May WARTY - Essex Is (Mostly) Flat - Saturday 8 May (from Manningtree)

[Auntie Helen]

As promised, another Auntie Helen ride from Manningtree - entitled 'Essex is (Mostly) Flat'.

I've recced most this route with Wowbagger a few months ago and it had its charms.

Plan is to start from Manningtree Railway Station at 10am. Manningtree is on the line to Norwich/Ipswich from London Liverpool Street. It has a rather fine café which does a Half Breakfast, just the thing to set you up for a nice ride around Essex.

The Route can be found here: Route Revision 3 May

The first section, once you've got up the hill from Manningtree, is pretty darned flat. It's a nice route taking the NCN51 route towards Harwich for some of the way, before leaving to head to Beaumont and then turning back on ourselves a little to reach Weeley.

Cake stop at 15 miles is at the Homestead Cabin Café which is part of a Caravan & Outdoor Leisure site so you can eat your cake and drink your tea whilst watching people looking at caravans. Watch out for random motorists who are in practice for scary caravan driving.

You can print off a 10% discount voucher here to get a reduced price on your cakes (which were pretty good value anyway) here: Homestead Cabin Cafe and bring it with you. Toasted Teacake and a cup of tea was £1.80, Victoria Sandwich cake was £1.45. There are loos in the caravan bits shop which is in the next building; it's a challenge to find the loos as they are disguised amongst a load of tents but both Wowbagger and I know how to locate 'em.

The next section is even flatter than the first as we pootle our way from Weeley to Great Bentley, Frating, Great Bromley (passing my house even!), Ardleigh and then Langham. The distance is 16.34 miles and it's mostly very quiet roads.

Lunch is at the Shepherd & Dog, Langham, which has a wide selection of food. Lasagne with chips and salad was £8.95, they also do jacket potatoes and baguettes and stuff. The food is pretty good. Shepherd & Dog, Langham

At this point, if anyone is particularly tired they can return directly to Manningtree, which is reasonably easy to find from this point (about 6 miles). Alternatively you can cycle straight down the hill from the Shepherd & Dog to Colchester railway station (about 4 miles).

The third section of the route is less flat so has some rather attractive views across the Dedham Vale (Stour valley). Distance for this section is 17 miles and the total climb is 533 feet (previous sections have been 300 feet of climb in total each) so it's still not bad at all but that does include a couple of pretty sharp hills, one right at the end. All eminently manageable but a little harder work than what's gone before.

However your effort brings rewards as we cycle through Langham, Great Horkesley and swing round to the North East looking over the beautiful Stour valley across to Nayland and Stratford St Mary. It was beautiful today, we saw lots of wildlife including Kestrels and a Muntjac deer.

We cycle through the beautiful village of Dedham (where John Constable did lots of his painting) and then take a quiet side road to the east of Dedham where we climb a short-ish hill, go down again under the railway and then up again the other side, before making our way towards Manningtree for the train home.

It may be a flat ride but it still has lots of charms and the roads are mostly very quiet. Road surfaces are generally good although there are some potholey sections. I am sure you will all enjoy it very much!

This is a joint CycleChat/YACF ride and should be most pleasant. Ideal for recumbents due to sparsity of hills.


Current list of possibles/confirmed is:

Auntie Helen
Gary from Colchester
Andy from Great Bromley
Gundi from Colchester
Uncle James
Redjedi
Ianrauk
Crock of Gold
Notsototalnewbie
Notsototalnewbie's chum
TimO
Andrij
Orienteer
Tomsk
Redflightuk
Nutkin
Woofage
CrinklyLion
WobblyJohn
Mow
Wowbagger
Mrs Wow
Jane/Saoirse50
Marco Stefano
Cycleman
Dasmoth
Emily
mrs_o
rb58
Ben Lovejoy
Speshact

[chillyone]

i know this thread is dead, but just had to say Cox's Hill brings back memories.  I used to live in Sudbury, and my daughter lived in Lawford and i would often ride over to visit her.  Going home I had to go down Cox's Hill, and it was my ambition to hit 60mph on the descent.  I never made it to 60 though as I would chicken out and brake, probably before I really needed to, for the bend leading to the roundabout at the bottom.

[CrinklyLion]

I'm slightly worried by the fact that I went and looked up how long a train would take, and what it would cost, to get to Manningtree.  The answer is, sadly, too long and too much - I'd have to catch the 6am train and it's cost the best part of 60 quid even with advance reservations... but I was tempted

[TimO]

i know this thread is dead ...

Hang on, how is it dead?  According to the post dates, Helen only started it yesterday.

Anyway, assuming this doesn't clash with a FNRttC (I'll need to check), I'll join you, I haven't done enough WARTYs this year.

