Thursday 7th September - Tuesday 12th September 2017
Back in England - Thursday 7th September
After a very calm crossing Lucy arrived back in England at 6.30 in the morning. This was the first time I had to go through an immigration check since I left the UK and Lucy was trembling at the bottom of her pannier, but she got through OK. She decided that she wanted to spend a few days in East Anglia, where her Grand Viking Tour began four months ago. As I was in no hurry to rush home I agreed. She took one last look at the ferry and what little she could see of the sea, and I pedalled off towards Manningtree, where I knew there was a good cafe. It all seemed very strange, riding back on the left, sharing the road with cars whose drivers showed little respect for cyclists, and negotiating poor road surfaces.
While I was eating breakfast in Manningtree, where I stopped on my way to the ferry and on the 'Round the Coast' ride, I studied the map and decided to head away from the main road and ride along country lanes to go through some Suffolk villages. I also booked The Marquis, a country hotel, for the night. As it had excellent reviews I decided to splash out for a bit of luxury for my first night home.
I realised that I was very close to Flatford Mill, where Constable painted the Hay Wain, so I made a detour. When I visited it in about 1968 I was the only person there. Now it is run by the National Trust with a visitor centre, shop and restaurant, and it was swarming with people. The exhibition at the centre was very informative and I hadn't realised that Constable was born and grew up near Flatford. His father, who was a business man, owned several mills in the area, including Flatford. The light was good and you could see why Constable painted as he did.
I had chosen well, and The Marquis was a perfect place to celebrate my first night back in the UK.
Back in Bury St Edmunds - Friday 8th - Sunday 10th
I cycled to Bury along country lanes in heavy rain and thunder storms, but it was only the second time in four months that I had to wear waterproof trousers. The Tour of Britain went through Bury St Edmunds and the local TV news reported how bad the conditions were. I stayed there for two nights. I had a meal with Ann and Bob on Friday night, and cycled over to Great Barton on Saturday to have lunch with Jean, Dennis and Graham. Graham gave me details of a really good route to avoid the main road going back.
There was a charity event on Angel Hill, 'Ladies Night Out', and there were hundreds of women wandering about in their pyjamas.
Last day on the road -,Sunday 10th September
I took it very slowly through the lanes to Cambridge and stopped at several villages, as I was reluctant for the adventure to come to an end. Back in May I cycled through New Market but this time I went to visit Devil's Dyke, an Anglo-Saxon earthworks. The ditch and bank stretches in a straight line for almost 8 miles. The best place to view the Dyke is at Gallow's Hill where it reaches a height of 34 ft.
I reached Cambridge late afternoon and cycled to the campsite where Dave and Little Annie were waiting with my van. We stayed in Cambridge to celebrate for a couple of nights before driving home. There was a Dutch student at the campsite who was cycling to Leeds to start a University course. He couldn't believe that he had to share the road with so much traffic and was finding it very hilly. I didn't like to say, "Hills, You wait until you get further North". I knew he would find them soon enough.
While I was packing up for the last time a very grubby Lucy sat on the panniers and did a victory salute to celebrate the end of her Grand Viking Tour.
In total she covered 7,011 miles. (11,283 kilometres)
Cycling: 2,263 miles
Walking on the Faroe Islands and in Iceland: 405 miles
On ferries: 2,307 miles
By bus in the Faroes and Iceland: 1,313 miles
Flying across Iceland: 732 miles.
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