Part 3: King's Lynn to Wells-next-the-Sea

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Rebellion Way route Chapter markers National Cycle Network National Cycle Network route number

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Castle Rising

Distance: 71km (44 miles)

• 10,000 years of history, including superb castles and spectacular stately homes • Gravel tracks through coastal nature reserves • One of England’s ‘most beautiful villages’ • Tea with the Royals • Traffic-free estate road splendour • Gently rolling back roads • Traditional seaside delights • Spectacular sunsets

• Main road crossings near

Sandringham, Old Hunstanton and Holkham • Meandering tourists at Sandringham, the seaside, Burnham Market,

Holkham Hall and Wells-next-the-Sea

The maze-like cycle route into King’s Lynn and then out again to Castle Rising and Sandringham is well signposted...

This delightful part of the route only has a few kilometres of gravel but a mix of deserted back roads and smooth cycle paths takes you through the distinctive, gently rolling landscape of coastal north Norfolk. Starting by sneaking out of King’s Lynn on a maze of cycle paths you’re spirited straight into a medieval wonderland then through the royal parkland of Sandringham. Skirting villages steeped in history, you’ll swing onto the coast behind traditional beach huts and seaside entertainment of Heacham and Hunstanton. Things become posher at Old Hunstanton with its endless beaches, and posher still as you ride the back roads into beautiful Burnham Market. Then it’s off the scale of sumptuous as you roll majestically towards the obelisk which marks the approach to the splendour of Holkham Hall. You swap the ultimate in Palladian palaces for wild tidal seascape and a gravel track through sand dune nature reserves before hooking round into the eclectic, storied miniature sea port of Wells-next-the-Sea.

As it’s King’s Lynn there are various cycle path routes out of town, but some of them are better than others. That means after a quick lap of the historic centre we double back over the live railway, past the ‘Lynnsport’ sports centre (useful to know for signage) and then onto the old railway alignment out of town. You can stay traffic-free through the leafy suburbs of North and South Wootton but there are lots of sneaky twists and turns to watch out for, so keep your eyes peeled for signs to Castle Rising and National Cycle Network route 1. The conservation village of Castle Rising represents a real step change in the vibe, with its beautiful houses, cottages and massive church sitting amidst broadleaf trees. Make sure you divert round the short one-way loop to Castle Rising itself, as crossing its moat and going through the gatehouse in the huge earthen banks reveals an enchanting castle keep that’s fit for a fairy tale. You’ll often find re-enactment displays and concerts in the castle grounds too. Completing the village loop, take the ‘no through road’ down past the church and you’ll find yourself rolling along a traffic-free road through the castle’s deer park that stretches all the way to the Sandringham Estate. Be careful as you cross the main road that divides the two as it can be busy. As you’d expect, the royal holiday home at Sandringham Estate is a regally manicured landscape of immaculate, nearly deserted roads with broad, vivid grass verges butting onto dense woodland full of deer and birdsong. While it’s a short walk to see the house itself you roll straight into the appropriately aristocratic courtyard café area, which is the correct priority as far as we’re concerned. It’s also the halfway point around the whole Rebellion Way route, so a very suitable stopping point for a brew. We suggest you keep any anarchist thoughts the history of this route might be stirring to yourself if you want to avoid a storm in a teacup though.

Beach huts at Wells-next-the-Sea

Rolling up to Castle Rising it’s the huge moat and 18m-high banks of the inner Bailey that take your attention. But as you cross the stone bridge and pass through the keyhole gatehouse you’ll then see one of the finest and most intact 12th-century castle keeps in England. The inner bailey also has the remains of the early Norman church built before the stone keep. Interestingly, while it was home to Queen Isabella for some time, the castle is now back under the ownership of direct descendants of William d’Albini, the Norman lord who started the build.

While the Sandringham area has prehistoric flint and Roman villa remains, the house only really came to prominence when Albert, Prince of Wales, picked it as a potential country retreat in 1862. The old house was soon demolished in 1870 to make way for the current building, with the estate and ornamental gardens being extended by subsequent royal residents. The gardens were first opened to the public in 1908, with the house being opened by Queen Elizabeth II in her Silver Jubilee year, 1977. She regularly stayed here, traditionally celebrating Christmas at the house.

