The tour starts at Newmarket in Suffolk which stands on a belt of chalk so is very free-draining and happens to make a superb terrain for horseracing. Now considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing that dates back over 400 years. Back in 1605, James I came to stay in Newmarket, attracted by the open land of the Heath as it possessed all the attributes needed to stage his and his courtiers’ favourite sporting activities: coursing, hunting, and racing horses. It was also home for over 30 years to the 3 times champion jockey Frankie Dettori and Frankel the famous retired champion British Thoroughbred racehorse and current sire who was unbeaten in his fourteen-race career and was the highest-rated racehorse in the world from May 2011. In addition, the oldest road in Britain “Icknield Way” happens to run through Newmarket and was used to transport since the Stone Age high-quality flint (only found in chalk landscapes) from the mines at Grimes Graves, situated to the north-east of Newmarket and what remains of Bronze Age and Iron Age barrows and tools have been found locally. Also, little heard of Bill Tutte was born in Newmarket in 1917 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1935. Tutte’s interest in mathematics developed whilst a student, he graduated in 1938 with First Class honours. By 1939, Britain had gone to war and the Government Code and Cypher School had relocated to Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire and there was a desire for mathematicians and problem solvers to feature amongst their recruits. Tutte’s tutor Patrick Duff arranged for Tutte to have an interview and in May 1941 he arrived at Bletchley Park. Tutte was put to work straight way in the research section, working on the Italian Naval Cipher and other unbroken ciphers before he was introduced to the Lorenz cipher, known to the Allies as Tunny. Lorenz was used by the German High Command to communicate top secret messages to field headquarters. It was against this cipher that Tutte was to achieve “one of the greatest intellectual feats of World War Two”, by deducing the structure of the Lorenz cipher without ever having seen the machine. The breaking of Lorenz code was significant because it provided the Allies with critical details of Hitler’s military strategy.

Leaving Newmarket on the B1061 you cross into the county of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and head towards Haverhill, with its long sweeping bends, open fields and picturesque villages you can soon clock up the miles. Warning just before entering Great Wratting the road does narrow for a small distance, so do expect to see lorries in the middle of the road. Great Wratting sits in the valley of the river Stour here there is a route option to turn left to visit the ford that crosses the river in the centre of the village where both bathing and fishing are common pursuits. With its small population of less than 200 residents and its old, thatched roof cottages sometimes referred to as chocolate box cottage, made mostly with traditional Suffolk straw thatch, but with some using Norfolk reed thatch, some of these cottage’s date back to the 16th century or earlier, and it is such a beautiful place to visit.

After leaving the village of Great Wratting it isn’t long before you leave the county of Suffolk and head into the county of Essex, just after which there is a route option to turn right to Haverhill and follow the road for 1.63 miles (2.6Km) onto the A143 before turning left onto Hamlet Road to visit the Anne of Cleaves House in Haverhill. Built around 1630 by John Mortlock, it is said to have been given by Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves at her marriage, this is now a grade 2 listed building.

Continuing to Thaxted, a village which lays in the Chelmer River valley, the river runs for some 40 mile (65 km) from the northwest of the county of Essex through Chelmsford to the River Blackwater near Maldon, and not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level. Thaxted whose name derives from the Old English thoec or þæc combined with stede, being a "place where thatching materials are got". With a mention in the 1086 Domesday Book and referred to as 'Tachesteda', it soon developed as a Saxon settlement on a Roman road. You also have the magnificent John the Baptist Church of Cathedral proportions built between 1380 and 1510 in the English Perpendicular style and John Webb's windmill with its white sails that dominate the town and surrounding area, the Gothic Guildhall once a municipal building used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries, completed between 1390 and 1410 with its Jettied timber framing white painted facade, now a Grade I listed building. This magnificent building is now used as a small museum that houses a permanent display of old photographs and objects relating to the history of Thaxted. Or why not just take a wander around this lovely village and have some refreshments at Parrishes a quaint little cafe/bistro/bar located on Town Street.

From Thaxted it’s then onto the idyllic village of Finchingfield voted 4th in the most Picture Perfect Villages within easy reach of London where in the time of William the Conqueror, it was called Phincingfelda . Claimed as the UK's most-photographed village it has won numerous awards for its traditional picturesque setting, featured on the route of the Tour de France when it came to the county in 2014 . It also stared on the opening credits scene of Look East news and has always been a popular filming location for series like Lovejoy, Stop Press Girl, but to name a few, with its quaint duck pond, village green, 200 years old hump-backed bridge and pub, overlooked by colour-washed cottages and its very own windmill, its oldest building the medieval church of St John the Baptist built of stone with its large Norman tower that dates from 1170 and some parts constructed as late as the 13th and 14th centuries . Some of the other great buildings here are its Guildhall, which was built around 1500, the Round House, a cottage of 18th century Dutch design and referred to locally as the Pepper Pot, once owned by the writer Dodie Smith, author of "101 Dalmatians".

