A seemingly insignificant settlement on the way down from Norwich into Suffolk, this is a chance to pull in and park up for a peep because SlyBob haven't had their dinner.
That's 'dinner', by the way, as in a light meal or snack typically taken between the hours of 12:30 and 14:30 PM and not something more substantial taken later in the day. That will always be 'tea' and don't even get us started on people who call it Sunday Lunch man!
It looks like we've got ourselves one of your 'gateways' here, the Gateway to the Norfolk Broads, that is. Lowestoft, Beccles and Wroxham can make similar claims but it all depends on your direction, of course, and this is if you're coming at them from the southwest.
The navigable stretch of the River Chet stops at the small marina where they've laid on some lavvies for your convenience, not shown.
That means, quite literally, or is it actually?, the end of the line even for your smaller cruisers for which there's room for a small number.
Yes sir, that is some very accomplished reverse mooring especially given that you're only here because at least one of you is desperate for the lavvie?
Hmmm, there doesn't appear to be a riverside ramble option from the 'marina' so it's up Bridge Street to look back at what could be? No, it couldn't be, could it?
It only is! The wonky and weatherboarded building at the bottom is a former, 18th-century watermill, whoo-hoo!
The fact that they even diverted the river to get the corn grinding means Loddon was anything but insignificant long before SlyBob had ever heard of or even seen a sign for it, sorry Loddon.
It's not so significant, however, for Wetherspoon™s to have moved in and converted the building to provide nearly out-of-date ale and for the Director of Contrived Waterhole Naming to have lazily called it the 'Old Mill', right CAMRA™?
There's nothing plain about Holy Trinity Church near Church Plain or for that matter Loddon's War Memorial.
Originally sited for those lost in World War I, 28 names were inscribed before space was made for those in World War II.
The population had boomed by then, you see, with the mill now running on steam and gas and brick works providing employment. That was for those who hadn't sought security in the cities, well Norwich, during the Industrial Revolution.
As for the church, some of it is still 15th century, they say, and the site is said to be Saxon, they also say. You can also get at the river behind it should that ramble still be on your mind.
Plain, by the way, is an Anglian thing and would ordinarily be called a Square where you live. It's just like down in the South West where they prefer Fore Street, see also Thoroughfare in Suffolk although there's no real reason why we can't all just call it a high street, really.
It's a popular spot with a right couple of eye-catchers including a former bank currently being repurposed for the residential.
There were so many people here by 1870, there was a need for a public venue and the Old Town Hall opened that year.
Built in an unmistakable Jacobean style, it's thought you'll agree, it also functioned once a fortnight as a local, mini-magistrates. They dealt with disputes including those of a drunken nature, still, that's what happens on a weekend when peasants are paid peanuts in a town with a dozen pubs.
Only two pubs survive, we think, and the Swan is one possible source of sustenance.
Just behind, however, you'll find Loddon Deli and Coffee, which means not just the chance of some dinner but the bonus of some tasty treats later for tea? Yes, tea!
A couple of older toffs enter not far behind but are disappointed to hear that the two cheese scones still on display have already been nabbed, sorry chaps. No matter, their chatter switches to the celebrity soap-superstar seen last weekend and they're the talk of the town.
No, it wasn't ex-cheeky Monkee Davy Jones, RIP, who only appeared in a single episode of Coronation Street in 1961 but who did visit his sister regularly here in the late '60s and early '70s.
Having a casual eavesdrop, EastEnders was mentioned so was it Willmott-Brown, Nasty Nick or even Dirty Den? Let's hope not and yes, those references do give our age away.
Turns out to have been Zack, you know Sharon's long-lost half-brother? No? Us neither.
The Raj has reopened as the Indian Palace following a raid by an immigration enforcement team and claims of 'modern-day slavery' with some workers paid in pilau not pounds.
It's a sign o' the times that something like this is happening somewhere like Loddon and it's a situation as grim as anything ever depicted in Albert Square.
The Old Town Hall now provides some of the Swan's lodgings, which is where the entire cast of EastEnders were staying last weekend because yes, that's what SlyBob is now imagining.
There are plenty of other dining options for them at 'Takeaway Corner' if they're ordering in.
A wealth of worldwide fayre from the far-flung East to traditional Fish & Chips. This, however, causes a major problem because, when in Walford, none of that lot can ever agree on anything, right Rickaaaaaaay?