What is the seafaring significance of cut marks on the boundary wall of Wiveton Church? Why is a forlorn dome structure to be found by the roadside near Langham? And where in Norfolk can you find a pub with gas lamps and its own make of lemonade ... a post office with a touch of wizardry ... or a church that was built deliberately lopsided because only God is perfect?
The answers are in a new Leisure Cycling Discovery Guide to the Norfolk Coast Cycleway, published by Aylsharn writer Sam Weller. It complements a map of the route published last year by the Norfolk Coast Cycling Initiative.
The guide traces every step of the signposted 59 mile (95km) route with jottings on attractions and fascinating oddities to be found along the way. It also lists essentials for the outdoor traveller from refreshment stops and village shops to public loos, even chemists and doctors.
The guide's author considers the Norfolk Coast Cycleway to be one of the finest routes in the country. It truly gets away from the car, yet travels among all manner of adventures, from Pocahontas and Lord Nelson connections to the grandeurs of Felbrigg Hall, Holkham Hall and Sandringham.
Another bonus is that-it follows an inland route, away from the often busy coast road, and gains the reward of magnificent vistas and sea views. The finer points of the journey simply cannot be enjoyed by car.
The route, which arose from a suggestion by the Cyclists' Touring Club, has been developed by the Norfolk Coast Cycling Initiative. This partnership, which includes local authorities and has funding assistance from the Rural Development Commission, exists to encourage sustainable tourism and to ease car pressure on this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The cycleway starts and ends at the railway stations in Cromer or King's Lynn, so people can bring their bikes by train or hire them locally. If they have to arrive by car, they are urged to park in the towns and not in the countryside.
Sam. Weller says that journeying along the Cycleway creates its own tales. A visit to imposing Binham. Priory almost convinced him it was haunted, as inside he was greeted with eerie murmurings. The reality was pigeons, whose squabbling sounds faintly echoed through the roof of the vast and empty building!
The route is undulating but not tough and can be tackled in a day by fit cyclists, over a weekend by the more leisurely rider, or in a series of separate visits.
If you want the easiest ride, travel from Cromer to King's Lynn. The prevailing wind is from the east and there are more downhill sections!
And the answers to all those questions? The marks on Wiveton church wall date from medieval times when the village and its near neighbour Cley shared a river port. The scene is now gone, a victim of silting but one jetty was outside the church wall. Its marks were made by great ships throwing their ropes over into the churchyard for extra anchorage.
The oddity at Langham is a rare and neglected survivor from the Second World War. It was used to train ground gunners in air defence by illuminating enemy aircraft silhouettes onto its domed ceiling.
As to the other questions, and many others ... the answers are in the book!
Historic crossing
From the early 12th century until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the middle of the 16th century, Walsingham was a very important religious shrine.
Pilgrims both from this country and Europe visited in large numbers. Many coming from abroad would enter the country at Cley, which was then a major port. As a result, the road from Cley to Walsingham was always busy. This road can be dearly seen on a map, but, as often happens, it loses its original path in the centre of each village through which it passes.
The section of the Cycleway from Langham to Binham follows this old pilgrim way.
If you fork left after entering Binham from the Langham direction you immediately come to a small green. On the far side of the green is the base of a cross erected there by the monks of Binham. Priory. The cross stood beside the old road which can still be seen as a passageway leading to the main road. A bit more of the old road can be seen running for a short distance on the other side of the main road, now bearing the name Blacksmith's Yard.
The cross would have been placed beside the road as a signpost for pilgrims., There may well have been an indication of how far it was to Walsingham and the fact that there was a monastery nearby, should the traveller need shelter.