Ipswich Brompton Monopoly part 2

New Year’s Day 2015 set itself nicely to complete the challenge of cycling to and visiting every square on the Ipswich Edition of the popular board game Monopoly. A free day in the calendar of a busy training and work schedule, aided by a hangover free morning saw Jayne the Hat and I meet at mid-morning to return to the Foundation Street NCP car park to resume our circumnavigation of the board.

 Wet and muggy conditions were a change from the icy temperatures experienced when we completed the first two sides of the board, which if you missed it you can find HERE.

 The first red property was easy enough to reach in a short time with the majority of the town’s population most likely sleeping off their late night with Jools Holland’s Hootenanny. The Cornhill was peaceful with just a few pedestrians as we parked the bikes beneath the arches of Lloyd’s Avenue in view of the grand Town Hall and LED Christmas tree in the Cornhill at the centre of town.

 

Another Chance card followed and after hollering and bell ringing in the echoing underpass beneath the Civic Drive/ Norwich Road Roundabout, we arrived at the broadcasting buildings of BBC Radio Suffolk, where we were watched through the window of ‘Perfect Fried Chicken’ by three lads enjoying a plate of chips, as we took  photo evidence of our arrival.

 

The properties on this side of the board were all in fairly close proximity and were easy to reach through the town’s peaceful streets. Another weave through the bus station took us back to the familiar steps of the East Anglian Daily Times, which is located in the same building as the Ipswich Star.

 

We knew a very long journey between two locations beckoned on the next side of the board, so it was a relief to be ticking of the final red property after only twelve minutes of day two. The Buttermarket Shopping Centre which we visited at the end of the first half is located on the Buttermarket Thoroughfare between Queen St and Northgate St. Another journey to the Giles Statue was in order as here is located the Butter Market road sign attached to Barclays Bank.

 

The Hat lands at the Buttermarket

Enjoying the silent town centre roads, we were quickly on our way out of town. Leaving the Butter Market we were soon heading over the brickwork roadway of Sir Alf Ramsey Way, which caused vibrations to rattle through my bike until reaching the smooth tarmac passing the Bus depot and out onto Wet End Road. In pursuit of the Riverside cycle path, the busy crossroads by the Mermaid pub were traversed and we picked up the cycle path to Sproughton before weaving through Whitehouse and arriving at our third station.

 The Bury Road Park and Ride sits at junction 53 of the A14 alongside the Asda superstore. It was perhaps the sacrificial lamb of the Park and Ride schemes as it has now been derelict for several years. This was evident as we cycled around the bus access road to find simply boarded up doors, smashed windows and some suggestive graffiti. Approaching the terminal building from the customer entrance was a good test of the Brompton’s manoeuvrability as we dodged concrete barriers and piles of glass in the quest for the evidence of our presence.

 

 

As the Costa Coffee juggernaut seems to have engulfed Ipswich in recent years, with now a building at every A14 interchange from Whitehouse to Nacton, we decided to stop in for some refreshment. As we were hastily folding Bingo and Bessie outside the shop, two children leaving with a group of adults looked on in wonder as our bicycles got smaller and smaller. The two ladies in the group were clearly impressed and proclaimed “what a novel idea” and “how wonderful!” As Jayne got the drinks, I sat looking at the two bikes curled up in the corner of the store beside the wooden child seats. I sat with a smile on my face, recounting the ladies’ words as I thought what a truly impressive machine the Brompton is.

 

The bikes certainly come at a price, but I think that the going rate is more than reasonable. The bike is not just about how small and compact it folds. Nor is it about how fast it can be ridden. The versatility is what is truly unique about the bicycles. Once we had our hot mugs in front of us, mine a Mocha with a mountain of cream, Jayne’s a skinny decaf Americano AKA a “why bother”, we agreed that we feel as comfortable and in control of our Brompton’s as much if not more than any other bike we own. The Brompton engineers have really got it right. The fold doesn’t compromise the ride, and the ride doesn’t compromise the fold. And they continue to improve and develop it too.

 I have seen all types of cyclist riding a Brompton bicycle, from old ladies with hips courtesy of the NHS to speed demons careering around the streets of Smithfield Market in the JupiterLondon Nocturne Folding Bike Race. The bikes really are feat of engineering and art and are suitable for all kinds of cyclists despite initial pre conceptions that they are “quirky, gimmicky clown bikes”. I’ve heard them all!