Sorry to hear it's a bit expensive for you CrinklyLion.  For the Londonistas, it's not too bad with the full "Super Off Peak Day Return" being just over £20.  If enough people turn up, we can use luverly group savingness to halve the cost.

You need to convince another three locals to come with you, and it'll only cost you £30ish.  (actually I'm not sure whether you can apply GroupSave to advance ticket purchases...)

[Notsototalnewbie]

Tempting, although train prices do seem to be climbing at an alarming rate these days, even with a railcard (worse for CL - such a shame you can't come).  Groupsaves can only be done on the day I think, but we usually manage to gather a foursome, esp as the bloke would probably come too. So how much would it be for a non-advance ticket, I wonder...

Is it all on tarmac?

[TimO]

On the London to Manningtree route, there are no cheap advanced tickets.

[Notsototalnewbie]

So the price you quoted is what we'd pay on the day? Meaning we'd get a third off if I used my railcard, or half price if we got a groupsave together...

[TimO]

Yep, I think it's around £10 each using a groupsave.

[Notsototalnewbie]

That's sounding much more like it!

[Jurek]

I'm most likely up for this - as is Pippa.

The 07:30 Norwich bound (avec big guard's van) train, which gets in at 08:31 beckons, as it leaves time-a-plenty for brekky with hash browns at the Station Buffet which came 5th in a nationwide poll of railway eateries, last year.

Any takers?

Helen - does this route actually ever go outside of your back garden?  

[Notsototalnewbie]

It's likely there will be two of us there, if I can sell the breakfast enough to make the ouchy 7.30am start viable! I'll see what I can do...

[TimO]

Cool, with Jurek, Pippa, NSTN, Rob and me, we are good for GroupSaveLuverlyness.

Of course we'll probably spend all the money we saved on the fare on our breakfasts ...

[Andrij]

There might be one or two more coming from London.  Watch this space...
 

[chillyone]

i know this thread is dead ...

Hang on, how is it dead?  According to the post dates, Helen only started it yesterday.

Doh!!!!!

I had a senior moment and got my March and May mixed up.

See what cycling does for you when you get older  

Apologies offerd!

[Auntie Helen]

NSTN, route is entirely tarmac surfaced and generally in reasonable nick too. Just got back from cycling to Ipswich and back and Suffolk County Council seem to surface dress all their roads to make them super-bumpy; fortunately Essex CC don't go in for that. I'm riding the route next week with a chum but I've done all of it before and it's not at all slippy.

Jurek, we avoid my back garden on this ride, if not my 'back yard'. We also go within a half mile of the fantastically-named 'Gnome Magic' which I have never visited but I fear will have to go on my list of things to do in due course.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

When I lived at Thorpe le Soken I loved cycling around Tendring.  I never thought it was flat.

(..although this chap from Derby I cycled with always went up the hills as if they weren't there.  I realised why when I moved to Manchester and started cycling in the Peak district.)

[orienteer]

Up for this! Probably join the group going by train from Liverpool St, as the Met line is at least running to Baker St.

[Tomsk]

Auntie Helen: Unbelievably, I'm not doing a silly A*d&x on the 8th May, but due to cancellation of SOMETHING WORK-RELATED, I should be able to ride a WARTY at last!

[Auntie Helen]

Glad you're all thinking of coming!

Current list of possibles/confirmed is:

Auntie Helen
Gary from Colchester
Redjedi
Ianrauk
Uncle James
ChrisKH
Crock of Gold
4F (FatFellaFromFelixstowe)
Stevevw
Notsototalnewbie
TimO
Jurek
Pippa
Andrij
Orienteer
Tomsk

[nutkin]

And me!


(I like the sound of a lack-of-hills ride!  )

[Oaky]

mrs_o might well be up for this - she's very excited by the mention of the word "flat".

[Auntie Helen]

Glad you are coming, Nutkin!

Oaky, it's not as flat as originally planned... in fact I'm wondering about retitling it "the mostly flat bits of Essex". The end of the ride is the same as the ride she did with me before, which did have a few hills - although the overall amount of climbing is much less than that Bures ride. I am sure Mrs_O would be fine.

[CrinklyLion]

I commented to dearly_beloved that it was a shame that a 3+ hour expensive train journey would be involved, as this sounded like fun.  He said, 'So why not go then?'

I'm now trying to work out if this is a really silly idea.....

[Auntie Helen]

Course not, it's a great idea! Is it any easier to come by car?

[CrinklyLion]

I don't drive!  I'm also trying to work out if coming from Hertford or somwehere in London (near whips X hospital-ish or Leytonstone - although that might mean cycling Londinium which is Very_Scary for us country bumpkins) might sort of work, as I could get a train down to one of those and stay with some friends.  But Hertford looks to be no better in terms of trains in your direction and London is scary!