After wheeling our bikes to the end of the jetty I phoned the ferry man only to get the bad news that his sister had been taken very ill and he could not take us today.
With no other options for crossing we headed west for the first bridge and reconciled that Southend would have to be missed.
The roads and many of the drivers were appalling. I began my love of cycling in Essex, commuting to and from work. I remember the sudden silence as I left the busy town for the quiet rural lanes. The lanes are still there but they are now full of cars. Mid week, mid day, it seems to be no let-up in the congestion.
Sustrans will have an uphill struggle trying to route this county and it is rather ironic that we peddled our day in the shadow of the Olympic mountain bike course at Hadleigh Park. Surely a greater legacy for the games would be to provide safe cycling between towns and villages so people can build exercise into their everyday lives.
Essex comes bottom of my league of good places to cycle. We positioned ourselves on the south side of Stanford le Hope at Walton Hall Farm who, as well as being a museum, playbarn and camping site, have some brand new B&B rooms, we opted for a room.
Figures:
Distance:- 54.5 km
Cycle Time:- 3 hours 33 minutes
Average speed:- 15.3 kph
Total Distance:- 4929 km
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