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Route directions PDF (right click to download)
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Glorious Bike Rides
Glorious Bike Rides
Route directions PDF (right click to download)
GPX file (right click to download)
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A really fabulous bike ride. The instructions miss out a right hand fork in Beacon Hill but other than that, spot on! Thanks
A fantastic ride with limited food options past 25 miles. Try going without until you’ve almost finished as the Braxted Bakery is amazing and well worth a good stop. It’s just short of Witham and very welcoming.
http://thebraxtedbakery.co.uk/
Overall a great day out!
Didn’t enjoy this as much as the other cycles I’ve done from the book – very sunny Saturday in the school holidays meant the roads for a lot of it were very busy and I spent a lot of time being overtaken but aggressive 4x4s… The mersea island section however is very beautiful and lots of options for delicious seafood lunch.
A good ride although not as many ‘lost’ lanes as the other rides in the book. The roads between Mersea and Tiptree were especially busy on a summer Sunday, but thankfully the final few miles saved the day as we took quieter and even quieter roads before re-entering civilisation just outside Witham.
We stopped for lunch at a nice cafe in Brightlingsea and ate whilst waiting for the ferry; there is a better selection of places to eat in Mersea if your stomach can wait.
Did this today – it was great! Just my tip is that the ferry leaves on the hour so don’t arrive at 5 minutes past as I did, whoops! Also, while the book says this route is country lanes and b-roads, there are quite a few not very well surfaced tracks so better to take something with thicker tyres! Loving all the rides – only three to go and then I’ll have them all done!
Saturday in September and have to say this route was far from being a example of “lost lanes” the bulk of the route is on B roads that were very busy and very dangerous with driving speeds high and little consideration for cyclists. Some pleasant parts at the start and very end of the route but overall recommend caution with this one.
We stayed at a camp site on Mersea Island (we recommend, it was really relaxing !) and did part of the route to go to Tip Tree and Colchester. As said before, there are a few B roads which can get busy (it wasn’t too bad for us as we were there during the week but I can imagine what it is on Saturday/Sundays).
To go to tip tree we also went through Layer-Breton to see https://www.layermarneytower.co.uk/. Quite a nice house if you like Tudor style (like Hampton Court).
Also in Wivenhoe there is nice Syrian cafe: https://www.theolivebranchwivenhoe.co.uk/
An important point: you now need to book for the ferry from Brightlingsea to Mersea Island (01 206 302 200)
Overall a lovely part of Essex !
B road alert!!! not the lostest of lost lanes unfortunately, but Mersea island cafés and pubs are well worth it on a sunny day! Thanks for this one too, Jack!
A most excellent ride. And my very poor vlog https://sotyred.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/lost-lanes-24-the-oyster-run/
Top Tips
– Check and book ferry: https://www.brightlingseaharbour.org/boat-trips-foot-ferry/
– Check tide times for getting off Mersey Island: https://visitmerseaisland.co.uk/how-do-i-check-the-tide-before-i-visit-mersea-island/
Was so pleased to see this route in the book, as I live in Wivenhoe. From Wivenhoe you can cycle off road all the way to Brightlingsea. It is a great off-road ride although can get muddy.
Follow the river through Wivenhoe, and go through the gate just past the sailing club which takes you on the sea wall and then onto the remains of the old Wivenhoe to Brightlingsea railway line. Watch out for Whitehouse beach a great picnic spot on the left accessible a mile or so along the path through a few gaps in the hedge. Follow the path to Alresford creek (Ford lane). Despite the OS map showing a route across the river you can’t cross here.
Turn left up Ford lane and take the path almost immediately on the right. It is a footpath but is bike accessible when dry, although is a little rutted in places. Follow this path to Thorington Mill keeping to the left when it meets and the splits from another path as that path is easier on the bike. At the Mill follow the track up the hill to the main road. Turn right and join the cycle path on the other side of the road up the hill to All Saints Church in Brightlingsea and the follow the book route from there. It is a beautiful section along the river from Wivenhoe to Brightlingsea.