Missing the Jungle. (Jungle Cafe, Beccles)

Jungle Cafe,

Beccles,

Opening times Every day 10-4:00,

Highly Recommended 

I was already missing the tropical experience of cycling in India so to help ease me back into cold, wet and windy cycling I had chosen to go to the Jungle cafe near Beccles for yesterday's cafe cycle ride. I hoped the potential of sitting amongst palm trees would help my acclimatisation.

Big George was today's cycling guest and as always most of the outward journey was spent discussing important matters of the day such as the different things we had recently added to spice up our porridge. That morning I had gone for pineapple chunks to get me in the jungle mood (it was a mistake).

It was an extremely windy ride down to Beccles so progress was slow. Things were delayed further when Big George decided he was a bit too warm so wanted to remove the sleeves from his new convertible jacket in order to put it into gilet mode. It was like a scene from the generation game as Big George struggled with zips and pockets to get it set up and by the time he had done it the sun had gone in and we were cold again.

Big George struggles to convert his jacket to a gilet

After another few miles we found the Jungle cafe at the Urban Jungle garden centre on the A145. 

Outside Jungle cafe near Beccles

Fellow cycle cafe experts will know that there is a second Jungle Cafe just outside Norwich which I have been to several times. The set up of this one is the same with the tables set amongst tropical plants.

Our choice of table amongst the Jungle plants

The cake selection was good and I was pleased to be able to also have some brownie to check out as part of brownie of the year #BOTY. You can find out the current potential finalists (with pictures) on the thing of the year page on my new website. You will have to go there to see if this one is in the running. (click here)

Cake selection including Brownies

They don't have a fancy coffee machine at Jungle cafes but instead you can choose your  bean to have in a cafeteria. As Big George wanted a cappuccino it wasn't to his liking but he had a Guatemalan bean and some hot milk as the next best thing.

Our cakes and drinks in a jungle setting

I went for Ginger cake with my hot chocolate which came with mini marshmallows on the side. I thought the hot chocolate was excellent and probably the best this year. The ginger cake was good too. As it was Big Georges turn to pay he was not happy as it was one of the more expensive cafes I have taken him to.

I enjoyed having my drink and cake it a slightly different environment so like the other Jungle cafe I would recommend a visit.

I think I'm now ready to move on from all the jungle based action of the last few weeks and as my next adventure is in the Pyrenees I will be looking for some patisserie style venues for my next few rides.

Scores (based on 3 visits)

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.8	6.57	7.47	7.50	7.90	7.45

Route

Click link to down load 50 mile Norwich Beccles loop gpx file for your gps

Photo mad (Station cafe, Beccles)

Beccles Station Cafe,

Beccles,

Opening times Mon-Fri 07.30-14:30,

Sat 9:00-14:30, Sun 10:00-14:30

Recommended 

With the Tour de France now in full swing and the sun eventually coming out then Friday looked like the perfect day for a cafe cycle ride. Fortunately the country's number one Tour de France fan, Andrew (qui est notoirement difficle a satisfaire), had made himself available for today's trip. I had a 50 mile ride down to the recently opened Beccles station community cafe planned including a trip on the Reedham ferry.

Andrew has never been at the leading edge of technology and only recently got his first smart phone. As we set off he proudly informed that he had recently worked out how the camera feature worked and he clearly wasn't afraid to use it, at every opportunity.

Andrew photographing random Norfolk church

Because I had just returned from a short family holiday I had spent most of the previous day catching up on Tour de France highlights (5 hours worth). It had clearly affected me as I kept thinking I was in the race. As we rode along I checked for any weakness Andrew might show and if I spotted one I quickly changed gear and shot off into a break away. Unfortunately unlike the real race, where the race leader doesn't have to wait at junctions to make sure rest of peloton knows the way, I did.

We continued in this way to our river crossing at Reedham ferry where Andrew continued to make the most of his camera phone feature.

Andrew photographing the arrival of the Reedham ferry

From here it was only a few more miles to Beccles where we found the Station cafe conveniently placed right next door to the station. 

Outside Beccles station cafe

There was a nice little outdoor seating area outside which we decided to make use of as it was still a lovely day. Inside we were greeted with a very warm welcome leading to a good atmosphere and ambience rating.

I checked out the cakes, which at first looked like a small selection but on closer inspection was actually rather good as only a couple of pieces of each cake or slice were on display. I therefore awarded a decent effective cake selection (ECS) mark.

Cake selection featuring a couple of pieces of each cake on offer

To accompany my hot chocolate I opted for the Malteaser slice as it looked very rich, gooey and chocolatey and a bit different. I was informed it was the most popular seller so was a little ashamed of my cake selection predictability. Andrew had some flapjack with his cappuccino.

My hot chocolate was a solid example and Andrew (qui est notoirement difficle a satisfaire) thought his cappuccino was pretty good so gave a pretty good guest hot drink quality (GHDQ) score.

