Author Topic: Mid-Essex / Bit of Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)  (Read 28355 times)

Tomsk

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Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #50 on: 22 August, 2020, 07:38:17 pm »
Requests, please consider:

On Saturday:
Coffee in Saffron Walden at Bicicletta, right on the route in Hill Street. Not cheap, but lovely.
The Red Lion, and the Fox and Hounds in Steeple Bumpstead are both proper pubs.
The Lamarsh Lion would be good for a nightcap. Great views over the Stour Valley into Suffolk (Essex Borders!), good beer, friendly etc etc, as some of us know.

Oaky

  • ACME Fire Safety Officer
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Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #51 on: 23 August, 2020, 11:16:20 am »
I'd definitely be interested in the shorter version.

You are in a maze of twisty flat droves, all alike.

85.4 miles from Marsh Gibbon

Audax Club Mid-Essex Fire Safety Officer
http://acme.bike

Oaky

  • ACME Fire Safety Officer
  • Audax Club Mid-Essex
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Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #52 on: 23 August, 2020, 11:23:57 am »
Re: sleep on 600s.

I only recently got myself a bivvy bag, so haven't used one on a 600 before.  I'd take it with me in the unlikely event I ever do another though.

So far I've done: shared Travelodge (shower is very welcome); a couple of hours in all my layers on a bench under a tree (cold, uncomfortable); bus-shelter cat naps; and a ~30min snooze in the 24 hour McDonald's at ?Goole?

I capped that last one off by falling asleep on a bar stool in the arrivée (Angel and Harp), and waking up moments later on the floor, so with hindsight, probably not the soundest sleep strategy.

You are in a maze of twisty flat droves, all alike.

85.4 miles from Marsh Gibbon

Audax Club Mid-Essex Fire Safety Officer
http://acme.bike

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #53 on: 23 August, 2020, 03:30:50 pm »
Requests, please consider:

On Saturday:
Coffee in Saffron Walden at Bicicletta, right on the route in Hill Street. Not cheap, but lovely.
The Red Lion, and the Fox and Hounds in Steeple Bumpstead are both proper pubs.
The Lamarsh Lion would be good for a nightcap. Great views over the Stour Valley into Suffolk (Essex Borders!), good beer, friendly etc etc, as some of us know.

Excellent suggestions!!!

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #54 on: 24 August, 2020, 10:39:09 am »
Had I still lived in Henny Street (just down the road from the Lamarsh Lion), you’d have been welcome to have bivvied in my garden on the Essex bank of the Stour. However, I don’t live there any more, sadly. Looks like my putative participation in this extravaganza may not now be possible due (ex)work-related stuffs.


Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #55 on: 24 August, 2020, 11:02:34 am »
Had I still lived in Henny Street (just down the road from the Lamarsh Lion), you’d have been welcome to have bivvied in my garden on the Essex bank of the Stour. However, I don’t live there any more, sadly. Looks like my putative participation in this extravaganza may not now be possible due (ex)work-related stuffs.

Well that's a shame.  You could have had a glittering career in vagrancy but no matter, there will be other opportunities I'm sure!

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #56 on: 24 August, 2020, 11:14:34 am »
Re: sleep on 600s.

I only recently got myself a bivvy bag, so haven't used one on a 600 before.  I'd take it with me in the unlikely event I ever do another though.

So far I've done: shared Travelodge (shower is very welcome); a couple of hours in all my layers on a bench under a tree (cold, uncomfortable); bus-shelter cat naps; and a ~30min snooze in the 24 hour McDonald's at ?Goole?

I capped that last one off by falling asleep on a bar stool in the arrivée (Angel and Harp), and waking up moments later on the floor, so with hindsight, probably not the soundest sleep strategy.
Ha! Thanks for sharing this. I think I would probably do Travelodge, or something - at least for my 1st 600, maybe bivvy after that. Longest I've done to date was about 450 and managed that with no sleep but, looking back, probably wasn't the wisest decision I have ever made.
Cheers,Nick.

jiberjaber

  • ... Fancy Pants \o/ ...
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Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #57 on: 24 August, 2020, 12:09:13 pm »
Had I still lived in Henny Street (just down the road from the Lamarsh Lion), you’d have been welcome to have bivvied in my garden on the Essex bank of the Stour. However, I don’t live there any more, sadly. Looks like my putative participation in this extravaganza may not now be possible due (ex)work-related stuffs.

Well that's a shame.  You could have had a glittering career in vagrancy but no matter, there will be other opportunities I'm sure!