 

With caffeine now coursing through my bloodstream we remounted and made our way back into town along the Norwich Road as far as the roundabout at Civic Drive at which point we turned right and weaved through the silence of the town as far as the imposing black glass Willis building on the corner of Friars Street. The building which is synonymous with Ipswich has a leafy urban garden upon its roof and was visited during an episode of the BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ by ‘Captain Slow’ himself James May. Incidentally, James May is a Brompton owner too, and has been for several years since, in his own words “before they were cool”.

Friars Street is the main channel by which the town’s bus services reach the Old Cattle Market Bus Station, and is regularly heavily trafficked. On this day fortunately the only movement was the wind whistling through allowing for a wide photograph of the building as I struggled to get it all in shot.

I like the reflection of the town's buildings in this picture.

 

After the lengthy ride to and from the Park and Ride, we were relieved that the next few locations were all located centrally in town, although to reach them all would require lots of criss crossing of town, snurgelling through alleys as well as several traverses of the smooth Falcon St on which the Bus Station and Vodka Revolution nightclub sit, looking on peacefully on this sleepy new year’s day.

 From Friars St and Willis was just a short pedal to TheWolsey Theatre, and after approaching from the back, we rolled along the boardwalk outside to the front door. Both Brompton’s were lined up for their photograph as the wind howled and blew Jayne’s ‘Bessie Brompton’ crashing to the ground. I was busy laughing at her instability until my own ‘Bingo’ was sent crashing to the floor tumbling down two steps. Picked up and steadied we quickly took our photo and made our way for the second time today to the Willis building and beyond as our next property to collect was the board’s second utility usually reserved for the water company.

 

Labelled as ‘Park and Ride’ we opted to visit the Old Cattle Market Bus Station as the town’s three Park and Ride terminals were already in use as stations. With the lack of Bus services on this day, not for the first time, we felt a little bit suspect as we lined our machines up to take a picture of an empty bus station. Spotting an old wooden sign in an archway across the road, we also took an opportunity to photograph this location as we commented on the cleanliness of the area despite the festivities which would have been in full swing just twelve hours earlier as hand’s were linked for Auld Lang Syne.

 

 

 

Another short journey followed as we visited our last yellow property and second theatre of the day at the Ipswich Regent on St Helen’s St. I had never been to either of the town’s theatre venues until the second half of 2014. That absence was quashed within one week back in October as I was entertained by the endearing anecdotes of John Richardson at the Regent and a showing of Romeo and Juliet which included some interesting street dance whilst taking me back to my GCSE days. Because of the star crossed lovers, not the street dance.

 Panto season was coming to a close, as the advertisement on the building shows as it had begun to slowly peel itself away from its mounting, signalling the end of the Christmas season and a return to normality as it was soon after replaced with six grinning male faces starring in ‘The Full Monty’. Once again, a usually heavily trafficked route in to town laid peaceful even after midday as I crossed the road in order to accommodate the whole building in my photograph.

 

It was a relief to have completed another side of the board relatively quickly in under an hour knowing that we had an epic of a journey fast approaching, the longest of the whole game in fact.

  Our ‘GO TO JAIL’ square was to be the Magistrates Courts located on Elm St, sitting inconspicuously adjacent to the enormous AXA insurance building, the only sign of its use was a sign over the door and a list of opening hours on the locked door.

 

Three of the next four locations would all be within sight of each other, and we started our tour of the Ipswich waterfront by visiting Suffolk New College. I had attended an open evening at the college as a school leaver in 2006 and held vivid memories of the building being gargantuan in comparison to my high school and also particularly dreary. What is has developed into was a stark contrast to my initial misconception.

 

The SuffolkNew College is in fact bigger than gargantuan but is far from dreary. Jayne the Hat is well versed in the layout of the campus being a regular visitor through her work. She ushered me down a shortcut as we passed the cheering and whistling of lots of football games underway at the all-weather floodlit football facility ‘GOALS’ and through the modern and spacious terrace before reaching the high rising college logo in the centre of the area. The bright flowing colours flowed neatly into the eye catching tones of our bikes folded neatly below.