As well as the house, gardens and courtyard café/shop area, the estate also has waymarked walking and cycling trails if you fancy an extra bit of exploring.

After your toff’s tea and tiffin, the route jinks across a junction marked by spectacular wrought iron memorial gates. Then it’s past the Royal Sawmill before heading north up the Admirals Way. The landscape is noticeably more rolling (you might even have to change gear occasionally) as you skirt around Dersingham and Ingoldsthorpe with their mighty churches. The elevation means you’ll get your first glances of the sea through hedge gaps as you roll along the ridge.

Flint finds prove Snettisham had hunter gatherer occupation as long ago as 10,000 BC, with Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds in the area too. It was clearly a very important area for the Iron Age Celts and Iceni too, with 180 gold torcs (giant bracelets worn on the bicep or round the neck) found between 1948 and 1973 and collated as the Snettisham Hoard. High status Roman occupation (and a local habit for burying treasure) is also suggested by a later discovery, known as the Snettisham Jeweller’s Hoard. This collection of jewellery and the materials to make more were found in a pot dated to around 155 AD. The exceptionally tall (52m) spire of the 14th-century St Mary’s church was a key landmark for sailors navigating The Wash, and Snettisham Beach RSPB Nature Reserve is a beautiful coastal spot. If you’re in need of a tune up or spares, Snettisham is also home to Open Sky Cycles, who helped with this route. Snettisham and Sedgeford are archaeology hot spots with a long running excavation project unearthing finds from the late Mesolithic to WWI. A short detour east of Sedgeford will take you to the prettiest ammunition store we’ve ever seen. It’s also the obvious jumping off point if you want to head cross-country to save a few kilometres, as otherwise we’re heading off around the coastline of the north-west corner of the county.

The pretty village of Sedgeford is absolutely heaving with archaeology and history. This starts with Neolithic flint tool scatters from when the area was first farmed but these are followed up by golden Iron Age torcs, Roman villa remains, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, and even a WWI airfield. An archaeological training excavation has been running most summers since 1996. You can even book to join the dig team for the day if you want to swap pedals for a trowel for a while.

Both the Roman Peddars Way and earlier Icknield Way roads also skim the village, and a quick detour to the east will let you visit Magazine Cottage. This delightful building wasn’t designed to catch the cover of a lifestyle glossy (although it easily could). In this instance ‘Magazine’ actually refers to the fact it’s a cunningly disguised Civil War gunpowder store, complete with a rumoured secret escape tunnel linking it to the village church.

Norfolk Lavender farm

Wafting through the scents of the Norfolk Lavender farm, the deep history of the various people who’ve called Heacham home is hidden beneath more recent holiday-home developments. The village still has a cheeky charm, though, and as you ride up to the back of the sea defences that keep them safe from the waves of the Wash, you’ll turn behind those most traditional structures of the British seaside – a row of wooden beach huts. This changes to an eclectic collection of bigger beachfront houses before you hoick over the sea wall and into Hunstanton itself. Rolling up past the fairground to the stub of the old pier brings you to the sloping green of this purpose-built Victorian vacation village.

The Wash is the large square estuary that separates the north-west coast of Norfolk and the south-east coast of Lincolnshire. This distance is only 24km at the narrowest point and you can see the other county clearly on most days. The shallow waters are cold in winter but can be very warm in summer and the whole area is a fantastic home for a diverse population of wildlife, with an estimated 2 million birds living here or migrating through at different times of the year. That’s why the Wash is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with Special Protection Areas and an RSPB nature reserve at Snettisham beach too.

The whole stretch of the North Norfolk coast from Hunstanton to Mundesley (beyond Cromer) was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1968. The 450km2 area covers a diverse range of landscapes from marsh to sand dunes to cliffs and includes several nature reserves, SSSIs and Heritage Coast designated sections.

