Bury St. Edmunds to Saffron Walden

We left the B & B in Bury and travelled toward Saffron Walden. Our ride took us through Moulton, where we saw a unique bridge, made for packhorses. Built in the 13th century so that packhorses could cross the river even in flood times, the high arch over the ford was a challenge made for Bob and Roger. They rode up and over it, even though there was a step at each end. We approached Newmarket, where we planned our lunch stop. Luck was with us, and we passed the training grounds for racehorses just as they were being led from one area to another. Watching the thoroughbreds crossing the road was breathtaking. We may even have seen some of the Queen's horses, since that is where they are kept. Newmarket is a bustling town, as one of our friends said, the Kentucky of England. It was also the scene of our only minor crisis. Roger had broken a spoke earlier and when we set off after lunch, Roger and Bob decided to try a quick visit to a bike shop. It turned out to be not so quick, and we waited and wondered where they were when we arrived at our first turn out of town. While we debated what to do, they appeared and reunited, we headed down the road to lunch in West Wratting. The countryside was beautiful, and with fewere hedges lining the lanes, we were able to enjoy them. We passed through Saffron Walden to Littlebury. The Queen's Head B & B had only been under its new ownership for about seven weeks. Our rooms were clean and cozy, the food and service was fabulous. The plumbing will need sorting out, but if they keep heading in the direction they are going they will be successful. Claire, my darling was a wonderful hostess and her three-year-old daughter was a sweetie who stretched with us. Sadly, we headed back to Stevenage on Sunday morning, which was a beautiful sunny day, punctuated by a visit with Bev's former colleague Mike and his partn Simon. They live in an actual thatched cottage with a gorgeous garden. To get there, we passed through the village of Nasty. Fortunately, we skirted Ugly. Our visit with Mike and Simon of course included tea and much admiration of their beautiful house and property. We rolled back into Stevenage in time to have dinner at the local Chinese restaurant.