Going flat out

UNLIKE some of my bike rides in the Yorkshire Moors and Dales, this ride carries no gradient warnings. It is located in Norfolk, the flattest county in the kingdom and my holiday destination last summer.

There was no competition to see the sea. The first any of us saw of it was from only 30 yards as we passed through a gap in the sea wall on the first evening.

My family and I were staying in a converted National Trust-owned barn while my sister and her children and my parents stayed in an adjacent, larger barn. They form two in a set of three arranged around a gravelled courtyard and literally yards from a pub in a wonderfully peaceful, coastal setting.

Blessed by fine weather the week was bliss - but I was glad of a day off from the mayhem and, as usual, took to two wheels.

At the third attempt I found a bike hire centre that existed and was open and set off to explore Broadland. The size and relatively inefficiency of the bike compared to my own made it hard work despite the lack of hills. The first section of route slowed me further as it was along the Weaver's Way, a disused railway line.

The weavers in question are the Flemish weavers who emigrated to the region after the Norman Conquest. They were attracted by the abundant supplies of wool in Norfolk - which was the same type they were used to - and a landscape that resembled their native Flanders.

The weavers chose to manifest their wealth through the building of numerous large churches that dot the county. I've not been so aware of religion on holiday since I toured the Holy Land.

The churches - and the numerous windmills which are easily mistaken for them - often form the only landmarks in a plain, agricultural landscape. My bike ride wasn't so much a point-to-point, but a church-to-church.

I encountered the first of them at Honing where St Peter and St Paul's stands high, apart and aloof from the village below.

An all-together shyer building is the tower that cowers in the trees down the misleadingly named Obelisk Lane nearby. The tower was built about 200 years ago as a vantage point; it may have been easier to construct a treehouse.

The highlight of the ride was the village of Worstead from which the fine, smooth cloth, worsted, originated in the Middle Ages. Ah! Those weavers again.

I cycled the length of the huge church and paused in the square at the front. The quietness, emptiness and expansiveness gave it an atmosphere more like a village in Normandy than Norfolk. Had the large empty shop on the square been a boulangerie I would most certainly have been a customer.

The biggest church on the route was located at a crossroads a few miles away. The church of St Mary the Virgin at Tunstead is a lonely cathedral in the trees.

As I found out from the displays inside, the reason for this is the Black Death which killed half of the population and resulted in all the wooden buildings being burnt down. Only the church remains.

Its future was under threat in 1997 when it attracted meagre congregations of about a dozen. Talk about rattling around like peas in a bucket. A restoration campaign was successful and the following New Year the church's eight bells sounded for the first time for 75 years.

History pervades this ride. Everywhere is ancient. The village of Neatisham is a real golden oldie even boasting a listing in the Domesday Book. While my family tucked into a pub lunch beside the sea, I ate my sandwiches solo sitting in front of the Old Laundry.

Just over the way was Ye Olde Saddlery, now a bed and breakfast. Here when a sign says "ye olde" you believe it. The White Lion looks like a good bet for those seeking greater sustenance en route.

The welcome sign for Barton Turf - my final port of call - depicts a wherry, a traditional Norfolk sailing vessel. No doubt it would've been a regular feature on Barton Broad, a tranquil corner of which I viewed from a mooring point.

Pleasant though they are, I thought the rivers and pools of the Broads were a little disappointing. As I'd found out earlier in the holiday when we'd hired a motorboat, the surroundings are pretty unremarkable although they are a botanist's and birdwatcher's bounty.

"Have a good ride?" the bike hirer inquired on my return. "Not bad - but hard work," I replied. "Hard work. In Norfolk?" he said, puzzled. Indeed it was, but on my speedboat of a bike at home it would've been the cruise around the Broads that I'd anticipated.

Fact file:

The Broads Authority, Tel 01603 610734, publishes a series of excellent guides to cycle rides of either about 10 or 20 miles. They are available from Tourist Information Centres for a small charge.

This ride is based on the Barton Broads Bike Trail of 21 miles. There are numerous bike hire centres in the region but check with them before setting off as opening times vary.

For accommodation check www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk. Many properties are very picturesque and very popular so you need to book early.

Updated: 09:44 Saturday, December 28, 2002