Bits & pieces add up.

Lincoln to Boston and onward.

I have not written for a couple of days and realise that I hardly know what day it is.
I originally thought that I would not write about this section as it was not particularly interesting,  but on reflexion perhaps the little things would add up to something.
The ride from Lincoln started with a steep descent down the narrow cobbled streets of the old city, a sharp left at the bottom took me along the banks of the River Witham. The route picks up an old railway line that runs on a strip of land between the river and a canal, this is called 'The Water Rail Way'. I think this is rather clever as it combines all the elements of the route, apparently Water Rails are sometimes seen along the waterways. There are some great sculptures along the way, there are photos of some of them on Picasa. An old railway station on the route at Bardney has been turned into a tea room, it has been really well done, old signs, contemporary furniture, old metal advertising signs and excellent tea and scones. They have also got B&B in two converted railway wagons.
As the day progressed the wind increased and the latter part of the day was hard work riding over flat and not very interesting fen land. The most interesting things in the area are the place names, Anton's Gowt, Dogdyke, Fishtoft, a few of the more outlandish ones.  I decided to stop for the day in Boston, the town has little to remark upon except the rather ugly church tower, it can be seen for miles and is known as 'The Stump'. There is a shortage of B&B's here so I checked into the local hotel, a nice contrast to the tatty establishment in Lincoln.
To the south of Boston the flat fens continue and the route crosses Fosdyke Bridge in the north corner of The Wash. On the weather front wind was again the order of the day, I was getting a bit bored with flat landscapes and riding into the wind mile after mile. Wisbech seemed as though it might provide a suitable haven for the night so even though it was only mid afternoon I decided to stop. In days gone by Wisbech was famous for its Horse Fair; the centre of the town, where the fair was once held, has been replaced by a truly awful downmarket shopping centre with a huge picture of a horse on the pavement in its centre, sad, really sad. As I walked through the town it was also apparent that most of the people in the street were Polish, labour for the huge acreages of food crops grown in the area. 
I set off from Marmion House, sounds much grander than it was, towards Kings Lynn. Surprisingly it was windy again, did I really have to pedal so ineffectively all day? I hoped that Kings Lynn would be worth a visit and might even be a place to stop for the day  if the wind persisted. In spite of the wind I made reasonable progress, the route enters Kings Lynn along the banks of the Ouse and delivers one into the centre of this ancient port. There are some beautiful old buildings and I found a nice spot on the quay to have a baguette and a drink. The wind seemed to have abated and I decided to continue on my way.
South of Kings Lynn the terrain changed, small hills, hooray, some relief from the boredom of the last couple of days. I never thought I would be pleased to see a hill.
The cycle route was on quiet country lanes and passed through some very pretty villages. I especially liked Castle Rising. 
The next place on the map was Sandringham, I was quite excited by the prospect of cycling past the Queen's front door. The house can only be glimpsed from the road but the estate is immaculately kept, the verges are mown, the hedges, fences and gates are in perfect order, it all looks really loved and as though it belongs to someone with pots of money.
I was enjoying the more varied countryside but thought I'd better look for a place to stay for the night. I turned down the hill away from the signed route to see if Dersingham could provide. Not only did it provide, it turned up trumps with one of the nicest B&B's I have stayed in. The breakfast was amazing, eggs Benedict!
The day started cool but, dry; this did not last for long. I was rapidly getting cold as well as wet and had stopped in the shelter of a large Chestnut tree in the car park of a pub called 'The Gin Trap', an unusual and possibly unique pub name. It may have been wet, but it was neither flat nor windy and I enjoyed riding through the Norfolk countryside.
The first place of any note was Burnham Market, a very pretty Georgian market town. I was quite peckish and fancied a hot drink so one of the local tea rooms beckoned, a well worth while stop, a nice frothy latte and a big piece of coffee and walnut sponge. Fuelled up I pedalled on to another Burnham. This one is Burnham Thorpe where Horatio Nelson was born in the  parsonage in 1758.
The rain could not tarnish my enjoyment. The countryside looked lovely, lots of wild flowers and pretty cottage gardens, the scents were a bonus too, honeysuckle in the hedgerows and roses in the gardens.
The next part of the route was a totally unexpected bonus, the signs indicated a sharp left through huge cast iron gates, the entrance to Holkham Hall (http://www.holkham.co.uk/). I opened the pedestrian gate, pushed my bike through and stood all alone at the end of the most dramatic drive, it was dead straight and I guess about a mile and a half long rising gently to an obelisk on the crest of a gentle hill. The avenue was lined by what looked like huge trees, they were in fact small groups of trees grown together looking like very large specimen trees. The feeling of cycling alone down this glorious driveway was extraordinary but I was quite unprepared for the sight that met me as I cycled around the obelisk over the crest of the hill; there below was the magnificent Holkam Hall, settled in manicured and landscaped parkland, a lake full of wild fowl, deer and sheep. Do have a look at the website, it shows you the house and parkland on the front page. My ride took me from the way off to the right of this picture on the road that sweeps around in front of the house. I have just looked at Google Earth and the drive and obelisk are clearly visible.
The route carried on through the estate in the dunes behind the beach, this includes large areas of wetland where I saw an Avocet, can it get any better? This bit of the track was quite tricky, bumpy with soft patches of sand, I needed to concentrate hard to stay on my bike.
Lunchtime already,  I stopped at Wells next the Sea for a sandwich. This is a pretty old port, there are still lots of leisure craft here but I suspect that the main income of the town is now tourism.
The rain finally cleared and I pedalled on to Fakenham to find a place to sleep.