Suggest a route - Southend to Harwich

[Domestique]

Me and 2_Flat_Erics will be heading over to Harwich on Saturday for the evening boat over to the Hoek. We already have the Dutch Flyer tickets so have a train ticket but are now having some thoughts of cycling the first leg to Harwich.
Any route suggestions most welcome.

[Wowbagger]

If you look at bikehike.co.uk - Course Creator you can see our route from Dunwich to Wivenhoe on Tuesday includes a bit from Harwich. There's a ferry that runs at weekends (I forgot this last bit when we went on Tues, expecting to catch it) so we caught a train home from Wivenhoe.

Auntie Helen had a good route through Harwich directly to the North Sea Ferry (different bit from the foot passenger ferry) if you find our German Tour thread of late May / early June.

bikehike.co.uk - Course Creator is a pleasant route from here to Rowhedge which you could shorten by using the Prittlewell Chase / Daws Heath route to Rayleigh and missing out the off-road bit near Langford.

Do check that the Wivenhoe ferry is running otherwise you will have to go into Colchester which is a bit irksome rather than really nasty. They don't run every weekend because they are tide dependent, it seems: if low water is slap bang in the middle of the day they don't seem to bother with the early morning / late evening bits either.

[delthebike]

I'm going to say ride to Prittlewell Station and take the train to Harwich  . You've paid for a train ticket why not use it?

[Regulator]

I'm going to say ride to Prittlewell Station and take the train to Harwich  . You've paid for a train ticket why not use it?

I'd go with this.  Having driven, ridden and got the train to the ferry at Harwich before, going by train was the easiest and most pleasant way of arriving.

[Wowbagger]

Actually, I'd back Del & Reg. I just gave you the route you might use if you really wanted an extra 60+ miles of cycling.

[Domestique]

Yea you are right.
Just looking at Bikehike now and the route through Colchester brought memories back from two months ago coming back from Saxmunden to Colchester.
Colchester on a loaded bike on a Saturday afternoon, your right, just give it a miss and let the train take the strain   
Will get off at Manningtree instead and ride from there 

[Regulator]

Yea you are right.
Just looking at Bikehike now and the route through Colchester brought memories back from two months ago coming back from Saxmunden to Colchester.
Colchester on a loaded bike on a Saturday afternoon, your right, just give it a miss and let the train take the strain   
Will get off at Manningtree instead and ride from there 

Manningtree to Harwich isn't too bad.

The worst part of the ferry terminal is the road in.  Be careful - it tend to be heavily used by HGVs and the driving standards are variable, to say the least...

[Domestique]

If I am thinking of the same bit of road, you can cut across the A120 from the Wrabness Road over the rab and onto Church Hill/Ramsey Road before turning left at Parkeston Road missing a big junk of that A120 that leads into the dock/ferry area.
Hopefully we will be there early enough to beat the rush  

Yea you are right.
Just looking at Bikehike now and the route through Colchester brought memories back from two months ago coming back from Saxmunden to Colchester.
Colchester on a loaded bike on a Saturday afternoon, your right, just give it a miss and let the train take the strain  
Will get off at Manningtree instead and ride from there  

Manningtree to Harwich isn't too bad.

The worst part of the ferry terminal is the road in.  Be careful - it tend to be heavily used by HGVs and the driving standards are variable, to say the least...

[Wowbagger]

bikehike.co.uk - Course Creator shows our route onto the ferry using Harwich back streets, as discovered by Auntie Helen.