 

University Campus Suffolk is an impressive curving glass structure on the dockside. After rolling along some juddering decking away from Suffolk New College, we crossed the road in pursuit of an interesting sculpture of whose meaning I am unsure. It is art after all so I figure the meaning of it is at your own discretion. The wind was now blowing strongly from the south and as I tried to balance my bike on the ‘Question Mark’ the crib sheet on which I had been recording all of our ride statistics on was blown form the grip of my teeth, prompting me to chase it like a child hoping not to lose seventy kilometres worth of data. Fortunately after a comedy chase I secured it and proceeded to take our photographs of evidence in between strong bike wobbling gusts of wind swooping in over the water, rattling the yacht masts as it went, creating an orchestra of dings and pings.

 

 

The next green property was tantalisingly close, but we had another Community Chest card to turn before that. Weaving up Fore Street over the unsettling cobbles, I caught sight of a local treasure obscured from view but worth a look. Surrounded by social housing and the NCP car park which provided our ‘Free Parking’ lays the ruins of the Blackfriars Church. A few stone walls are all that remain, but fortunately an information board provides information on the structure which dates back to the thirteenth century. I was pleased to stop for a quick look at the Friary before heading on our way around the Wolsey Theatre and through the underpasses below Civic Drive where more echoing bike bells were excitedly rung.

 

This brought us to Hubbard House, the former home of ITV Anglia for as long as I can remember throughout my childhood, before its relocation. Now home to a gym and lots of office space, but short of travelling to the headquarters in Norwich, this building would suffice for our final Community Chest card, allowing us to return to the Waterfront and the SalthouseHarbour Hotel, to collect our final green property and enjoy a comfort break. Necessary given what was to follow.

 

 

The next trip would see us collect the final station square of our tour around the board. The knowledge that it was coming had been looming in our minds since the start of the day and challenge. The Martlesham Park and Ride would require a long jaunt out of town through the winding cycle lane dissecting Grange Farm on which I travel home nightly. Followed by the longest cross town journey of the whole board game as we would be required to then travel to the Whitehouse Industrial Estate and the final Chance Card being the studios of SGR FM.

 

The ride out to Martlesham was fairly pleasant as we were able to enjoy a helpful tailwind as we ate up the miles riding side by side whilst chatting. We arrived at the deserted transport hub in a little over thirty minutes, and got our tyres dirty as the photo booth was set up at the entry sign, seemingly set in quick sand as the bike wheels dug deep as they were plonked onto the dirt.

Retracing our steps we followed the quiet of the cycle lane back towards town before breaking off the route at Kesgrave to begin riding on the road towards SGR. We had accepted that this part of the journey was going to be fairly unpleasant as the rain had started, and a stiff breeze blew straight towards us making progress difficult. A good understand that Jayne and I share is that we don’t need to bother with small talk, and when necessary, we can just put or heads down and ride. It was beginning to feel a lot like hard work, and I was confident that we would feel better once we arrived at our destination, knowing that completion would be imminent. We finally navigated the Whitton estate and were spat out on Norwich Road allowing us to follow the sign post the SGR FM. I was fully aware that the radio station no longer broadcasted from here, but we were disappointed to not see any paraphernalia that would suggest they had ever been there. A little frustrating after the long ride, but not a big issue to us as we were ready to embark on our last journey into town to complete our circumnavigation of the board.

 

Formerly the registered address of SGR FM

The evening was closing in now despite it being only three in the afternoon. With our lights set to flash, we took the quickest route towards town along the spacious bus lane of Norwich Road, before altering our route at the troublesome double roundabout setup which causes me a fright every night whilst returning from work as drivers either hesitate or are far too assertive, making for danger for an exposed cyclist either way. We were bound for Portman Road, the home of Ipswich Town Football Club which we had visited on our first excursion on the opposite side of the board to visit Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey. We were now into the Park Lane and Mayfair territory of the board and in the money.

 

 

Fortunately the following two properties laid in order than we would pass them. From the football stadium, we cycled through the town centre which was now even more deserted then in the morning as the sale shoppers had now left leaving an eerie silence to the usually bustling town as darkness set in.

The Ipswich Building Society is located within Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre and with this being New Year’s Day it was closed and on lockdown. We could only peer in through the glass doors and test the iPhone camera to its limits by maximising the zoom in a desperate attempt to capture the shop front.

 

Desperate but it counts

The feeling of relief rather than joy was engulfing both of us now. Whilst the journey had been enjoyable and educational, we were both cold and wet and wanted to sit down and drink tea.

