Cycling through Essex and Suffolk

For 2024, our cycle touring compass pointed us east again, but this time north of the Thames into Essex and Suffolk, relying this time on our own route planning skills using the national cycle network to help keep us on track. Three days of cycling with three overnight stops in St Osyth (near Clacton-on-Sea – would we see Nigel Farage?), Wantisden (near Woodbridge) and finally Lowestoft, the last town before Norfolk. Averaging 45 miles a day along fairly flat terrain, with the wind (mostly) helping us along our north easterly journey.

Day 1 – Chelmsford to St Osyth, 44 miles, 1404 feet elevation

An early start, and a physical challenge from the off as there are no lifts (yet) at Ash Vale so we had to lug our fully laden bikes (maybe we packed too much?) upto the platform, where we were met by an incredibly busy platform of commuters waiting for the first train out to Waterloo. However, in spite of this we managed to secure our bikes safely in the cycle carriage after a little negotiation with a fellow cyclist.

From Waterloo, the trip across London to Liverpool Street was pleasingly straightforward using the cycle superhighways introduced by Boris Johnson during his time as London Mayor (a more positive legacy than his later spell as PM, perhaps).

A quick stop at Greggs for a coffee and pain au chocolat at Liverpool Street before boarding onto the Greater Anglia Service service to Chelmsford with easy step free access (why can’t all operators offer this?) onto an empty bike carriage.

We’d been on the go for nearly three hours but we arrived in Chelmsford as most people were starting their day, pre-schoolers being dropped off at nurseries, older children ambling off to school, a busy platform of commuters London bound, and us putting that all to one side for a few brief days, and feeling very good about it.

Leaving Chelmsford by snaking through the riverside path and past construction sites building new roads and housing we were soon in open and pretty countryside, albeit accompanied by the noisy buzz of A12 traffic. It soon becomes apparent that beyond its London fringes, Essex is an agricultural county with vast fields of arable crops such as wheat, barley and, rather less expectedly, purple fields of borage and echium (borage seeds are used in food supplements, cosmetics, medicines and skin disorder treatments).

Onwards and over the only real climb of the day towards Little Baddow, more of the same landscapes and into Maldon, a pretty little town with an interesting waterfront including a fleet of Thames Barges, which were once a common sight on the river, perfectly designed for shallow waters and able to navigate narrow tributaries due to their flat-shaped keel.

From Maldon we followed a gravel trail around the water to the Heybridge Basin and then a much needed stop for refreshments at The Lock Tea Room, a hearty cooked breakfast enjoyed with a great view over the water.

Our journey continued inland towards Tiptree and a quick pit-stop at Asda, where we had a decision to make: continue on to Colchester and risk missing our pre-booked ferry from Mersea Island to Point Clear (and thus a 20 mile detour back to Wivenhoe) or play it safe and cut down over Abberton Reservoir to Mersea. We wisely opted for the latter and had time to stop off for a quick refreshment stop at the Dog and Pheasant at East Mersea as the storm clouds started to gather.

Time to find the ferry point. What3words had it as about 30 yards into the sea off the most eastern tip of the island. A slow trudge across a sandy and muddy/oily spit to a deserted point where only a tiny noticeboard provided any indication that this might be the landing point for the ferry.

The storm clouds then released their rain while nothing seemed to be moving in the channel; we became increasingly anxious that there would be no ferry, perhaps it was a sad joke on us, but then, out of Brightlingsea a tiny craft appeared. A scramble down the shingle slope onto the boat for a three minute trip across the channel and then up the shingle on the Point Clear side and out through the Haven holiday park.

A quick stop at the Costcutter to pick up some supplies, and then to our destination for the evening, Lee Wick Farm for our stay in a brilliant glamping pod with beautiful views over open fields and only a few horses for company. A simple meal of jacket potatoes, tuna, cheese and broccoli tasted better than expected, hunger and tiredness more probably contributing to this. End of an excellent first day.