Wynmelvin » Norfolk

October 14th, 2009

Russell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:43:57 +0000

LINCOLN — Leaving Norwich, I headed west towards King’s Lynn and a Norman Keep called Castle Rising. Hmmm, I seem to have a bit of a theme going here. This one was in a much more ruinous state than the last two and wasn’t being used as a museum but there was still plenty to look at and climb over. The castle was once the residence of the widow of Edward II and later belonged to the Howard family.

After spending about an hour at Castle Rising I headed south towards Cambridgeshire and Godmanchester. It was a fascinating if slow drive. You finally find yourself on a straight stretch of road with no oncoming traffic so you can pass the truck in front of you only to almost immediately come up on a roundabout where you have to give way to another truck slotting in ahead of you!

I actually drove through Godmanchester without realising it, thinking I was still in Huntingdon. I stopped for some photographs and then headed back north towards Lincoln. The trip north was a lot quicker—for some reason there were less trucks going in that direction.

October 13th, 2009

Russell — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:05:11 +0000

NORWICH — This morning I walked into Norwich and had a look at another Norman Keep that is now a museum. It is also an art gallery too.
There must be an art or design school at the local university as there were lots of students sitting and drawing in front of exhibits. Quite a few classes of school children too!

Afterwards I visited the cathedral. For me, the feature that distinguishes this cathedral from the others is the labyrinth to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee set into the grassed area between the cloisters. Entry was free but the was a small charge for a photography permit.

October 12th, 2009

Russell — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:12:20 +0000

NORWICH — I left Colchester with a bit more planning this morning. I have been in the habit of spending some time looking at the road atlas just before driving away. The driveway for Charlie Brown’s is right on the corner of a very busy roundabout and backing out is fraught with danger except my host very kindly stood in the road and stopped the traffic whole I backed out—so there was no time to look at the map once I was in the car.

I headed north to Bury St Edmunds and Ickworth House, an eccentric stately home built by a family seemingly never out of the headlines: the Herveys. The house consists of a large rotunda and two wings. Originally the wings were intended to display the family’s collection of art while the rotunda would be used as living quarters. The rotunda is now used to display the art collection while the east wing is a family-run hotel. The west wing hosts a restaurant and gift shop. One of the features of the house is its library with only two walls.

Then it was back on the road to Norwich. I arrived late afternoon in heavy traffic but managed to find the Bed and Breakfast without too much trouble. It helped that it was on a main road.