13 CYCLING DISCOVERY MAP Starting point: , Distance: 23 miles/37 km (or with short cut 17 miles/27 km) Type of route: Day ride - moderate, circular; on roads THE BISHOP’S CHAPEL This cycle ride starts from the market town of Dereham. From here the route heads north into the mid-Wensum Valley, along quiet country lanes which criss-cross the old railway line. Here you will find the attractive villages of , and , where on the site of an earlier Saxon cathedral, stands the romantic ruins of a 11th C. Norman chapel. Along this route you can see the healing well of St. Withburga, discover the ancestral home of US President and explore a restored Victorian railway station.

St. Mary’s Church, North Elmham

Key to Symbols & Abbreviations Essential information B Cycle Parking Starting point: Dereham - Cherry Tree car park (off Theatre Street). 3 Places of Interest Alternative County School Station. Located 6 miles north of Dereham, Z Refreshments starting point: off B1110 between North Elmham and . Join the route by ; Children Welcome turning L out of the County School Station entrance road onto 4 Picnic Site the B1110 towards North Elmham. Start from ‘J North Elmham’. P Shop w Toilets Car parking: Dereham - Cherry Tree car park (free). County School y Tourist Information Station (free). E Caution/Take care Nearest (16 miles east of Dereham). L Left Turn railway station: R Right Turn Type of route: Day ride - moderate, circular; on roads. T-j T-junction SA Straight Across/Ahead Summary Dereham - Hoe - Swanton Morley - Elsing - Mill Street - X-roads Cross roads of route: Hall - Billingford - - County School Station - North SP Sign-posted Elmham - Worthing - Dereham. NS Not Sign-posted Distance: 23 miles/37 km. Short cut: From Billingford, west along B1145 to Worthing, 1 mile (2 km). Dereham Total route with short cut, 17 miles (27 km). Terrain: Mostly flat. Gentle climbs in the Wensum Valley. Lowest point - 60 feet (18 metres) at County School Station. Highest point - 210 feet (64 metres) at Dereham. Cycle repair: Dereham - Paul’s Cycles, Unit A, Road (01362) 696276. Ordnance Survey Landrangers 132 - North West Norfolk; and 133 - North map area: East Norfolk. . This ride follows the NCN from Bintree to the B1110 Network links: (just north of County School Station). (listed as you would find them along the route) Points of Interest Please note: within this map there is only room to list basic details regarding opening times. In this respect, if you are planning to visit any of the places of interest 3 on this route, we advise you to telephone in advance to confirm exact opening days and times. Refreshment establishments Z listed on this map are just a small selection of those available. For further information, please contact the nearest Tourist Information Centre.