Positioned on the edge of the Wash with its fantastic hunting and fishing potential and fertile rolling hills, this whole area is rich in early prehistoric remains and Heacham is another Neolithic hotspot. Bronze Age, Iron Age, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon periods are all represented in the archaeology, and it was a key trading port for eastern England, the Low Countries and Scandinavia throughout the medieval period. Heacham’s ale and bread market was renowned for the number of female traders, and Native American marital hostage Pocahontas visited here as her husband was a local aristocrat. While its roots are much deeper than Hunstanton to the north it grew in size and popularity as a railway holiday destination in Victorian times and the kind weather, endless beaches and beautiful sunsets mean it’s still very popular today.

While most villages you’ll pass through on this route are prehistoric or at least Saxon in origin, ‘Sunny Hunny’ is barely 150 years old. It was created purely as a railway holiday destination by splendidly named local aristocrat Henry Le Strange, whose sculpture overlooks the big sloping green in the centre of the village. It was a massive success too, although unfortunately the original pier with its miniature railway has been lost to storms and fires.

Hunstanton still has a theatre, a fairground, aquarium and seal sanctuary as well as other traditional seaside entertainments and eateries creating a cheery, unpretentious character. You and Henry will get to enjoy panoramic views out over the Wash to Lincolnshire, and if you time it right the sunsets are spectacular.

Heading north along the high promenade takes you past the old chapel ruins and lighthouse with sweeping panoramic views right across to Lincolnshire. Time it right and you’ll see the sun set into the sea – the only stretch of East Anglian coast where this happens. Holidaymakers – particularly sea-giddy urchins – hurrying to the huge beaches from their cars mean the sandy car park needs careful traversing, but once you’re into the original village of Old Hunstanton the pace slows down significantly. With its warm, dry climate and beautiful beaches we can see why this is clearly a very popular retirement spot and it’s the ideal genteel gateway for the second upper-class phase of this section. There’s a very short dog-leg across the coastal main road, but the traffic is usually slow at this point and there’s a protected zone in the centre where you make the turn. Raising your pulse a little with a very rare dose of traffic will possibly help as you climb gently up over the brow of the ridge towards Ringstead, past the stump of an old windmill. You only clip the top of the village before turning east and following the signs for NCN1 along yet another gravel-centred singletrack road. The almost complete lack of traffic leaves you free to totally appreciate the vast views over the rich farmland to the south and rolling away to the sea in the north. There’s potential to divert to the coast again a couple of times if you want to visit the award-winning fish and chip shop, deli and unspoilt beaches of Thornham or the dramatic Roman and WWII history of Brancaster and its beaches. That does involve some short sections of main road though, so we’ve kept those optional.

The original Hunstanton village sits just north of its holiday upstart and has been looking out over the Wash from the north-east corner of Norfolk since it was a Neolithic village 5,000 years ago. It was also the point where St Edmund landed to do battle with Viking invaders in 855. Unfortunately the battle didn’t go well, but Edmund’s resulting martyrdom saw him named as England’s first patron saint, and the ruins of his chapel sit near the disused lighthouse. The original Saxon cross was swiped and taken to New Hunstanton though. The village still has several excellent places to eat and has a much quieter (dare we say distinguished) vibe than its brasher sibling just down the coast.

Brancaster beach

The posh holidaymakers’ paradise of Burnham Market was voted one of the most beautiful villages in the UK by Condé Nast Traveller magazine. Its independent boutiques, eateries and foodie shops housed in gorgeous Georgian buildings make it a luxury riding oasis too. There’s even a small back-garden bike-repair shop, Burnham Cycles, run by Daryl, who saved us from a blown tyre during the recce ride for this guidebook. Burnham Thorpe, just down the road, is the birthplace of Admiral Lord Nelson too, so keep an eye out for statues and paintings of the one-eyed, one-armed military icon all over the place from pub signs to the village playground.

In theory, stopping to look around the pretty boutiques or refuel at the multiple food shops, delicatessens and cafés of Burnham Market is optional too – but you’d be daft not to stop for a while in this beautiful, award-winning, mostly Georgian village, as it’s definitely a high-society highlight of the route. That said, it’s going to feel like a commoners’ collective shortly, as you pass through the timeless tranquillity of the Burnham Thorpe, where Admiral Nelson was born and Norfolk’s celebration of his memory hits its peak.