Perhaps we should tap up The Straggler for a kip in his garden? (Sudbury)
Regards,

Joergen

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #58 on: 24 August, 2020, 12:36:54 pm »
Had I still lived in Henny Street (just down the road from the Lamarsh Lion), you’d have been welcome to have bivvied in my garden on the Essex bank of the Stour. However, I don’t live there any more, sadly. Looks like my putative participation in this extravaganza may not now be possible due (ex)work-related stuffs.

Well that's a shame.  You could have had a glittering career in vagrancy but no matter, there will be other opportunities I'm sure!

Perhaps we should tap up The Straggler for a kip in his garden? (Sudbury)

But what if he really is The Strangler  :o 

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #59 on: 24 August, 2020, 01:06:56 pm »
Had I still lived in Henny Street (just down the road from the Lamarsh Lion), you’d have been welcome to have bivvied in my garden on the Essex bank of the Stour. However, I don’t live there any more, sadly. Looks like my putative participation in this extravaganza may not now be possible due (ex)work-related stuffs.

Well that's a shame.  You could have had a glittering career in vagrancy but no matter, there will be other opportunities I'm sure!

Perhaps we should tap up The Straggler for a kip in his garden? (Sudbury)

But what if he really is The Strangler  :o

A bit of digging with your trowel under the patio should provide the answer ...

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #60 on: 24 August, 2020, 01:53:27 pm »
I am now a non-attender for the September Suffolk Serial Killer Tour but I am still very much up for something of a few days' duration in October - camping, Travelodge or Spa Hotel are all fine.

The pleasure of pain endured
To purify our misfit ways

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #61 on: 24 August, 2020, 01:54:45 pm »
I am now a non-attender for the September Suffolk Serial Killer Tour but I am still very much up for something of a few days' duration in October - camping, Travelodge or Spa Hotel are all fine.

Well volunteered!  Let us know some dates and I'll see if I can attend.

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #62 on: 24 August, 2020, 03:26:05 pm »
Me old DJ mate Joergen has already (been) volunteered.  Expect alpacas, weird garden ornaments and top scran.
The pleasure of pain endured
To purify our misfit ways

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #63 on: 24 August, 2020, 03:59:37 pm »
Me old DJ mate Joergen has already (been) volunteered.  Expect alpacas, weird garden ornaments and top scran.

Excitement builds...

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #64 on: 24 August, 2020, 07:22:19 pm »
I did the part of the shorter route near Bishop's Stortford this evening to check on the paths and bivvy options.

The bridlepath that goes around Bailey Hills is somewhat agricultural. It was a bit bothersome with 55mm tyres, mainly due to tractor tyre tread marks, and no doubt the horses who have been ridden around there. But it's not too far, so you could suffer with more road-oriented tyres, and take care in the one or two places where paths cross.

Most of Baileys Hills is impenetrable. There is one place blocked by a locked gate in the corner of the field that looks promising. There's a triangular patch of long grass leading up to the gate that might be suitable, but there's much more space and enticement beyond the gate, leading up to a grassed clearing. The only thing I noticed as I rode further along is that there's a house which looks down across the field, which is on the far left of one of the photos. At nighttime they might see lights in what is otherwise a secluded spot.

The other option might be the edge of one of the grassed areas before Albury. Keep away from the farm, but there look like options around there. It is also close to The Catherine Wheel, which is a nice friendly establishment the western peleton have occasionally visited.

Do bear in mind that I have bivvyed exactly 3 nights, so my experience finding suitable locations is not unbounded.

Photos of the paths and the bivvy options are on Strava.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #65 on: 25 August, 2020, 11:04:28 am »
I did the part of the shorter route near Bishop's Stortford this evening to check on the paths and bivvy options.

The bridlepath that goes around Bailey Hills is somewhat agricultural. It was a bit bothersome with 55mm tyres, mainly due to tractor tyre tread marks, and no doubt the horses who have been ridden around there. But it's not too far, so you could suffer with more road-oriented tyres, and take care in the one or two places where paths cross.

Most of Baileys Hills is impenetrable. There is one place blocked by a locked gate in the corner of the field that looks promising. There's a triangular patch of long grass leading up to the gate that might be suitable, but there's much more space and enticement beyond the gate, leading up to a grassed clearing. The only thing I noticed as I rode further along is that there's a house which looks down across the field, which is on the far left of one of the photos. At nighttime they might see lights in what is otherwise a secluded spot.

The other option might be the edge of one of the grassed areas before Albury. Keep away from the farm, but there look like options around there. It is also close to The Catherine Wheel, which is a nice friendly establishment the western peleton have occasionally visited.

