Experience Diss: Sands and trees

This is one of three routes starting from the Cycling UK EXPERIENCE hub in Diss.

Have a look at the other routes: Zoolander and Two churches.

The first route from the Diss Experience Hub is for more adventurous riders on off-road capable bikes. Like most of Norfolk there are no nasty hills and the off-road sections certainly aren’t dangerous in any way. The sandy sections through the forest can be challenging to ride in very wet or very dry conditions though so it makes sense to wear shoes that are OK to walk in.

From Diss it heads west towards Thetford past nature reserves, river meadows and Roman Roads to the beautiful eastern edge of Thetford Forest on off road ‘gravel’ trails. Pedalling past prehistoric sites and beautiful farms you enter the historic town of Thetford on a traffic free cycle path. Looping round the dramatic Norman castle mound takes you to the market place and shopping area which are a perfect place to rest and refuel.

The homeward leg of our route avoids the busy roads around the town by heading north through beautiful medieval villages before turning east into the forest again. Sandy tracks through the trees link mysterious ancient sites and the unique meres of this fascinating nature rich area. The deep human history of South Norfolk is reinforced again as you follow the Hereward Way to the Roman and prehistoric road of Peddars Way north before looping south to sneak safely under the main road to Norwich. Then it’s time to roll back into Diss itself and make full use of its many foodie delights and useful amenities.

The development of these routes has been funded through EXPERIENCE, a €23.3 million project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, €16 million) through the Interreg VA France (Channel) England Programme 2014-2020, boosting visitor numbers in six pilot regions across England and France. This project will harness the experiential tourism trend to extend the season (October – March), generating 20 million new off-season visitors spending €1 billion across the Channel region by June 2023.