Because they sit on the busy coastal road (which we’ve done our best to avoid wherever possible) these two villages are optional diversions off the pure Rebellion Way route. Thornham beach is a much-loved local secret as it’s far quieter than the beaches at Brancaster but just as beautiful, with huge stretches of sand bordered by grassy dunes. It’s a gorgeous little village too, with three pubs, a sumptuous deli and an award-winning fish and chip shop that uses local beer batter and homemade sauces. Brancaster and Brancaster Staithe sit either side of the site of the large Roman ‘Saxon Shore’ fort of Branodunum. As the name suggests, this was one of several forts built in the later Roman period to act as bases for the Roman army and fleet as they tried to fight off increasing numbers of Continental raiders and invaders. The latest archaeological digs on the site suggest there was a timber fort on the site before though, possibly dating from the Boudiccan rebellion. Nearly 2,000 years later, Brancaster Bay was also crucial to invaders heading in the other direction for the D-Day invasions as its beaches proved a near-perfect match for those targeted for landing in Normandy. As a result they were extensively used for testing and training by Commando engineers and the modified ‘funny tanks’ of the 79th Armoured Brigade.

Crossing the old main road to the coast brings you to the ornate south gate of Holkham Hall. It’s worth noting that the main gates are often locked, and while the little side gate will almost certainly be open, it is quite narrow. That means it may be an issue if you’re running a particularly wide load and certainly if you’re on a trike. If your cycle is too wide to squeeze through, there is a button on the gate keypad to call Visitor Reception (during opening hours, 10-5pm every day) and ask them to open the large gate for you. The processional road through the deep park is a dead straight fall-and-rise lane to the towering obelisk ahead. Rolling round the monument and coasting downwards unlocks the dramatic vista of Holkham Hall itself, with its purist Palladian frontage, boating lake and fabulous fountains. The estate even has dedicated bike loops to take in the bits you might miss, so it’s a marvellous place to spend some time in very fine style. Topped up with toff life you’ll roll out of the estate and through Holkham itself with its ornate brick buildings. Then it’s across the main road and up Lady Anne’s Drive (watch out for drivers more preoccupied with parking than other people), past the ‘Lookout’ wildlife observation hide and towards the evocative coastal landscape of Holkham Gap.

From the Gap it’s onto the cycle path through the Holkham Pines nature reserve. Be aware that this area is popular with tourists and local dog walkers so it can be really busy. Please be patient and polite and you will get to the Beach Café at the end eventually. Then it’s down alongside the sea wall embankment protecting the reclaimed land you’ve just looped around and into Wells-next-the-Sea itself to finish this section.

Holkham Hall processional road

Deer in the grounds of Holkham Hall

While we’re not sure the royal family would agree, we reckon Holkham Hall is easily the most spectacular house and estate on the whole route. Built in the Neo-Palladian style it’s quite pure architecturally (especially on the north side), but in the almost untouched interior the decorations are still opulent enough to include a pink Derbyshire alabaster entrance hall and a red velvet walled saloon. The 100km2 estate has a boating lake formed from an old creek, walled gardens, a large estate farm, a church and temple and obelisk ‘follies’ which can be visited on the various signposted cycle routes. It has a museum and café and regularly hosts concerts and other events including triathlons.

Holkham Gap is a naturalist’s (and naturist’s on some parts of the beach) paradise, centred around a horseshoe bay which floods in and out with the tide so quickly it’s guarded with an old air raid siren. The beaches, dunes and woods to either side are a nature reserve and there’s an eco café, visitor centre and bird spotting hide at The Lookout which looks across the reclaimed marshland behind the bay. The marshland also has Iron Age earthworks from the times of the Iceni as well as the remnants of the creek that once linked Holkham village to the sea.

Wells (or Guella at the time) first appears in the Domesday Book in 1086 and was the busiest port on this part of the Norfolk coast in the medieval period. Boats fished for herring and cod as far away as Iceland and they traded corn and malt all around the North Sea coast. A large warehouse still dominates the waterfront but the obvious facade of Wells is now much more about giving visitors a good time than shipping goods back and forth. Make sure you explore the narrow streets behind the waterfront as they’re packed with all sorts of interesting shops, galleries, cafés and foodie delights.