Ferry - Harwich to Hoek van Holland

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mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
News for cyclists using Harwich:

1. One of the boats in 2019 was playing something other than Don't Worry Be Happy as the wake-up call but I can't remember what it was.
2. If you don't mind losing an hour or so potential riding time, the cafe next to the tourist info in the market square of Hook of Holland does a good breakfast deal and opens soon after you'll have got through the port controls.
3. If you're taking the trains in the Netherlands, the ferry arrives at 8am, but you cannot take bikes on the metro to Schiedam before 9am, whereas The Hague's stations are only 12 miles away by a direct route and have trains to more destinations.
4. If you're cycling between Harwich and Ipswich or Bury St Eds, there's a new cycleway recently opened between Brantham/Cattawade and Manningtree station, which improves Manningtree's connection to Suffolk Cycle Route B (and thence to the signed routes network). I've not tried it yet.
5. Although it's a footpath, it looks like the gates/stiles have gone from the mostly-soft-surfaced Essex Way / Ray Lane between Refinery Road Parkeston and B1352 Wrabness Road so it may be cycleable again, cutting a mile off and avoiding the choice between busier roads or the obnoxiously substandard National Route 51 link (exemplified by the unmarked high kerb across it right by the port exit). I've not tried it yet.
 
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fireflyer

New Member
Re: 5 - cyclability of Ray Lane - curious if anyone's tried this recently on a road bike. Currently sitting on a ferry planning our route to Manningtree from Harwich. Wanted to get train from Harwich to London directly but turns out all the cycle spots are reserved. (When I bought the return tickets from Liverpool St it didn't mention needing a reservation for either direction so quite annoyed by this!). Think we'll not risk it and take road route since Komoot refuses to plan us along Ray Lane to start with, although it does look passable based on Strava heatmaps. With two full panniers I don't fancy dealing with even a single stile! Also wondering how long it's going to take us to disembark at Harwich past advertised arrival time (7.45pm).. our train from Manningtree with cycle reservations is at 9.51pm, hopefully we'll make and not get to bed tooo late tonight!
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Wanted to get train from Harwich to London directly but turns out all the cycle spots are reserved. (When I bought the return tickets from Liverpool St it didn't mention needing a reservation for either direction so quite annoyed by this!).
Sorry this is too late for you but who told you it needed reservations? As far as I can tell, that's still a Greater Anglia commuter-style service which has peak-time bike restrictions (which is a pain for cyclists on the overnight ferries arriving on weekdays) but no reservations even possible.

[...] wondering how long it's going to take us to disembark at Harwich past advertised arrival time (7.45pm).. our train from Manningtree with cycle reservations is at 9.51pm, hopefully we'll make and not get to bed tooo late tonight!
It's usually fairly swift, but it depends how long you are made to wait for motor vehicles to get out of the way. The B1352 to Manningtree is 12 mile port to station, so I hope you made it! (The gentler route via Great Oakley, Wix and Mistley Heath is 14.)
 
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