Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
The North Essex CycleChat ride is taking place on 2 May 2009, Manningtree/Colchester/Tiptree
Current list of people intending to attend is:
Aperitif
Arallsopp
Auntie Helen
ChrisKH
User1314
FatFellaFromFelixstowe
Gary from Colchester Cycling Group
ilovebikes
User10571
MacBludgeon
Mow
redjedi
SigSilverprinter
Stevevw
Topcat1
Uncle James (probably for part of the ride, not the whole thing)
Possibles
Delthebike (from YACF)
Dellzeqq
Wowbagger (possibly on tandem with MrsWow, from YACF)
Updated route (updated 1 May 09)
www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=7065
So… I hope that I can tempt you all to join me on a wonderful ride through some great parts of the north-east Essex countryside. I can offer you three rivers (Stour, Colne and Blackwater) as well as fields, country lanes, views across the rolling hills of Essex, briefly visiting both the oldest recorded town in Britain and the smallest town in Britain, with a well-earned rest and cake stop at the Wilkins & Sons Jam Factory at Tiptree.
The overall distance is about 51 miles.
Warning for those planning to come by train!
Trains are running between Ingatestone and Manningtree but not from Liverpool Street to Ingatestone due to engineering works; there will be replacement buses (which don't allow bikes apart from folders). London Liverpool Street to Ingatestone is 22 miles, if anyone decides to cycle it. There should be 3-4 trains per hour from Ingatestone to Manningtree but of course the timetable is a bit vague due to the engineering works.
OR you could cycle to Ilford (near Barking) and get the following train (Ilford is 7 miles from Liverpool Street Station)
Sat 02 May
Ilford (IFD) to Manningtree (MNG)
Departs: 09:42 Arrives: 10:46 Duration: 1:04
If you don't want to do any cycling to get there, you can catch a couple of trains to Romford and then directly from Romford to Manningtree (ask SigSilverprinter for details!)
For those coming by car/bike
Meeting time: 11:00am at Manningtree Station (meeting time TBC when we find out who's coming and how).
There is plenty of parking at Manningtree railway station on a Saturday, cost would be £2.00 for the whole day.
Those who would like to add another 10 miles in total to the day’s journey are welcome to park at my house in Great Bromley. You might even be given a free cuppa after the ride.
The Route.
We’re starting off at Manningtree, the smallest town in Britain. It’s pretty small! We’ll cycle along the River Stour for a short way to Mistley, famous as the seat of Matthew Hopkins, the infamous Witchfinder General. Mistley is also well known for its swans which wander around beside the road.
At Mistley we have a shortish climb, then we cycle through the quaint village of Little Bromley, then Great Bromley, then Elmstead Market, then a quick and fast downhill stint on the dual carriageway A133 into Colchester (this road is OK for cyclists generally).
Colchester is the oldest recorded town in Britain. We have a long, steady climb up North Hill towards the centre of Colchester, joining the dual carriageway ring road briefly. Traffic in Colchester isn’t usually too bad and will seem a breeze to the London contingent.
We turn on the road to Layer and go through the posh bit of Colchester for a few miles before escaping into the lovely Essex countryside as we weave our way through the villages of Layer-de-la-Haye, Birch Green, Layer Marney, Layer Breton and eventually arrive at Tiptree. This section is on rolling hills, none are particularly steep but they can seem to go on a bit. Make the most of the downhills beforehand!
At Tiptree we can have a cake/food stop. The Jam Factory is great, although the food isn’t particularly cheap. It may be populated by old ladies out for day trips but I am sure there will be room for a bunch of cyclists. You can also buy some jam!
After we are refreshed we set off again on the way back to Colchester, this time going via Great Wigborough, Peldon and Abberton (basically going round Abberton Reservoir although you can’t really see it).
We get back to Colchester before cycling back to Manningtree through the village of Great Bromley again. If anyone has parked at my place they can give up at this point rather than going all the way back to Manningtree.
The final fun part is as we reach Manningtree we get to descend the wonderful Cox’s Hill, down which I regularly reach 40mph. Great fun!
Trains home will suffer the same fate as trains there (i.e. only as far as Ingatestone) but the town of Manningtree is just a mile from the station should anyone want to get some food before leaving the wilds of North Essex.
A couple of things to bear in mind.
The country lanes on our route have generally reasonable road surfaces but if the hedges have been trimmed recently you may find thorns to spoil your day! Can’t do much to avoid this (apart from have Kevlar tyres) but you might want to ensure you’ve got a spare inner tube and a repair kit! We will wait for anyone who needs us to. I have removed the two previously-advertised off-road sections so this is all on roads and most have pretty decent surfaces.
There aren’t any awful hills (I don’t like hills!) but there are a few that can be a bit tiring for people like me. As a trike rider I’m slower up hills than everyone else so don’t worry you’ll get left behind – I’ll probably be last on most of the hills.
Most of this route is covered in my thread that you can read here: http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=19270 This thread also has photos of the off-road section south of Colchester that I mentioned above.
It's a lovely route and will be at as leisurely a pace as we require. Hope you can come along!
