King's Lynn

King's Lynn is an industrial/market town in in the east of England in the United Kingdom.

Hitchhiking out
The main place to get out of the town is to go to the Hardwick roundabout (argued as being the biggest junction in England).

South towards London
To travel south (towards London) a great spot for hitchhiking is the turnoff from the Hardwick Roundabout onto the A10, whereby standing by the pedestrian crossing with a thumb out can normally get a ride within 15 minutes as there is a lay-by right by it. However, because most of the traffic is local traffic most of the rides will be to nearby towns like Downham Market and Ely, although again these places are easy hitching out of. Don't press the traffic light button constantly to stop traffic and get a warning from a policeman like Jason did. But that's just common sense.

North
For heading north find the turnoff onto the A47 westbound (signposted Wisbech) and hitch before the dual-carriageway. Wisbech has a history of being a pretty terrible place to hitch in, so avoiding that would be ideal.

East, Norwich
To head east (towards Norwich) find the turnoff to the A47 eastbound (signposted Norwich). There is a lay-by a few metres onto this road. Or else, for a more countryside-ey route, with nothing but pure local traffic, take the Knight's Hill roundabout exit onto the A148 (from the Hardwick hitch towards Hunstanton, it'll be the second roundabout).

Public Transport
There are regular buses from the bus station to what seems like all areas of the town but less frequent to the hardwick roundabout. Also there are regular buses to Hunstanton, Norwich, Peterborough, Cromer and Great Yarmouth. King's Lynn is also on the WAGN rail link, which goes to London and Cambridge.

Places to Visit

 * Get a bus, or hitch on the A149, to Hunstanton and walk along the beach, past the cliffs, to old Hunstanton beach. The sand dunes are perfect for diving off.
 * In the middle of nowhere off a country road, find a field at night and look at the sky. You'll be amazed at it if you've been in a city for a substantial amount of time.
 * The King's Lynn football team usually have matches on Saturdays, so you may be lucky enough to be able to catch them at The Walks football stadium. The fans can be hilarious for their matches, just watch some of the videos on YouTube.
 * The Tuesday Market Place was host to the famous witch trial of Margaret Read in 1590. It was reported that, when burnt at the stake, her heart burst and struck a nearby wall which has since been commemmorated with a diamond-shaped brick, with a heart carved in the centre. She allegedly still haunts the Tudor Rose Hotel.

Places to Avoid
The Walks at night is a common ground for youth gangs who have become disgruntled from being kicked out of the bus station, and so they would be likely to gang up on lonesome people who aren't as cool as can be. Also, the town centre in general is terrible if you don't like mindless consumerism. The Fairstead estate is often stated as being the roughest area in Britain, with mafia connections and the like often being discussed in local newspapers.

Accommodation and Sleep
There is a youth hostel near the Saturday Market Place, but it is a bit pricey (as with most youth hostels in the country). Otherwise, CouchSurfing is an option, as the streets of King's Lynn are not usually the safest of places at night. There are different woodlands around King's Lynn, but the much more peaceful area is towards Hunstanton. In this direction there are miles of woodlands in Sandringham which would satisfy any wild camper's wilderness cravings (except for the noise from the main road), then further along and past Hunstanton there is a beautiful stretch of coastline, called the North Norfolk coast. Along here you can find some of the most deserted beaches in England. There are abandoned buildings which can be used as shelters on Old Hunstanton beach (walk in the direction of Holme) and on Thornham beach (on the island).