Cakes (slice type) and drinks pre tasting

My Malteaser slice was as expected, very rich, gooey and chocolatey. On returning the cups and plates I spotted a slice of carrot cake had been cut in to 6 as samples to try. I was encouraged to have a piece and it was absolutely superb. I took the plate with the remaining 5 pieces out to Andrew for him to try and he thought it was excellent too and then before we knew it we had somehow eaten all six samples. I returned the empty plate and said how much we had enjoyed the samples before sheepishly leaving as the lady stared in disbelief at her now empty samples plate. However as a result I upped the cake taste quality (CTQ) mark so it was probably worth it.

Last piece of carrot cake sample before I ate it

The Beccles Station community cafe was an excellent stop with good drinks and nice cakes (especially the carrot one). As it is a community cafe all profits go back into local projects and I recommend a visit.

On the return ride Andrew was still making good use of his camera phone as we were slowed down by the wind in our face.

Andrew taking photo of telegraph pole

We were then slowed further as Andrew managed to get a puncture. As always at these times I pointed out that it was now over 4500 miles since I had had a puncture on the cyclocross bike that I was riding today (this was a huge mistake)..

Andrew taking a photo of me taking a photo of him about to mend his puncture

With puncture fixed we set off again before being held up by road works as a section of road was being 'repaired'. Road repairs these days just mean slapping down some wet tar and then dumping chippings on top. Therefore it was not long before our tyres were covered in gravel stuck to the tyres. Sadly it was no surprise that a mile from home I punctured and my long puncture free run was over.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.0	7.0	6.5	8.0	7.5	7.00

Route

Click link to down load 50 mile Norwich Beecles loop gpx file for your gps

Yes I know you've done an Ironman, get over it. (Market Row Cafe, Beccles)

Market Row Café,

Beccles,

Opening times Mon-Sat 08:45-16:00

Highly Recommended

Thursday was a lovely day so I was pleased that I had arranged to go for a ride with cycling guest Andrew (who is notoriously hard to please) who I hadn't seen since doing the German Ironman event nearly two weeks ago. On a recent ride he said he had not been on his bike via Reedham Ferry for many years. Being an excellent cycle ride host I had picked up on the hint and therefore planned a route down to Beccles crossing the river via the ferry.

We set off across Norwich and then to the roadworks at Postwick. Here we discovered the road that we wanted to go on was closed. Instead of having to cancel the ride there and then this turned out to be a bonus as we were directed to a section of new cycle track I was previously unaware of that bypassed the difficult Postwick junction. Due to the normal heavy traffic in this area I had always been put off from riding out this way but with this new facility I'm tempted to use the route more often. 

Excellent new cycle track at Postwick

Once we were out in the country the traffic noise died down and I was able to update Andrew with stories about my Iornman adventure as he had foolishly enquired how I got on. I have noticed that with each new telling the temperature on the day gets hotter, the difficulty of the event harder and the pain of completing it more intense. At this rate I will eventually get to the stage when it will be too, hot, hard and painful that I don't finish the race. I continued going through every last detail until, with Andrew now barely awake, we made it to Reedham ferry.

As it was such a lovely day I had decided not to book cabins but instead spend the journey up on deck enjoying the views and the sunshine during the crossing.  

On deck during the river crossing on Reedham Ferry

After we had successfully disembarked south of the river Andrew asked me about my potential cycle tour of Europe I was thinking of doing with Chris (Mrs Crusader) which I had once mentioned. I liked the idea of an epic ride as it would not only be a chance to explore la continent in the best way possible but the chance to get touring bikes and lightweight camping gear would open up limitless investment shopportunities far outweighing those offered to me by cycling alone (although they are fairly extensive as well). 

Andrew started to quiz me on every detail of what I was planning to pack down to the minute detail. I did try to explain this trip was just a possibility and over 2 years away but he still wanted to know things like if I would be taking plastic or metal cutlery (metal of course I do have standards). After a while I realised he was not really interested but just desperate to make sure he didn't have to listen to anymore Ironman stories.

We rode into Beccles but I couldn't find the original cafe I was looking for in the town centre. Instead I spotted the Market Row cafe down a little side alley which looked like a good venue so we decided it would be today's cafe of choice.

Market Row Cafe in Beecles

Before reviewing our seating options we went inside to check out the cake selection and award the effective cake selection (ECS) rating. There were scones, brownies and flapjack but the only real cake was a large honey and almond sponge. They all looked good but with the limited choice I could not award a very high ECS score.

Available cakes on offer

We both ordered the honey and almond sponge to go with my hot chocolate and Andrew's cappuccino. I also ordered a cheese scone as part of my cheese scone serving temperature research 

As it was a hot day we couldn't decide if to take a table in the traditional table and chair indoor seating area, in order to stay cool, or venture outside and enjoy the sunshine. We eventually decided on the compromise of outside seating area but table in the shade option and selected a table in the alleyway which not only enjoyed views of the Beccles one way system at either end but was also nice and quiet and not very busy.