Current list of people intending to attend is:
Aperitif
Arallsopp
Auntie Helen
ChrisKH
User1314
FatFellaFromFelixstowe
Gary from Colchester Cycling Group
ilovebikes
User10571
MacBludgeon
Mow
redjedi
SigSilverprinter
Stevevw
Topcat1
Uncle James (probably for part of the ride, not the whole thing)
Possibles
Delthebike (from YACF)
Dellzeqq
Wowbagger (possibly on tandem with MrsWow, from YACF)
Updated route (updated 1 May 09)
www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=7065
So… I hope that I can tempt you all to join me on a wonderful ride through some great parts of the north-east Essex countryside. I can offer you three rivers (Stour, Colne and Blackwater) as well as fields, country lanes, views across the rolling hills of Essex, briefly visiting both the oldest recorded town in Britain and the smallest town in Britain, with a well-earned rest and cake stop at the Wilkins & Sons Jam Factory at Tiptree.
The overall distance is about 51 miles.
Warning for those planning to come by train!
Trains are running between Ingatestone and Manningtree but not from Liverpool Street to Ingatestone due to engineering works; there will be replacement buses (which don't allow bikes apart from folders). London Liverpool Street to Ingatestone is 22 miles, if anyone decides to cycle it. There should be 3-4 trains per hour from Ingatestone to Manningtree but of course the timetable is a bit vague due to the engineering works.
OR you could cycle to Ilford (near Barking) and get the following train (Ilford is 7 miles from Liverpool Street Station)
Sat 02 May
Ilford (IFD) to Manningtree (MNG)
Departs: 09:42 Arrives: 10:46 Duration: 1:04
If you don't want to do any cycling to get there, you can catch a couple of trains to Romford and then directly from Romford to Manningtree (ask SigSilverprinter for details!)
For those coming by car/bike
Meeting time: 11:00am at Manningtree Station (meeting time TBC when we find out who's coming and how).
There is plenty of parking at Manningtree railway station on a Saturday, cost would be £2.00 for the whole day.
Those who would like to add another 10 miles in total to the day’s journey are welcome to park at my house in Great Bromley. You might even be given a free cuppa after the ride.
The Route.
We’re starting off at Manningtree, the smallest town in Britain. It’s pretty small! We’ll cycle along the River Stour for a short way to Mistley, famous as the seat of Matthew Hopkins, the infamous Witchfinder General. Mistley is also well known for its swans which wander around beside the road.
At Mistley we have a shortish climb, then we cycle through the quaint village of Little Bromley, then Great Bromley, then Elmstead Market, then a quick and fast downhill stint on the dual carriageway A133 into Colchester (this road is OK for cyclists generally).
Colchester is the oldest recorded town in Britain. We have a long, steady climb up North Hill towards the centre of Colchester, joining the dual carriageway ring road briefly. Traffic in Colchester isn’t usually too bad and will seem a breeze to the London contingent.
We turn on the road to Layer and go through the posh bit of Colchester for a few miles before escaping into the lovely Essex countryside as we weave our way through the villages of Layer-de-la-Haye, Birch Green, Layer Marney, Layer Breton and eventually arrive at Tiptree. This section is on rolling hills, none are particularly steep but they can seem to go on a bit. Make the most of the downhills beforehand!
At Tiptree we can have a cake/food stop. The Jam Factory is great, although the food isn’t particularly cheap. It may be populated by old ladies out for day trips but I am sure there will be room for a bunch of cyclists. You can also buy some jam!
After we are refreshed we set off again on the way back to Colchester, this time going via Great Wigborough, Peldon and Abberton (basically going round Abberton Reservoir although you can’t really see it).
We get back to Colchester before cycling back to Manningtree through the village of Great Bromley again. If anyone has parked at my place they can give up at this point rather than going all the way back to Manningtree.
The final fun part is as we reach Manningtree we get to descend the wonderful Cox’s Hill, down which I regularly reach 40mph. Great fun!
Trains home will suffer the same fate as trains there (i.e. only as far as Ingatestone) but the town of Manningtree is just a mile from the station should anyone want to get some food before leaving the wilds of North Essex.
A couple of things to bear in mind.
The country lanes on our route have generally reasonable road surfaces but if the hedges have been trimmed recently you may find thorns to spoil your day! Can’t do much to avoid this (apart from have Kevlar tyres) but you might want to ensure you’ve got a spare inner tube and a repair kit! We will wait for anyone who needs us to. I have removed the two previously-advertised off-road sections so this is all on roads and most have pretty decent surfaces.
There aren’t any awful hills (I don’t like hills!) but there are a few that can be a bit tiring for people like me. As a trike rider I’m slower up hills than everyone else so don’t worry you’ll get left behind – I’ll probably be last on most of the hills.
Most of this route is covered in my thread that you can read here: http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=19270 This thread also has photos of the off-road section south of Colchester that I mentioned above.
It's a lovely route and will be at as leisurely a pace as we require. Hope you can come along!
.
We can discuss further on the 7th !
