Swaffham to Grantham

Chris came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

Ok, so the rest of the family are driving up to Claypole to visit
relatives. The thought of two hours in the car on the A17/A52 to
Grantham fills me with the horrors, so I wondered about being a solitary
(miserable) git and cycling.

I'm cool with getting to Wisbech from the Swaffham area, but from
Wisbech to Grantham is guesswork - my supply of OS maps runs out at
Wisbech.
I'm thinking Thorney Golf Centre, Stamford, Grantham, Hyde Road, then
the lanes via Brandon.

Anyone else cycled that way? Want to disuade/encourage me? I'm more than
a little nervous about this - it looks at least 150km on the map 🙂

I haven't cycled there for quite a few years, but find it fascinating, if a
little repetitive.

If you want to keep off the A17, A 15 and A1 (If you get over that far) it's
a fantastic place to cycle, but oh so easy to lose bearings and get lost.
There are so many small lanes, dyke roads etc I'd suggest making sure you
have a good map, a compass and plan the route well. As for the route a lot
depends on what you want to achieve. If it's just a ramble then you can go
almost any way you like from Wisbech, but I'd go B165 towards Spalding A151
to Bourne then B176 to Grantham. On Autoroute using average speeds varying
from 10 to 30 mph this shows as taking 51.7 miles and 3 hours 25 minutes.

However, if you want to stay on smaller roads and can get a decent map there
are numerous ways to mimic this route, but using such roads as Old Fen Dyke,
Joys Bank, Jeklls Bank, Moulton Chapel road (A roman road) etc One feature
I sort of dislike of the area is that because of the nature of the fenland
you often have to ride two edges of a square instead of the straightest
route to get somewhere, inded you quite often have to come back some ways
before again heading in the right direction, and avoiding doing that can
take some planning.

I'd say there and back with some sight-seeing and general dawdling 😉 would
be a good, full days cycling.

I reckon it'd make a really good, enjoyable day out cycling that, have fun.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!

Paul - censored said:

However, if you want to stay on smaller roads and can get a decent map
there are numerous ways to mimic this route, but using such roads as Old
Fen Dyke, Joys Bank, Jeklls Bank, Moulton Chapel road (A roman road)
etc One feature I sort of dislike of the area is that because of the
nature of the fenland you often have to ride two edges of a square
instead of the straightest route to get somewhere, inded you quite often
have to come back some ways before again heading in the right direction,
and avoiding doing that can take some planning.

As the man says, go further north for a shorter route but you are
limited by the need to cross the Nene and the Welland which have very
few crossing points so its either A17 or further south at Wisbech &
Spalding. If you take the more northerly route you can always hop onto
the train at Spalding or Boston if it gets too much and get off at
either Sleaford or Ancaster for the final few miles.

Personally I find the flat incredibly boring for cycling and the choice
of the A road or the long detours Paul refers to, both round two (three
surely?) sides of a square but also to the limited places to cross the
rivers and dykes can get quite frustrating. Add in an East Anglian
Hill, aka a headwind, and it can get quite demoralising slogging for
mile after mile across the flatlands and the cafes/pubs to stop, rest
and snack are few and far between. YMMV

--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

Tony Raven came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

If you take the more northerly route you can always hop onto
the train at Spalding or Boston if it gets too much and get off at
either Sleaford or Ancaster for the final few miles.

Heheheheh, 'Plan B' ... 😉

Quoted message said:

Personally I find the flat incredibly boring for cycling

Last time we rode that area, about two years ago, I really enjoyed it.
Admittedly not much in the way of panoramic vistas, or cols to ascend, but
certainly big skies and fantastic little hamlets/villages with some
incredibly friendly local pubs. I haven't rode the area solo, so the chance
for a chat without having to negotiate numerous junctions or hills is a
great social plus.. 😉

Quoted message said:

and the choice
of the A road or the long detours Paul refers to, both round two (three
surely?) sides of a square but also to the limited places to cross the
rivers and dykes can get quite frustrating. Add in an East Anglian
Hill, aka a headwind, and it can get quite demoralising slogging for
mile after mile across the flatlands and the cafes/pubs to stop, rest
and snack are few and far between. YMMV

Agreed, 'specially when overcats and drizzly.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!