New Roads, New Rivers

With our tandem finally liberated from the snow and ice, and being away from home, my husband Paul and I decided yesterday to take advantage of one of the many benefits of being CTC members by riding with new friends on new roads.  Ride, that is, with friendly complete strangers, on completely strange roads that we knew they would show to us. 

We had a cold and wet start, but the weathermen had assured us that the rain would pass and so with enthusiasm borne of cabin fever we packed waterproofs and set off.  Against a strong headwind we battled our way to Chelmsford, using mainly main roads because we knew no better.  At the bus station there we met up with four other riders, and guided by our leader, Martin, we set off with the wind behind us. 

We didn’t know what to expect.  Essex is decidedly flatter than Shropshire and there’s a lot more traffic, but good company makes up for a great deal and CTC riders always find the best routes (and the best tea stops, obviously).  Our new companions were lovely people and like us, they were riding with sluggish legs due to a lack of winter riding.  So we were well strung out, particularly on the several undulations which the route threw at us. 

Outside the cafe at Heybridge Basin

We stopped for tea at Heybridge Basin.  Though only about two miles as the crow flies from our temporary home, the river and canal crossings make it a very long walk away and so we hadn’t previously been there.  It’s a place to go again though - the cafe overlooked the sea lock where the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation Canal enters the Blackwater Estuary, and it overlooked Northey Island, with its fabulous birdlife, too.  With yachts bobbing against the breakwater in the high tide, it was a fabulous place to see. 

Moving on, we climbed through Maldon, a proper hill climb by anyone’s standards, and a busy road too.  Riding out of Maldon we passed the turning for our temporary home but we held our resolve to continue to the lunch stop, which was at a pub at East Hanningfield. 

The lanes we took were bordered by gullies and often also by narrow wooded strips. Every gully was flooded - in this low lying arable farming land there is much ancient wisdom about drainage, and evidence of it is everywhere.  We saw hardly any flooded fields, the water management seems to be effective enough to avoid the worst.

Two other riders from places other than Chelmsford had joined us at Heybridge.  One of these, a man called Dave, rode with us and guided us back to our temporary home, on his way to his own home.  He was a remarkable man - only five months ago he was in hospital for several weeks recovering from multiple fractures of hip and pelvis, caused by a collision with a car.  I believe this was his first ride since the accident.  I was astonished by the lack of evidence of his injuries.  

We were home by four pm, having had a fabulous day.  In the garden of our temporary home by the river, it was obvious that the high tide had brought the river higher than we had ever seen it, and almost into the garden.  So I went out with my camera at high tide today to take the shots which follow.  I’m not sure I shall ever see such a dramatic river system as this ever again. 

This is the same tree which is in the snowy picture in my previous blog entry. But how different the river looks!

Taken from the far side of the river, the path here is underwater, and the two distant trees stand on a small island which is completely covered.

This is the main weir at high tide and in flood - The point from where I took my "low tide shot" in the previous blog is underwater. 










This is the weir from the other side - I was frightened to cross the bridge, so thunderous was the water!  In the background you can see the overflowing canal lock.

No wonder they shut the canal to pleasure boaters in winter!