The final property was to be Christchurch Mansion, an imposing Tudor brick Mansion within the boundaries of the spacious Christchurch Park on the edge of the town. We had just about made our way to the park in time. As we stood at the end of the sprawling lawn, debating as to whose photograph was better, the park ranger completed his circuit in a golf buggy with headlights ablaze, clearly making his final checks for the day ahead of locking up the gates as dusk fell.

 

 

Challenge complete.

 

We simply then made our way to the Giles Statue marking GO for a celebration photograph before pressing stop on the Garmin and returning home for a hot drink.

 

Below are included some statistics for the ride. I was surprised that we ended up cycling over sixty miles in order to reach all of the properties. Another way to complete the challenge would be to simply visit all of the locations but not in order. This would be relatively straightforward as several locations could be ticked off in short time periods. There would not be two separate trips to Martlesham Heath, for example, and three properties could be bagged within a minute in the case of Portman Road and its two legendary statues

 

Overall Distance – 104.8km

Overall Time – 5hrs 40mins

Longest Journey – 13.9km 41min55secs (Martlesham P & R to SGR)

Shortest Journey – 93metres 22seconds (Sir Bobby to Sir Alf)

 

Completing this challenge was great fun for us both and quite an achievement. Having lived in Ipswich my whole life, except for a short stint of 5 years when I joined the circus, there were still many corners that I had not visited or seen. Cycling the course allowed me to see sleepy back streets and interesting buildings, with some ancient architecture that are simply not accessible or noticeable by car. I was a little baffled by some notable omissions from the board, and thought some of the repetitive locations could have been replaced by options such as Crown Pools Swimming, The Ipswich Hospital and Vue Cinema on Cardinal Park.

 If you would like to learn more about the Brompton Bicycle, visit THIS page, paying particular attention to the BikeBuilder. Great fun.

I will sign off this entry with the famous words from the MyOrange Brompton blog which sowed the seed of this whole affair…

If you have a Monopoly edition for the city you live in, perhaps you could try something similar?

Ipswich Monopoly Board on a Brompton

Shortly before Christmas, I tapped into the popular search engine Google the two simple words “Brompton Socks”. As part of my Christmas shopping I hoped to find a pair of cycling socks emblazoned in the famous three part logo of the world’s greatest folding bicycles, for my friend who is passionate about the Brompton Bicycle despite not owning one… yet.

My search proved fruitless, the most useful result to my query was a link to a pair of cycling socks that a London blogger had reviewed having used them through a winter’s night bicycle ride on a mission to visit every location on the world famous Monopoly board Game.  This was how it begun…

I had uncovered a charming blog and collection of stories by a chap who was clearly never happier than cycling his Brompton around the city with his folding friends or writing about it. The collection included humorous titles such as “12 ways the Brompton user might annoy a roadie” and “10 signs that tell if you are a Brompton Geek” as well as practical reviews of equipment and DIY repairs.

Back to the blog about socks, and I followed a link to the aforementioned “London Monopoly Board Challenge” where the final line was… “If you have a Monopoly edition for the city you live in, perhaps you could try something similar?”

Don’t mind if I do!

A hasty phone call to my mum to commandeer the family box of “MONOPOLY IPSWICH EDITION” I began my research looking at the route the board would take me around my hometown. During this spell of internet browsing, I found information on other expeditions that have visited all squares of the London edition. Previous completers included a father and daughter pair, and also the infamous “London Monopoly Pub Crawl” which involves travelling by bus and drinking a pint at each location of the board, which is a god awful amount of beer, so half pints are permitted.

Given the apparent small size of Ipswich, I decided I would aim to ride the board in order, which would involve a bit of criss crossing to get to some further flung locations, but the majority where located close to the town centre.

 

I discussed my plans with my fellow Brompton rider Jayne, who if she was a Monopoly piece would definitely be the Tophat due to her extensive collection of funky bobble hats. We decided we would complete the challenge on the Sunday after Christmas, and I set about creating a crib sheet containing all the locations, along with various statistics that I would record from the ride.

 

The game was afoot and we passed GO without collecting £200 Salary.

 

The famous Giles Statue on Princes St, a commemoration to the much loved cartoon character “Grandma” by the local artist Carl Giles was our starting point, and we rolled away through the arches between Elm and Arcade St towards our first brown property, the Biffa refuse site on Paper Mill Lane, Bramford.

