Day 36 – Ipswich to Southend-on-Sea

After a few weeks break from our coastal road trip, we are now continuing our journey, this time over four days from Ipswich in Suffolk to Worthing in West Sussex. Hence the sunny weather in the Ipswich picture (September), then a bit gloomy as we continued into Essex (October).

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Helter Skelter, Helter-skelter, empty, closed — A helter-skelter on Clacton-on-Sea’s pier.

Ipswich

Coastal Road Trip, Ipswich Waterfront, Marina, Roadmap, Julian, Jarno — Our last photo as we finished the first 5 weeks of our Coastal Road Trip at Ipswich Waterfront. Feeling quite pleased with ourselves!

Mistley

Coastal Road Trip, Mistley Towers, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, English Heritage, Essex — Working our way down the south side of the River Stour we made the first stop of the day at Mistley Towers in Essex, the remains of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin.

Harwich

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Ha'penny Pier — The wooden Ha’penny Pier at Harwich, named after the original toll charge for the Victorian pier. The Port of Felixtowe in the gloomy background.

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Lightvessel LV18, Ha'penny Pier — The Lightvessel LV18 moored off the Ha’penny Pier, the last surviving example of a manned Trinty House light vessel, now a museum.

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Harwich High Lighthouse, Old Harwich — Harwich High Lighthouse that was used in combination with the Low Lighthouse as a leading light for Harwich Harbour.

Coastal Road Trip, Harwich, Harwich Maritime Museum, Low Light House Harwich — And the Low Lighthouse on the promenade, now the local Maritime Museum.

Coastal Road Trip, Dovercourt Lighthouses, Low Light House, High Lighthouse — Then just a few minutes further along the coast we reached the two matching iron towered Dovercourt Low and High Lighthouses.

Walton on the Naze

Coastal Road Trip, Walton on the Naze, The Naze, Naze Tower — The navigational Naze Tower north of Walton on the Naze. With a beacon at the top, it was used as an early form of lighthouse to guide ships through the Goldmer Gap.

Coastal Road Trip, Walton on the Naze, Beach, Pier — Walton on the Naze Beach… and the sun trying to make an appearance. Yay!

Coastal Road Trip, Walton on the Naze, Beach, Pier, Beach Huts — Walton on the Naze Pier. To be honest we had seen better looking piers, though the brightly painted beach huts attempted to brighten-up the area.

Frinton On Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Frinton On Sea, Esplanade, Frinton Beach, Clock, The Clock Tower Shelter — A rather elaborate looking clock tower shelter on the Frinton Beach Esplanade.

Holland-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Holland-on-Sea, Holland Haven, Beach Huts — More beach huts adding some colour to Holland Haven near Holland-on-Sea.

Clacton-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Entrance, Jarno — Stopping for some lunch at Clacton Pier.

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Helter Skelter, Helter-skelter, empty, closed — The helter-skelter looking a bit spooky on the deserted pier.

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Helter Skelter, Helter-skelter, Julian, Jarno — Just proving we were there 😉

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Steps — Some rather scary looking steps down to the sea from the pier.

Coastal Road Trip, Clacton-on-Sea, Clacton Pier, Noticeboard, quiet, empty — Clearly we were out of season with the empty entertainment noticeboards.

Brightlingsea

Coastal Road Trip, Brightlingsea, Beach Huts — If it’s not lighthouses it’s beach huts today!

West Mersea

Coastal Road Trip, West Mersea, Marine, RNLI, Lifeboat, Launch, Upside down boat — A rather unloved looking boat at West Mersea….

Coastal Road Trip, West Mersea, Marine, House boat, Pandora, Coast Road — … and the houseboats looking like they are in the middle of a field.

Tollesbury

Coastal Road Trip, Tollesbury, Trinity Lightship — Another Trinity Lightship, also with the illusion of being moored in a field.

Heybridge

Coastal Road Trip, Heybridge, Heybridge Basin, Lock — The picturesque lock at Heybridge Basin, joining the Blackwater estuary and the canal to Chelmsford.

Maldon

Coastal Road Trip, Maldon, Hythe Quay, Boats — Old Thames barges moored at Maldon’s Hythe Quay.

Coastal Road Trip, Maldon, Hythe Quay, Boats — The barges had been beautifully restored, several are still in use as charters.

Bradwell-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Bradwell-on-Sea, St Peter's Chapel, Signpost, Coming Soon, Saltmarsh Coast — As walked down a long farm track to the remote St Peter’s Chapel we came across this funny sign. Something was ‘coming soon’, not sure what…

Coastal Road Trip, Bradwell-on-Sea, St Peter's Chapel, Saltmarsh Coast, Julian, Jarno — St Peter’s Chapel on the headland near Sales Point, one of the oldest Chistian churches in England, dating from the 7th century. Around a thousand years later, in the 17th century it was in use as a barn. You can still see where the barn doors were placed on the side.

Coastal Road Trip, Bradwell-on-Sea, St Peter's Chapel, Interior, Nave, Altar, Saltmarsh Coast, — We were surprised that the church door was open, so we had a quick look inside. Pretty good condition for 1,400 years old!

Burnham-on-Crouch

Coastal Road Trip, Burnham-on-Crouch, Burnham Yacht Harbour, Boat, Night — The Yacht Harbour at Burnham-on-Crouch, our final stop of the day before heading to Southend-on-Sea for the night.

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