2011-08-27 - Deepest, darkest Essex - part 1 - Bradwell-on-Sea & the Dengie Peninsula

Essex? It's all flat and boring, furry dice, anti-social behaviour and slogging out to Epping with traffic roaring past you to get to the lanes, the Range Rover murders, boy racers, Ford 'Crappis' and self-made Cockneys done good, The Only Way is...

...isn't it?

Nope. Essex can also be remote, beautiful, eerie and surprisingly friendly. It's a county with lots of sparsely populated, unspoilt countryside, wild and remote coast and lovely lanes. But it has a dark side. Private companies finding new ways to kill people, dying nuclear power stations, smugglers... it's all there.

For the first ride we will head out of London on Saturday 27th August via Chigwell and Kelvedon Hatch, before pretty much drawing a line East across the county. Staying north of Brentwood but south of Chelmsford, we'll head across unspoilt countryside to due south of Maldon before entering the Dengie Peninsula and stopping on the way to Bradwell-on-Sea to have a nosey at the decomissioned Magnox nuclear power station:

We'll then head back into the village of Bradwell-on-Sea, also known as Bradwell-juxta-Mare, before heading down the old Roman road to the chapel of St Peter-on-the-wall, right at the end of the Dengie peninsula - the oldest church in England:

After we've signed the guestbook, we'll check out the cockle spit right next to the church:

It's then a pootle down the road to Southminster to get the train home, changing at Wickford for the train to Liverpool street. If a group of 4 get a groupsave it should be £6.40, but as last time I found it totally impossible to buy a ticket until Wickford it may be cheaper :)

Route [ame=http://ridewithgps.com/routes/539406]here[/ame
]here[/ame], meet at Look Mum No Hands 9am for a prompt 9.30 departure.

74 miles pretty much on the money, totally doable fixed (it's really not hilly).

Who's in?

1. Fox
   
2. Spybot
   
3. Cupcakes