 

The roads were still deserted at 9.30 and we were able to ride in a leisurely manner whilst chatting as we made one of the longer journeys away from town. Sharing a friendly wave with Mossy as he loaded his bike in the car to travel to a cyclocross race, we arrived for the first photo opportunity. Once I had recorded ride stats including time and distance travelled, it was back in the saddle to retrace our steps to the local newspaper office, the Ipswich Evening Star, to turn over the first of many community chest cards.

I have been lucky enough to feature on the back sport’s page of the Ipswich Star a few times, and have been photographed outside the offices promoting my success at the London Duathlon. This time however, it was the affectionately named Bingo and Bessie Brompton that were ready for their close up.

 

The Brompton folding bicycle is an urban design, by a London based engineer and is popular with train commuters, boating types and the space deprived as a reliable, mobile means of transport. Being small and nimble is a great feature of the Brompton and this was evident as we rolled away from the community chest square, taking a couple of shortcuts between buildings that would be inaccessible to a ‘conventional’ pedal cycle.

After shimmying through behind the Bus station to the VUE cinema, we approached our second brown property, the Borough council offices at Grafton House, in a leafy street, accompanied by the imposing glass structure of Endeavour House and in the shadow of the mighty Ipswich Town’s South Stand (Churchman’s, Greene King, Sir Alf Ramsey, call it what you will!)

 

The next property was only a short hop away and involved some creativity. The Income Tax square was at my discretion, perhaps we should have visited the county jail to visit a thief, but instead only a few sixteen inch wheel revolutions took us to St Clare House and the home of HM Revenue and Customs. The building is a rather bland affair, and is fairly non-descript, but for a few tax related posters and this plaque over the post box.

 

 

A milestone was ticked off as we visited our first “station”. Enjoying the still silent roads, we followed the bus lane passed the fire station and over the Princes St crossing of the River Orwell to Ipswich Railway station, where an enthusiastic Rail Replacement Bus driver sang travel information regarding the next buses to leave town bound for Cambridge, Colchester and beyond.

 

 

Another square ticked and photographed, we were making great progress, four squares by 1030, and this would be easy!

 

Back into the town centre, we accidentally encountered oncoming traffic as cutting through Cromwell Square happened to take us to a one way street. Not a problem on a Brommie!

 

Past the Buttermarket Shopping centre, we rolled up to the first blue property St Stephens Lane and the monument shown on the board, a grand church building, neatly restored to be the tourist information building and a coffee/ tea room. We used this opportunity to take a comfort break and to buy a bottle of water, before freewheeling to our first chance card of the challenge.

 

Classic Gold Amber Radio Station is the emblem shown on the board. This station is now, I believe based in Norwich which was a bit far to cycle on sixteen inch wheels and a two speed bike. They do have their limitations! My only experience of Classic Gold is being tortured by its awful (to teenage ears) playlist which my sister and I had to endure in mum’s dear old Ford Fiesta “Mable”, as it was the only radio station the car could receive on its out dated AM radio.

With my reluctance to travel to Nelson’s County, improvisation took us less than three hundred metres through the bus station onto Turret Lane and the studios of Ipswich Community Radio(ICR), a great alternative radio station run by local dj’s and presenters.

 

After snapping photo evidence of ICR we took another jaunt the wrong way up Saint Nicholas St, (will we ever learn?) and past the start point at Giles Square. We were of course back to the centre of town and landed on King St to purchase the Corn Exchange entertainment theatre for a snip at £100. The Corn Exchange is now home to the Ipswich Film TheatreTrust and holds childhood memories of Panini sticker swap shops and the ‘Stimulation’ under 18 nightclub.

 

High St was our next, and final blue property. Family that live on this street asked why I hadn’t photographed Bingo and Bessie outside their property. I claimed that we were just following the board and opted for the grand red brick building of the Ipswich Museum just a few doors up the hill. The Ipswich museum is home to a unique replica woolly mammoth, accompanying remains found in the Stoke area of the town. Our famous mammoth shot to fame after museum boss Gordon Mole appeared on the Radio 2 Breakfast show with Sara Cox to discuss half term entertainment. During his conversation with the quirky Boltonion DJ, Mole challenged the Radio 2 listeners to name the replica. The museum’s model Rhino is called “Rosie” and listeners eventuallysettled on “Wool.I.Am” for the woolly beast. I preferred the suggestion of “Gareth the Mammoth”!