Dereham - lively market town with 18th C. buildings F - acquired by Sir John Lombe in 1796, he A surrounding the market place. The poet reputedly won this great estate from Richard Lloyd in a (1731-1800) lived here from 1796 until his death. game of cards. The hall was completed in 1852. During the Market - Tues and Fri. P Second World War it was used by the RAF for radar jamming. B top of Church Street (nr. High Street). From 1950, it was abandoned, falling into a ruin. Since 2000, St. Withburga - one of the daughters of Anna, King of East the hall and its surroundings have been restored into a Anglia. She founded a nunnery here in 654AD, and is attributed business and cultural centre, alongside holiday with a miracle which gave the town its name. During a famine accommodation. Close by is St. Mary’s Church, which was she prayed for help, and two deer appeared to provide milk. But virtually rebuilt at the start of the 19th C. Round tower, box when a huntsman set his dogs on the deer he was divinely pews and brass (c.1471) to Sir John Curson. punished by a fall from his horse which killed him. This is shown on the sign spanning the High Street. St. Withburga died in G Billingford - site of former Roman settlement and a major 743AD and she was buried at Dereham - but later in 974AD, crossing point on the river in Saxon times. the Abbot of Ely ordered his monks to steal the body, so that 3 St. Peter’s Church - 14th C. with flint octagonal tower and she could lay beside those of her sisters. A healing well is said unusual 15th C. brass eagle lectern. to have sprung from her empty grave, and this can still be seen today in the churchyard. H Bintree - 18th C. houses set around a traditional green, 3 Bishop Bonners Cottage Museum (St. Withburga Lane) - complete with whipping post. P 16th C. timber-framed thatched building. Named after 3 Bintree Mill - white-washed mill set in an idyllic spot beside Edmund Bonner, a former rector and Bishop of London. the river. Not open to the public. Bygones and artefacts. Open May-Sept. Admission St. Swithin’s Church - inside is a Norman pillar piscina, one of charge. (01362) 850293. only four of this type in . Dereham Windmill (Cherry Lane) - brick tower mill built Z The Royal Oak (01362) 683326. ; 1836. Some machinery intact. Not open to the public. Hobbies Museum of Fretwork ( Road) - history of I County School Station (Mid ) - restored fretwork machines and local firm Hobbies (c.1895). Open rural station built to serve the County School. This was Apr-Aug. Admission free. (01362) 692985. started in 1867 by Sir Joseph Brereton, and attended by boys Mid Norfolk Railway (Station Road) - Victorian station, with from across the country. Actor Sir John Mills lived here as a boy, 11 mile trip to . Open all year. Contact for when his father was headmaster. Closed in 1895, it later services and fares. (01362) 690633. Z reopened as a naval school until 1953. A few years later most of St. Nicholas’ Church (Church Street) - partly Norman church the buildings were demolished. The railway line closed in 1981. on site of 7th C. nunnery. Stained glass window to poet Small museum, wildlife garden and walks. Open May-Sept. William Cowper. 16th C. detached bell tower. Admission free. (01362) 668181. Z 4 Z Wide selection throughout town. w Barwells Court; Cowper Road car park. North Elmham - large and pretty village. In the 9th C. it J was the ecclesiastical centre of Saxon Norfolk. Nelson Hoe - tiny agricultural hamlet with a towerless House is where a relative of Admiral Lord Nelson once lived. P B flint church. 3 North Elmham Chapel - remains of an 11th C. chapel, possibly built on the site of the cathedral for the Swanton Morley - the family of Abraham Lincoln, Anglo-Saxon bishops of East Anglia. In the late 14th C. C President of the USA in the mid 19th C. originated from Hugh le Despencer, , had it converted this village. His ancestor Richard Lincoln was churchwarden into a fortified manor house and enclosed by earthworks. here (1599-1620) and lived in what is now The Angel Inn. P English Heritage. Open all year. Admission free. 3 All Saints Church - 14th C. on a hillside overlooking the (01223) 582700. Wensum Valley. The seal of Richard Lincoln can be seen in St. Mary’s Church - originally built in 1093, the building is a the east window. patchwork of styles from Norman to Tudor. 14th C. tower, Cooks of Swanton - local firm producing luxury painted rood screen and carved bench ends depicting birds handmade chocolates. Shop open all year. Admission free. and beasts. (01362) 637050. Z The Railway (01362) 668300. ; RAF Swanton Morley - former station 1940-1985. Several historic ‘firsts’, the de Havilland ‘Mosquito’ first entered K Worthing - riverside hamlet, once a major centre of service here with an RAF squadron. In Jun 1942, a employment with its former mill and tannery. The route detachment of USAAF airmen became the first US of a Roman road runs nearby, where two gilded helmets aircrews to enter operations in the European war. were found. Z The Angel (01362) 637407. ; 3 St. Margaret’s Church - round tower capped with red brick Darby’s Freehouse and Restaurant (01362) 637647. ; parapet. Norman doorway.

Elsing - picturesque village, named after the 9th C. Danish D chieftain, Elesa, who appears on the village sign along with his wolfhound. 3 Elsing Hall - 15th C. moated house, built by Sir Hugh Hastings. In the 16th C. the house was used as a hiding place for priests. Not open to the public. St. Mary’s Church - 14th C. with well-preserved brass memorial to Sir Hugh Hastings (c.1347). Z The Mermaid Inn (01362) 637640. ;

Mill Street - attractive hamlet set within the Wensum E Valley, with a white weather-boarded and brick mill. ROUTE DIRECTIONS STARTING POINT: Dereham (Cherry Tree car park, off Theatre Street).

A Dereham - lively market town. B 3 Z P w

1 Leave the car park on the road that exits beside The Cherry Tree pub, and turn immediately L onto the one-way Theatre Street. E

2 At the X-roads, turn L onto Cemetery Road (at this point, most of the traffic coming from your R is turning here onto the B1147). Follow the road up the hill passing the water tower and hospital (both on your R). Just beyond the hospital the road bears sharply L around a corner. E

3 Turn R, SP ‘Swanton Morley and Hoe’. E

4 Keep R at the fork in the road. You now cross over the disused railway line, then bear sharply R around a corner beside an old pill box (on L on the corner).

