Cambridge to King's Lynn 2026: Ride Report

The All Upper, Andrew reports in from the wild Flatlands:

My second ride this year as the All Upper and a chance to introduce the delights of night riding to my mate Garry who was along for his first night ride. Arriving at the start I was able to say hello to Claire in the station before we moved outside to meet the other riders and to say hello to a few other people I recognised from past events.

‘Fridays’ stickers were quickly handed out and added to mudguards and bike frames, then names crossed off the register list to find we were one rider short. A quick call established he was on his way after getting lost around Cambridge. After a slightly delayed briefing we were off, exploring some interesting points of Cambridge before riding alongside the River Cam and then soon reaching the outskirts and into the darkness with a cloudless sky, an almost full moon shining down upon us and a gentle tailwind easing us along.

Bill, a local from Cambridge who seems to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the area, was my ‘understudy’ and when not regaling me with facts on history or attractions of the area, he shared the responsibility of chatting with riders that had dropped to the back until we reached the next regroup. After the first few ‘all up’ calls I started to ask for each rider’s name and did a reasonably good job of remembering them when they next ‘marked’ the way as the hours passed by.

A slightly modified route to the one I rode in 2021 – no NCN 11 alongside the River Great Ouse before Ely as Claire felt it was not in good condition plus a switch from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (Welney) centre to the Christchurch Community Centre which worked well. The CCC has an audible warning that we were all being recorded on security CCTV. A repeated audible warning so not to be forgotten. 

A clear view of the early sunrise just after 6 am and not long afterwards we were in Wisbech, passing the historic Elgood & Sons brewery and then meeting a local girl walking in the middle of the road – luckily, we all avoided her despite her outstretched arms and cheering from her friends on the pavement. 

After Sutton Swing Bridge and the River Nene (at a very high level) it was then about an hour of more quiet roads with a few local people out walking their dogs as we passed though the various villages before arriving at West Lynn ferry. Unfortunately, those riders looking forward to a little boat ride across to Kings Lynn were disappointed as the ferry man had decided to take a few days of holiday so we all had to cycle round. 

Pace at the back was steady at just over 10mph average, with just a soft tubeless tyre that needed a little bit of pumping up straight after the mid-ride stop. A puncture about 5 mins from the breakfast stop which was quickly resolved and meant all riders reached Kings Lynn just after 9am. Almost all riders stayed for breakfast at the Marriotts Warehouse, then the majority headed off to the train station. 

A group of seven headed off towards Ely with rain forecast and appearing on the horizon, and a gentle headwind to spice things up. A stop at Downham Market allowed one rider to peel off for the station, then two more after first getting pastries from Mabel’s Bakery. The remaining four riders pushed on, stronger winds and then heavy rain for a period as we rode along Ten Mile Bank and stuck together until Ely when we each went our separate ways.

Ride Leader Claire’s notes: After worries about whether the riders would make it to the start due to a selection of train issues, followed by a game of bike-lift tetris, we were 19 (not 20!) setting off into a surprisingly quiet Cambridge. Once in the countryside we saw a good selection of wildlife again on this ride; an owl flew alongside us from Reach, a badger, several muntjac and the aforementioned vibrant Wisbech citizens attempting a welcome party. Later on I attempted to confuse matters by claiming we were 20 riders, forgetting that George was meeting us at Christchurch. A big thank you to Anton, Andrew, Bill, Nick and George for his midway stop assistance. Read Bill’s ride reflections on his blog.