 

We had been ticking off squares at great speed, completing the first side of properties in fifty minutes, but now, as a few, literally a few(three) snowdrops fell, we began the long straight time trial well away from the town. Meandering around Christchurch Park and the confusing maze of town houses on the North East edge of town, we finally left the town limits near to the Ipswich Hospital and proceeded on a familiar route for me to collect the IN JAIL square. I must at this point clarify that the route is familiar to me as it is the same road that I cycle commute to work on daily, not because of copious amounts of brushes with the law.

Once we were beyond the expanse of the Rushmere Heath Golf Course, we were able to leave the now trafficked roads and cycle side by side along one of the town’s dodgier cycle paths. With a crossing of a side road every fifty metres or so, this cycle path really requires you to have your wits about you, and eyes in the back of your head. Every day I opt to stick on the safer road option as the amount of traffic turning in and out of the junctions hampers speed and could be disastrous.

We reached the sign signalling the entrance to Martlesham and would shortly round the corner to reach our destination. It had taken us 32 minutes but we were now IN JAIL!! I initially had apprehensions about approaching the main building of the Martlesham HQ of the Suffolk Police, but realising we were just two harmless visitors with funny bikes, the brommies were papped beside the moat of the building in front of the force’s crest.

On a Saturday morning en route to work as I pass the bus stop just two hundred metres from the cell blocks, it is amusing to see the occasional individual still dressed in Friday night’s club going gear looking slightly crest fallen having spent the night courtesy of the Suffolk Constabulary.

It was still well before midday as we left custody for a long return back into town, this time along the preferable cycle lane that intersects the pedestrian and cycle friendly Grange Farm development. Several miles of traffic less National Cycle Network followed before we were spat out on Heath Road to skirt around the perimeter of the hospital grounds before descending into town and to the waterfront and Haven Marina. A quick glance at a tourist information map board informed me specifically which area was the Haven Marina, in view through the vast masts of the yachts in the Neptune Marina. A short journey along the cobbled waterfront passed the popular Isaac’s bar and the Old Customs House, a reminder of the docks rich history, we arrived at the Port of Ipswich, enjoying a photo opportunity beside a large anchor. Ahoy!

 

With our first pink property bagged and prices on the increase, we headed to the Coffee Link coffee shop on the waterside for a caffeine hit and comfort stop. The bikes came in with us, and folded neatly next to a child’s scooter in the doorway where we could keep an eye on them.

 

Knowing a slightly longer journey out of town beckoned, we became concerned about the time. It was now after twelve and knowing that I had to be at a family gathering at three pm, we began to doubt whether we would be able to get this challenge completed within the time available. Never mind, a Mocha shouldn’t be rushed.

 

Leaving two empty cups behind, we unfolded the kids and hopped across the road to visit the electricity company. This again took a bit of thinking, and as I had spotted the entrance to the offices and depot of UK Power Networks whilst out running, we settled with this choice, mildly conscious of the busy traffic watching us taking a photograph of a sign.

 

The next two properties would be easy, and once we had weaved our way around the one way road system passed the dock’s malting buildings and looping around the side of the cinema again, we arrived at Ipswich’s Portman Road football stadium for a meeting with two legendary Ipswich Town and England football managers.

Behind the stadium’s Cobbold stand is a statue by Sean Hedges Quinn of Sir Bobby Robson. Sir Bobby famously managed ITFC in the seventies and eighties, lifting the FA Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in Amsterdam in 1981. My dad will probably remember the starting line up! He later led England to the semi-final of the Italia 90 World Cup, where Gazza famously cried after being booked. The statue was unveiled in 2002, and in 2014 Sir Bobby Robson had the pleasure of a folded Brompton at his feet.

 

A World Cup win is obviously worth twenty quid, as the price of The Sir Alf Ramsey Statue is £160 compared to £140 for Sir Bobby Robson. The statue of England great manager was unveiled in 2000 on the corner of Portman Road and Sir Alf Ramsey Way, on which the stadium’s North Stand (Sir Bobby Robson Stand) sits. Sir Alf led Ipswich Town to the Second Division title in 1960, following it up a year later by taking the blues to the Division One Championship in 1961. All this before leaving to become England manager in 1963 and winning the World Cup in 1966 before receiving a knighthood in 1967.