B Hoe - tiny agricultural hamlet.

5 Turn L, SP ‘Bylaugh’. 15 At the top of the short hill, turn L (NS).

6 At the T-j, turn R onto Rectory Road (NS). 16 Turn L onto the B1145, SP ‘North Elmham 2, King’s Lynn 27’. E

7 At the T-j with the B1147, turn R onto Town Street (NS). E G Billingford - site of former Roman settlement. 3

C Swanton Morley - connections with Abraham Lincoln. 3 Z P 17 Turn R onto Bintree Road, SP ‘Bintree 2, 3’.

8 Turn L at Darby’s Freehouse (NS). Follow the road up the short hill. Short cut (1 mile). Total route with short cut - 17 miles. Continue SA along the B1145 towards North Elmham (1 mile). Just as you Turn L, SP ‘Lyng 1, 3’. Then 50 metres (55 yards) later, turn R onto 9 enter the village, turn L, SP ‘Worthing 1/4’. Church Street, SP ‘ 3’. Please now continue from ‘K Worthing’.

D Elsing - picturesque village. 3 Z 18 At the T-j, turn L, SP ‘Guist 2’. 10 Turn L onto Church Road (immediately before The Mermaid Inn), SP ‘Bylaugh 11/2, 3’. H Bintree - 18th C. houses and whipping post. 3 Z P

11 At the X-roads, go SA onto Rectory Road, SP ‘Bylaugh, Bawdeswell 19 Turn L onto Mill Road (NS). and Mill Street’. 20 At the staggered X-roads, keep SA (NS). The road now starts to descend to E Mill Street - white weather-boarded and brick mill. Bintree Mill set beside the .

12 Turn L over the river bridge, SP ‘Bylaugh and Bawdeswell’. E 21 Turn L onto the B1110 (NS). E 3 13 At the X-roads, turn L, SP ‘Bylaugh Church 3/4‘. I County School Station - restored rural station.

F Bylaugh Hall - business and cultural centre. J North Elmham - former ecclesiastical centre of Saxon Norfolk. 3 Z P

14 At the T-j with the B1147, turn R, SP ‘ 11, Bawdeswell 2’. Please 22 Just before reaching the X-roads with the B1145, turn L onto note: as the view to the R of this junction is severely restricted by ‘Lodge Eastgate Street (NS). Cottage’ you may prefer to dismount and push your cycle to a point where you can see clearly to cross. E 23 Turn L onto the B1145 (Station Road) beside the old level crossing. E County School Station 24 After passing The Railway pub, turn R, SP ‘Worthing 1/4’. E

K Worthing - riverside hamlet. 3

25 The road passes over the old railway crossing, then follows the valley floor with a tributary of the River Wensum to your R and the old railway line to your L.

26 Turn L (NS). The road immediately dips under a tall brick railway bridge.

27 At the staggered X-roads, turn L (NS), then immediately R (in between two brick houses) onto a tiny country lane (NS).

28 At the T-j, turn R (NS). Follow the road back across the disused railway line. Now retrace your route back to Dereham. At the T-j, turn L, SP ‘Dereham 11/2’. Remain on this road back into the town. At the X-roads, turn R onto Theatre Street (NS). Just before the road becomes one-way, bear R back into the Cherry Tree car park. E MAP

The Map shown in this route provides just a general outline - In this respect, we recommend that you purchase the Ordnance Survey Landranger Map which covers the area. Ordnance Survey map area: Landrangers 132 - North West Norfolk; and 133 - North East Norfolk. 'Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO ©Crown copyright (2006). All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100017282'.

To obtain information on other Cycling Discovery Maps throughout the , please contact:- East of England Tourism, Dettingen Way, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 3TU Tel: (0)1284 727470 Fax: (0)1284 706657 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.visiteastofengland.com

The Bishop’s Chapel - published by East of England Tourism, in association with Council. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy of the information in this publication, East of England Tourism cannot accept responsibility in respect of any error or omission which may have occurred. The producers of this map have no responsibility for the physical state or maintenance of the route or its suitability for cycling, and therefore give no warranty as to its condition at any time. Any complaints concerning the state or condition of the route should be addressed to the relevant Highways Authority.