Shadey or sunny tables available in outside seating area

As soon as the food and drinks arrived I checked the scone temperature and was pleased to see it had been nicely warmed. It was also delicious and one of the best cheese scones I have had for a while so I immediately added it to my short-list for cheese scone of the year 2015. (note it went on to win the cheese scone of the year 2015 award).

Food and drink

I was also very impressed with my hot chocolate that was the right temperature, hotness and thickness so good marks there as well. Andrew (who is notoriously hard to please) thought his coffee pretty good but not up to the same high standard as my drink. The honey and almond cake went down well although I was a bigger fan than Andrew who was in one of his more hard to please moods.

Overall I was very impressed with the Market Row cafe and give it a highly recommended status as it is definitely worth a visit.

On the way back I told Andrew I had entered another Ironman next year, this time in Austria. He was clearly overjoyed to hear the news. Not only hours more Ironman based chat but it would mean the chance to repeat our 'not particularly high altitude training camp' we did in Slovenia earlier this year again (see Day of climbs). Andrew agreed he would come along as long as I didn't mention the word Ironman again for at least six months. Although I promised I wouldn't it seems unlikely.

Ratings

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
8.50	7.00	5.00	7.50	7.00	7.00

Route

Click link to down load 50 mile Norwich Beecles loop gpx file for your gps

Wet, wet, wet. (Twyfords tearoom, Beecles)

Beccles,

Twyfords Tearoom,

Mon-Sat 08:30-17:00,

Highly Recommended 

Yesterday saw ride two of the 2nd Annual Cafe Cycle Tour winter wheels cycling feast and I had planned a 50 mile ride to Beccles with today's Winter Wheels guest, Big George. Fortunately Big George had not seen that the weather forecast was for rain all day or he may not have been keen to come. Fortunately the rain hadn't yet started as we set off. 

The dry weather lasted less than 5 minutes when it started to drizzle. Before we had time to put on our waterproofs Big George reported that one of his brake blocks had fallen off. He said he would be fine with just a back brake but with my Health and Safety hat on I insisted we stopped at a near by bike shop to buy replacements. By the time his bike had once again got full stopping capabilities the rain was really bucketing down but, using the gift of lying, I convinced Big George that the weather would be better the further south we went, although I had no evidence for this it seemed to make him happy.

The rain continued to bucket down until we arrived at Reedham Ferry for our crossing (as always I refused to pay until the ferryman had got us safely to the other side). The ferryman said we were mad to be cycling in this weather and hadn't we seen the forecast. I quickly changed the subject.

Very wet crossing of the Yare

We continued to head south to Beccles as the rain got heavier. When we arrived we 
spent sometime in the mysterious Beccles one way system. I made sure we only ever went one way but this didn't always correspond with the one way other people had chosen. Eventually Big George used his gift of 'asking for directions' and we found our way to Twyfords Cafe.

Sheltering outside Twyfords Cafe in Beecles

I locked up the bikes and we went inside the cafe which has a lovely European feel. There was also a big sign advertising the fact it had a secret garden. I felt having a big sign telling everyone about the garden rather took away it's secret characteristics. As it was still pouring with rain we decided to forgo the not particularly secret garden outside seating area for another day. All in all Twyfords got a high atmosphere and ambiance score.

The cake selection looked spectacular although all the cakes were of a large indulgent type so hard to differentiate between. I was impressed and awarded a high effective cake selection (ECS) rating.

Part of the large and indulgent cake selection

I chose the luxury carrot cake with my hot chocolate. Big George had Cappuccino and bacon sandwich (which is clearly not a cake). He couldn't afford a cake as he had spent most of the pocket money that Mrs Big George had allowed him for today on brake blocks. I would like to be a fly on the wall when he only hands her back a few pence change from his day out.

Drinks were of a good standard and warmed us up nicely. The cake was suitably indulgent and very well presented so again good marks all round.

Cakes and drinks 

Overall Twyfords tearoom was a very good stop and I suspect on a nice day in the not particularly secret garden could score even better. It still scored well enough to make it into my current top 10 and is highly recommended.

On the way back we once again spent a large amount of time trying to exit Beccles one way labyrinth and completed two more loops before we finally managed to escape. 

The rain stopped on the way back and although we were rather cold we both agreed it was a very good 54 mile ride. I said I was planning a hot bath on my return. Big George said that it was funny as he had just been thinking about that as well. Worried that Big George had been imagining me in the bath I quickly changed the subject to more manly things and there was no more bath chat for the rest of the way home.

Tomorrow sees ride 3 of the Cafe Cycle tours winter wheels cycling feast with a sportive ride out to Loddon.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
6.5	6.5	8.0	8.0	8.0	7.50

Route

Click link to down load 50 mile Norwich Beecles loop gpx file for your gps