 

We only had to travel 93 metres from Sir Bob to Sir Alf, with them being in sight of one another is an emotional reminder of the powerful force Ipswich Town hold and held in European and English football.

With a full collection of pink properties, we were now on the correct side of town to bag our second station, the London Road Park and Ride Bus terminal located at the junction of the A14 and A12 dual carriageways. After a long uphill slog on the cycle path, including an enjoyable journey down the ramp and under the underpass feeding into the vast Chantry Park, we arrived at a deserted bus station for a quick photograph, after which we looped down the bus access road and back from whence we had come.

 

This expedition was giving me the opportunity to see places of the town in which I have lived my whole life, but which I have never been to due to accessibility or necessity. The route back to town took us through Gippeswyk Park. Sticking to the concrete path we bounced our way along between the train line to our left and the wide open parkland to our right. On exiting the park, I chose to go uphill, assuring the Hat that this road was “definitely a made road” despite her protestations. Ancaster road seemed to go up. And Up.

And Up.

And eventually turned to dirt, potholes and puddles as I was proved wrong. It was easier now to simply dismount and push until reaching the top of the hill and Belstead Road. From here gravity assisted us back to the waterfront, but this time we stayed to the south of the river following the A137 road to Bath St, the first orange property, home to the IpCity event buildings and a sense of sad realisation.

 

As we had struggled up the dirt road, and gathered speed back downhill I had also gathered my thoughts. I was thourouhgly enjoying our quirky little adventure exploring Ipswich and I was confident Jayne the Hat was too. The pace had been comfortable, we had no time goals and we were able to stop and look at interesting things to our hearts content. This was our way of doing things, and I wasn’t prepared to hamper the enjoyment factor just to get it done ‘as the crow flies’ as quickly as possible.

 

Once we had completed the formalities, photograph of a gate and ride stats, I made a proposal that couldn’t be refused. Ending the ride a logical point, for today anyway, was unfortunately going to be a necessity if I was to make it to the festive family gathering on time. It was with great disappointment that we realised the board would not be ridden in its entirety in one go. We saw ourselves as pioneers of what I envisioned would become a great challenge for the tourists of Ipswich!

 

The pace now decreased as we followed the riverside along a rattily boardwalk under the watchful eye of a team of scaffolders rapidly dismantling their handiwork. Re-joining the one way system we soon pulled off the main road to travel up Lower Brook Street to turn another community chest card at the Ipswich Evening Star. Not a lot had changed here in the three hours since our last visit, although a squashed coke can I noticed had been disturbed by a kicking foot by a few yards. A quick photograph, ensuring the bicycles were pulling different poses this time, and we proceeded to collect our final two orange properties.

 

First, it was a simple three minute pilgrimage through the town to PJ Mcginty’s pub, a mainstay of Ipswich for aslong as I can remember. Turning off the road up a narrow alley, we seesawed along the loose noisy slab stones outside the top entrance to Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre, stopping at the far end of the bus stands beneath the awning of the centre’s entrance. The piazza was now busy with post-Christmas sale shoppers. I appreciate that Tower Ramparts is not the most photographed building in Ipswich, and I realised I probably looked a bit odd, but not a care was given as another property was bagged.

 

Taking an alternative route through some narrow alleys passed Churches Wine Bar and alongside Mcdonalds, we battled through the crowds and arrived at the Buttermarket Shopping Centre, in the same spot we had visited near the beginning of our journey outside the Tourist Information Church. Arty evidence on the camera and we were on our way to the third corner of the board.

 

Nothing in life is free. Not even Free Parking. We were reluctant to visit any street side parking as this felt too random so instead decided that the NCP multi storey car park in Foundation St would be suitable, mostly because its big yellow letters would make for a good photograph.

 

At this point I pressed stop and reset on my Garmin as the day had regrettably come to an end. We would certainly complete the board. Despite the disappointment of not getting all around in one day which we no doubt would have done given the time we soon cheered up with a cup of tea and a game of darts in my kitchen.

Crib Sheet Showing: Time of day, Lap Dist, Lap Time, Overall Dist, Overall Time

 

Link to the inspiration:

 

My Orange Brompton Blog