Disjointed jottings

Fakenham  to Norwich 

The route from Fakenham south east towards Norwich passes through pleasant undulating farmlands until it reaches Reepham where it joins the off road Marriott's Way. This is another old railway track, named after the engineer who built it. It runs for about ten miles and delivers one right into Norwich. The track is not metalled but provided a really smooth and secure cycling surface, an opportunity to up the pace a bit unimpeded by potholes, loose gravel and cars, all of which feature on a daily basis.
I arrived in Norwich in time to find somewhere to stay and to have a look around the centre of the town. I enjoyed the market  place and the old narrow streets surrounding it and was impressed by the Castle towering over the town centre. I didn't hunt down the Cathedral or other historic buildings as my hard pedalling legs did not want to walk any further.
The journey for Wednesday was planned to Beccles,  a small Georgian market town. I managed to loose the route as I left Norwich and rode off piste for a few miles before I found it again. During my ride I encountered one of the Sustrans Rangers, responsible for maintaining the signage on the cycle routes I have been using. He invited me in for tea and biscuits, leant me a map and put a bit of extra air in my tyres, he and his wife were really charming. The route followed the River Yare for most of the way, passing some beautiful riverside homes along the way. As the route turned  away from the river I was faced with one of the steepest hills I have seen in miles, I had to get off and push.
The route changed rivers to the Waveney and I cruised into Beccles via the quay. I was quite peckish so paid a visit to the cafe next to the harbour and had a very nice chicken sandwich whilst sitting in the sun, very pleasant. The next task was to find somewhere to sleep. Tourist info provided a couple of alternatives, there aren't many to choose from in Beccles, and I found a room in a really lovely old Georgian town house right in the town. 
The next destination was Woodbridge and, apart from cycling in a large circle around Halesworth en route and adding a few unnecessary miles, I had a good ride. I found a place to stay in the old converted Railway Station, offloaded my bike and had a walk about. Woodbridge is quaint, it has lots of really old timber framed buildings and narrow streets. It has a large river harbour and an apparently active sailing community. I discovered that the town has a museum devoted to the Suffolk Punch heavy horse, sadly it has limited opening hours and I missed them.
When I set out from York to have a look at the East of England I had planned to cycle to Harwich, on reflection I wondered why, I was not planning a ferry trip and I don't think that Harwich is particularly special in other respects. 
There is a cycle route that goes west from Felixstowe to Newmarket and I decided to pick it up at Ipswich and head for Newmarket.
Stowmarket provided the first stop, quite early as it was raining, much to the locals' joy as the countryside is very dry. Stowmarket is home to the Museum of East Anglian Life and apparently has Suffolk Punch horses. I decided to delay my departure in the morning and have a look at the museum. The museum was good, I got a discount for arriving by bicycle, and for being over sixty! I enjoyed wandering around for about an hour and a half and took lots of photos, some of which I will put on picasa. I was disappointed that the Suffolk Punch I had hoped to see had his head down in a distant paddock and all I really managed to get a view of was a large chestnut rump in the distance. Rather oddly the local funeral director in the High Street had a wonderful display of photos of Suffolks so I took pictures of that! It was much nicer than plastic flowers and a granite headstone.
Having taken in the cultural side of Stowmarket I set off for Bury St Edmunds, not an ambitious goal. A pleasant ride through quiet Suffolk lanes took me via the village of Tostock, a pub was marked on the cycle map and I decided to stop for lunch. I ordered a Ploughman's lunch, wow, it was huge, it comprised fantastic Stilton and Cheddar, pate and wonderful ham with two warm fresh rolls and salad. Just as well I had not planned to go a lot further today, sleeping under a hedge in the afternoon sun seemed like an attractive option but I resisted and pedalled on to Bury.