Anxious not to get too dehydrated we pulled in to the Bull Inn in Litcham for some refreshments, only to find them closed with the staff enjoying their late lunch. Perhaps we looked desperate, or perhaps they just didn’t want to turn away good business, but they re-opened just for us. We felt a bit guilty about disturbing their lunch, but only until we heard the clink of ice on glass.
From Litcham it was only quite a short ride back to Castle Acre, completing our 28 mile round trip. Knowing we would be too late for the teashop, four of us stopped for a last drink at The George and Dragon just outside the village.
In the tinder-dry conditions Jim was suitably cautious with the evening barbecue, taking care to dampen the ground first and keep water handy. Even with all the stops, we’d drummed up quite an appetite, but luckily Jim had accidentally over ordered on the sausages, so there were plenty with spare for breakfast.
Sunday dawned grey and slightly drizzly – unheard of this summer! As a result there was a significant rate of drop out from the cycling posse in favour of the walkers. As I understand it the walkers had a lovely day walking in the Nar Valley and missing the worst of the showers. The same could not be said for the cyclists! Caught out in a particularly heavy shower we literally got soaked to the skin and had to take refuge in a tearoom in Swaffham. Our lives saved by the application of tea and cake, we thanked them by leaving little damp patches on each of our chairs. Lynn insisted that she was absolutely having the best time ever. Not even falling off her bike on our return to the Old Red Lion could wipe the smile off her face, in fact she insisted on staying sprawled in the street until Dave took her photo.
Ali
Sunday Roast!
Hot, hot, damn hot. There’s no other way to describe our Sunday walk from Newport to Rickling and Widdington. Peaking at about 32˚C it was a dusty 10 mile walk through a parched landscape. There were tree tunnels of dappled shade, but then glorious views of fields of golden stubble all the way to the horizon. There was some respite from the burning sun inside the cool stone interiors of the village churches en route, so we made the most of them. I got through over 2 litres of water and still found our afternoon stop at the Fleur de Lys pub in Widdington extremely welcome.
Tips to Prevent Heatstroke:
- Drink plenty of cold drinks
- Wear light coloured loose clothing
- Avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm
- Avoid alcohol
- Avoid extreme exercise
Oops. I think we broke most of those rules... and Doug had his top off all day.