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This was our last day, and as we had to vacate our pitch by 11am, we set about decamping and packing up. We left just before lunch and arrived home later in the afternoon.

We loved Norfolk and the Broads, there was a lot to explore and the cycling was pleasant and easy as it was so flat. We would certainly come again if we needed an easy trip that did not need much planning, and although Clippesby Hall was certainly not the cheapest campsite it was first rate, and camping was significantly cheaper than the B&B based trips we did in Holland the year before.

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Today we travelled again via Ludham to Horning, where we stopped for lunch and a look around. We planned to return to Horning later, to try to locate the water taxi to Woodbastick Staithe, to allow us to take an alternative route home south. This appeared tricky to track down – some locals even said that it was no longer in service. If we failed to find it later we would just return home via Ludham again, but we fancied trying the alternative route if we could. For now, we cycled on to Neatishead, and took a trip on the Solar Powered Boat, the Ra.

View of the Ra Solar Powered Boat, and Barton Broad seen from the Ra

We returned to Horning and after asking several locals we found the water taxi, loaded up the tandem and headed to Woodbastwick.

We then cycled South East via Ranworth and South Walsham, then skirted along the back roads via Pilson Green, Cargate Green and Upton to Acle, returning North East up the A1064 and B1152 to Clippesby. It has to be said that the last stretch from Acle is not very pleasant on a bike as it is a busy road and rather narrow, so we tended to avoid it on our other journeys. However, it is at least fairly short, and allowed us to take a very pleasant alternative route back.

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Today we travelled via Potter Heigham and Ludham to visit the RADAR museum at RAF Neatishead. This was especially of interest to Steve as his late mother was a RADAR operator in the WAAF during the Second World War. It was fascinating to gain an insight into what her role actually entailed.

Views of RAF Neatishead RADAR Museum

Next we cycled via Horning and Ludham to How Hill to visit the Nature Reserve to take a trip on the Electric Boat, the Electric Eel. We had intended to do this on Day 2, but the rain prevented us from doing so. Today the weather was much better, so we were able to enjoy the nature reserve at its best and to take the boat trip.

Views of How Hill Nature Reserve

Views from the Electric Boat, the Electric Eel

The trip on the Electric Eel was particularly fascinating. Begin very narrow and of minimal draft, it was capable of navigating the smallest of the waterways and took us right in amongst the reeds and vegetation, giving a very intimate and close up view of the flora and fauna.
We returned home to Clippesby for the evening via Ludham and Potter Heigham, after a most enjoyable day.

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Bike Express do an interesting idea – they pick you up at any of a number of uk pick up points (our nearest would be Potters Bar on the M25), and take you to any of a number of destinations in the mediterranean area. You travel by coach with a large trailer behind towing the bikes. You can roll your own trip, picking your own times and outbound/return journey, and your return can be from a different place, allowing you to do a non-circular cycling trip. There are quite a few destinations but they are mostly in France and Spain.

Train is another option, but having looked at Europe travel by train, a tandem is a problem. It would need to be splittable, something you can do with a Thorn tandem which has couplings on the tubes so it becomes the size of a solo bike (or perhaps more like 2 solo bikes). See here for more details about ‘training’ it with a bike.

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