Norfolk and Norwich Group of Advanced Motorists
Registered Charity Number 1051282. Affiliated to the Institute of Advanced Motorists Ltd.
13 riders turned out for our ride to the visitor centre on Grafham Water near West Perry. Another member joined us on the route near Wisbech.
As we stood chatting in Sainsbury's car park, our regular meeting place, it started to rain quite hard so we all took shelter in a nearby shopping trolley shelter. I think we'd all forgotten what rain feels like. But it was a blustery day so the rain soon cleared away and we set off in dry conditions with damp patches on the road in places.
I tried to plan our route avoiding minor Fenland roads since they can be quite hazardous because of subsidence, but we still came across a closed road and had to divert through March. There were other closed roads that we passed but none of them changed our planned route. We rode through a village called Holme and over a railway crossing near the Admiral Wells pub. I understand that this is the lowest pub in the UK, some 3 metres below sea level. This must also be the busiest level crossing in the UK, my previous record of waiting here was 5 trains, but we waited for more than that today. I stopped counting but one of our group said he counted eleven trains before the barriers lifted.
After all that Fenland excitement it was nice to get onto the B660 as it climbed off the flat Fens and into rolling countryside. This is one of the attractions of this ride, a rolling road with enough bends to make it really interesting. It runs through some really attractive villages, not unlike the area around Rutland Water. Must be something to do with reservoirs. As we got near to West Perry we passed through Kimbolton with its magnificent school. Very impressive.
The car park at the visitor centre has a system where you take a ticket on entry, pay at a machine near the cafe as you leave, and put your ticket in another machine to raise the barrier at the exit. Bikes can often ride around these barriers, but I thought I'd do the right thing and pay. But when I put my ticket in, the barrier didn't lift, so I rode round it anyway.
Our journey back was uneventful except for the very blustery winds across the exposed Fenland roads. I was being knocked about by the wind quite a bit and had to really be ready for it when leaving any sheltered areas. I think this is one of the worst conditions when riding a bike, you feel at times you are leaning on the wind to stay straight.
Thanks to Soji and Euan for leading a group each and to everyone who turned out.
Ian