After leaving Finchingfield there is a route option by turning left and following the road for 0.1 miles (0.16km) you can visit Hedingham castle, claimed to be the best keep Norman castle in England whose fortifications and outbuildings were built around 1100. An adult day ticket price is £11 with free onsite parking, from here it’s about 5.9 miles (9.5km) before you leave the county of Essex and cross back into the county of Suffolk just before Sudbury, where it’s a quick scoot around and head out on the B1135 before turning left towards Lavenham, whose history goes back to Saxon times. Voted 1st in the most Picture-Perfect Villages within easy reach of London where it is like going back to the real medieval England with its half-timbered medieval cottages lining its streets and its 15th-century timber-framed Guild Hall of the catholic guild of Corpus Christi that overlooks and dominates the town’s marketplace. In the 14th century Edward III heavily encouraged the English weaving industry it was then when Lavenham began to prosper and in the early 16th Century Lavenham was the best example of a medieval wool town in England, it became well known for its blue broadcloth which can be traced as far back as to Boudicca and the Iceni Tribe in AD60. This cloth was exported as far afield as Russia and afforded Lavenham as the fourteenth wealthiest town in England. It wasn’t until the late 16th century that Dutch refugees in Colchester began weaving a lighter, cheaper and more fashionable cloth and the woollen trade sadly in Lavenham began to fail. Also, there is the De Vere House that featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, is the house where the young wizard's parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, and you have the Guildhall, little hall and crooked house are all a must see. With a scheduled Lunch and refreshment stop here, there are lots of choices available to suit everyone’s tastes.

Leaving Lavenham you head out towards Stowmarket and then it’s onto the A1068 towards Thetford where jus t after leaving on the A134, it isn’t long before you go into dense woodlands that is known as Thetford Forest this covers a huge area of 18,730 hectares, originally created after the First World War to provide a strategic reserve of timber for the now dwindle supplies. Today it is the largest lowland man made forest and largest land use change in England, originally plante d with Scots Pine but now has a diverse range of Corsican Pine , Douglas Fir, Larch, Weymouth pine and broadleaves trees. Riding under the canopy of this thick lush forest vegetation, just before Mundford there is a route option to turn left and head southwest for 0.4 miles (0.6km) for a chance to visit the famous prehistoric flint mine called Grimes Graves which is now run and owned by English Heritage, with a small £7 admission fee for non-members with ample free onsite parking provided. Less than 2 minutes from here there is another scheduled stop at Browns Tea Rooms Mundford for refreshment after which it is on towards Brandon, whose origin of its name is "Brandon, usually 'hill where broom grows'". Listed in the Dooms Day book of 1086 where it had a small population of only 25 households and was well renowned for its rabbit furs, from here you head towards Ely with a 24 miles (39km) or 45-minute ride away, just before arriving at Ely there is a good opportunity to pull over and see in the distance the immense size of its Cathedral and how it stands out in its surrounding landscape.

Arriving at Ely, you enter the second smallest city in England. Built on a 23-square-mile (60 km2) Kimmeridge Clay and was formerly known as the Isle of Ely, so was only accessible by boat up until 400 years ago. When they then began to drain the freshwater fens, standing at 85 feet (26 m) above sea level, it is the highest land in the Fens and has been referred to as the "Holy Land of the English”, it was these watery surrounds that gave Ely its original name the 'Isle of Eels', a translation of the Anglo Saxon word 'Eilig'. The river Ouse runs by the side of this magnificent city and is the 5th longest river system in the UK (a freshwater environment) that is connected through the Denver Sluice to the Great Ouse Tidal River System. Also, once home to Oliver Cromwell who was a key figure in the Civil Wars that tore the country apart in the 1640s, and one of the main architects of Parliament's victory in this bloody conflict. There is also its Norman Cathedral (known locally as “The Ship of the Fens”) whose origin dates to AD 673 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church, the present building dates to 1083. Built of Barnack limestone that was quarried near Peterborough, that the monks paid 8000 eels a year for, it is the third longest medieval cathedral in England at 528ft (161m) with its west Tower standing at 216ft (66m) high and 288 steps up to the top, entry to the cathedral is at a cost of £10 this doesn’t include the stained glass museum inside the Cathedral this is an additional £5. Other place to visit that might be of interest include the award-winning Jubilee Gardens, Oliver Cromwell’s house, Ely Country Park and Ely Museum, there is lots of free parking available around the town.

Leaving Ely behind you, there is an 18mile (29km) brisk ride back to Newmarket along the flat and very straight fen roads, with wide open views that stretch across the fertile landscape into the distance, where you can see for miles. There is a short stop at Isleham to see the priory, it is then onto Newmarket for the end of this tour.