Do bear in mind that I have bivvyed exactly 3 nights, so my experience finding suitable locations is not unbounded.

Photos of the paths and the bivvy options are on Strava.

Thanks for the recce psyclist, good info and stuff to bear in mind. 

I'm not a experienced bivvyist either but what I have found is that in areas you don't know intimately, which for me is most areas, you just wing it.  All my bivvy nights have involved finding a spot after dark when its unlikely anyone will be about and its easy to spot houses which overlook you, and then being prepared to clear off early in the morning leaving no trace obviously.  You have to bear in wind that wild camping is technically illegal in England so make sure you're not seen and can bugger off sharpish if someone doesn't like what you're doing.

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #66 on: 02 September, 2020, 12:55:14 pm »
I'm now tentative. When we visited Tippers Towers the other week there must have been something in the swimming pool as managed to catch gout. Been hobbling about since Friday. Hopefully will be fully recovered for next weekend but we'll see. Have to say its not pleasant.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #67 on: 02 September, 2020, 01:31:40 pm »
I'm now tentative. When we visited Tippers Towers the other week there must have been something in the swimming pool as managed to catch gout. Been hobbling about since Friday. Hopefully will be fully recovered for next weekend but we'll see. Have to say its not pleasant.

Oh dear!  If gout was contagious I'd be feeling left out as I haven't contracted it.  However, me being a medical practitioner of global repute I can confirm that sleeping in a ditch for a couple of nights is guaranteed to not only cure your current gout episode but ensure you never suffer from gout again.   No need to thank me  :-*

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #68 on: 02 September, 2020, 02:49:10 pm »
I'm now tentative. When we visited Tippers Towers the other week there must have been something in the swimming pool as managed to catch gout. Been hobbling about since Friday. Hopefully will be fully recovered for next weekend but we'll see. Have to say its not pleasant.

Oh dear!  If gout was contagious I'd be feeling left out as I haven't contracted it.  However, me being a medical practitioner of global repute I can confirm that sleeping in a ditch for a couple of nights is guaranteed to not only cure your current gout episode but ensure you never suffer from gout again.   No need to thank me  :-*


If I can get my shoe back on by then without screaming I'll be happy to take your medical advice. I'm sure sleeping in a ditch would cure all sorts including Covid and 5G.

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #69 on: 02 September, 2020, 03:22:58 pm »
I'm now tentative. When we visited Tippers Towers the other week there must have been something in the swimming pool as managed to catch gout. Been hobbling about since Friday. Hopefully will be fully recovered for next weekend but we'll see. Have to say its not pleasant.

Oh dear!  If gout was contagious I'd be feeling left out as I haven't contracted it.  However, me being a medical practitioner of global repute I can confirm that sleeping in a ditch for a couple of nights is guaranteed to not only cure your current gout episode but ensure you never suffer from gout again.   No need to thank me  :-*


If I can get my shoe back on by then without screaming I'll be happy to take your medical advice. I'm sure sleeping in a ditch would cure all sorts including Covid and 5G.

I prescribe SPD sandals, they have very adjustable straps!

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #70 on: 03 September, 2020, 09:24:01 pm »
Is either route suitable for panniers on a gravel bike? I know it's probably not the done thing but I'm not used to vagrancy and need space to carry "essentials" - like a tent.

Not used to wild camping either but further away from London would instinctively seem easier?

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #71 on: 03 September, 2020, 09:32:08 pm »
Is either route suitable for panniers on a gravel bike? I know it's probably not the done thing but I'm not used to vagrancy and need space to carry "essentials" - like a tent.

Not used to wild camping either but further away from London would instinctively seem easier?

I don’t know, I haven’t actually ridden any of the route but I’d say you’ll be ok. Fred will have front panniers and I’m not anticipating any problems. 

No bother about the tent.

Tomsk

  • Fueled by cake since 1957
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Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #72 on: 05 September, 2020, 06:55:15 pm »
How much food needs to be carried OD - are we planning to  eat out to help out en-route?

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #73 on: 05 September, 2020, 06:59:44 pm »
How much food needs to be carried OD - are we planning to  eat out to help out en-route?

Yes!

Re: Mid-Essex / Suffolk 2 night bivvy extravaganza (11th to 13th September)
« Reply #74 on: 05 September, 2020, 07:44:30 pm »
Are we doing the short route? Starting in Witham on Friday may be struggle depending on start time, but short route heads in my direction, so better for me.