Excel, Norwich to Peterborough via Dereham, Swaffham, King's Lynn & Wisbech

The Excel is one of the longest scheduled bus journeys in East Anglia, a single ribbon of road linking Norwich and Peterborough through some of the flattest, biggest-skied country in England. Leaving Norwich Bus Station, the route slips out past St Stephens Street and the Norfolk Showground at Cringleford, and almost immediately the city gives way to gentle agricultural land, with the spire of a parish church rising every few miles above the hedgerows.

Through Easton and Hockering, the bus runs along the old turnpike alignment, passing roadside oaks and the occasional thatched cottage. Eckling Grange and its almshouses come and go before the coach pulls into Dereham, a handsome Norfolk market town with its Bishop Bonner's Cottage and the Mid-Norfolk Railway shed visible beyond the rooftops. There is a steady rhythm to the stops here: Sandy Lane, Boots in the centre, then St Nicholas Street and out past the sixth form.

West of Dereham the landscape opens further. Scarning, Wendling and Little Fransham slip by, each a cluster of flint cottages and a pub sign. Necton heralds the approach to Swaffham, where the bus circles through the Market Place beneath the rotunda of the Butter Cross and the soaring perpendicular tower of St Peter and St Paul. From here, the road runs west towards the edge of the Fens, dropping through Narborough and East Winch, where the church flint glints in low Norfolk light.

King's Lynn arrives with a change of mood. The Excel calls at the Hardwick Tesco, the Transport Interchange and the railway station, threading between the medieval Hanseatic warehouses and the riverside. Beyond Lynn, the bus crosses the Great Ouse and enters proper Fenland: dead-straight roads, drainage dykes glinting under enormous skies, and the spire of Walpole St Peter visible for miles. Tilney All Saints, Walton Highway and Walsoken pass in quick succession.

Wisbech, the capital of the Fens, is the next major call. Brick Georgian terraces line the Brinks, the River Nene runs broad and slow, and the bus pauses at the Horse Fair Bus Station before heading west again. Guyhirn, Thorney Toll and the long ribbon of Thorney itself, with its Abbey church and Duke of Bedford School, mark the final crossing of the black peat farmland. The journey closes at Peterborough Queensgate, the cathedral's west front a short walk away.

The Excel makes a genuinely ambitious day out: a single ticket, six town centres, and a cross-section of East Anglia from Norwich's cobbled lanes to Peterborough's Norman cathedral. Starting from Norwich Bus Station gives you the option of a leisurely breakfast first, perhaps among the stalls of Norwich Market beneath the castle, before settling into a window seat for the long ride west.

As the bus reaches Dereham, it is worth breaking the journey to wander the town centre. Bishop Bonner's Cottage Museum, with its pargeted facade, sits beside the parish church of St Nicholas, and the Mid-Norfolk Railway runs heritage services from the nearby station out towards Wymondham. The market square has independent bakeries and tea rooms for a mid-morning pause.

Continuing on, the Excel rolls into Swaffham, an unhurried Georgian market town built around an enormous triangular Market Place. The Butter Cross, the Pedlar of Swaffham statue in the churchyard, and the EcoTech Centre on the outskirts give the place a quirky charm. There are several pubs around the square for an early lunch and the Saturday market is one of the liveliest in west Norfolk.

King's Lynn is the showpiece stop. From the Transport Interchange it is a short walk to the Saturday Market Place, the Custom House on Purfleet Quay (Henry Bell's 1683 masterpiece), and the True's Yard Fisherfolk Museum in the North End. Lynn Minster, Hampton Court and the Hanse House remind you that this was one of England's great medieval ports. Bookshops, riverside benches and the famous Lynn shrimps make it a tempting place to linger.

Back on board, the Fens take over. Wisbech rewards a stop with its astonishing Georgian Brinks lining the River Nene, Peckover House (a National Trust merchant's townhouse with a Victorian garden), and the Wisbech and Fenland Museum, one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the country. Octavia Hill, co-founder of the National Trust, was born in the town and has a small birthplace museum.

The final leg crosses Thorney, whose abbey church and model estate village were rebuilt by the Dukes of Bedford in the nineteenth century, before arriving at Peterborough Queensgate. A short walk brings you to Peterborough Cathedral, with its unique painted nave ceiling and the burial place of Catherine of Aragon. The Museum and Art Gallery on Priestgate is worth an hour, and the Embankment along the River Nene offers a peaceful finish to a very full day.

Done in a single direction, the Excel is the kind of journey that turns a bus ride into a real exploration of East Anglia.