Through East Anglia in a Motor CarVincent, James Edmund
General
Through East Anglia in a Motor Car
Vincent, James Edmund
Norfolk (England) -- Description and travel; Suffolk (England) -- Description and travel
It would have been good to have their opinion upon the
derivation of Lowestoft, appearing in _Domesday_ as Lothu-wis-toft, which
is said to be "the enclosure by the water of Loth," who in his turn is said
to have been a Norse invader; but nothing is to be discovered of Loth, or
Loo, save that Lake Lothing, now the inner harbour, is named after him, as
was the hundred of Lothingland or Ludingaland; and Edward Fitzgerald is
really much more interesting than a nebulous Norse pirate.
[Illustration: FISHING BOATS AT LOWESTOFT]
Election fever and its ravings, a short glance at picturesque features, and
the inestimable blessings of tea and warmth are the principal memories left
by this particular visit to Lowestoft. Thence we ran along the easy coast
road in the darkness to Great Yarmouth, which, on this occasion, left no
vivid impression on the memory. No such language, however, can be employed
with regard to the remainder of that evening's drive. Doubts had arisen
whether it would be wiser to make for Norwich by the more circuitous route
which fetches a compass round Caister Castle, or by the "new road" running
in a direct line for Acle first, across a salt marsh, and from Acle fairly
straight for Norwich. The new road was much the shorter and, being across a
salt marsh, a dead-level, but our local pilot was doubtful as to the state
of its surface. However, it was decided to make inquiry at the toll-gate, a
mile or so out of Yarmouth, and to abide by the answer, which was
satisfactory. So was the road, so far as its surface went. It ran first for
five miles straight as an arrow; the straightness was apparent at the time,
but the five miles seemed like twenty. A fine mist was frozen over the
watery land, nothing was visible on one side except, at stated intervals, a
towering telegraph pole, and on both sides, at shorter intervals, were puny
and poor trees which may have been poplars or willows. It became my duty,
seated beside the man at the wheel, to peer into the darkness, trying to
distinguish any possible obstacle or turn, to make out the character of any
light that might be seen, and to watch for the bend, which, after another
straight run of some three miles, would take us to Acle. As a rule I could
just see the outline of one telegraph post as we passed its predecessor;
there was, in all probability, a deep dyke on either side, and it was an
ideal night for running into a country vehicle travelling without a tail
light; but happily we encountered none. Indeed, although motorists complain
much, late years have seen a great improvement in this respect. Of lights
on approaching vehicles we saw one or two, appearing at first to be distant
and stationary as a planet on a clear night, and then to be close to us in
an instant. It was, in short, a trying experience to the nerves and to the
eyes, and we resolved to avoid night journeys as much as might be in the
future. The resolution was renewed when we looked at our strained and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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