Day: 185 22/3/98 Great Wigborough to Mersea Island

Weather:  Mild,dry and sunny in morning.

Distance:  24km ( 14.9 miles)    Total Distance:   2397miles

I had a cooked breakfast at the Chequers pub, paid my £20 B&B, said goodbye to the Zimbabwean family and left.  

The logistics were a bit complicated today.  I drove to the start of Mersea Island and found a place to park. It seemed somewhat strange that the lay-by I parked in had no parking on Saturdays and Sundays from April 1^st to Oct 1^st. Fortunately it was still March so I was OK.  

I then cycled back to Great Wigborough and chained my bike to a fence outside a bus shelter and started walking.  It took about 45 mins to get back to the car, walking along the road through very nice villages indeed.  The only bad bit was the main road over to the island which was busy by the time I got there and I was glad I did my cycle in the quite of early Sunday morning.

I called into the car to get my new prescription sunglasses, the first new pair I have had for many years. Getting off the road onto the familiar sea wall was a relief.  It was quiet then until I reached West Mersea where I sat outside a shop and had a polystyrene mug of tea and a Kit-Kat watching the owners load up a beat up Ford Fiesta with prepared food and go off to serve to probably some unsuspecting  wedding reception.

I was soon walking on the beach – sand at last! This gave way to numerous caravan parks in varying states of repair.  Another hour and I was at the north end of the island, part of a country park and quite crowded with visitors.  I could see Brightlingsea over the water, at least another days walk away. I passed a group made up of adults and children out for a walk on the sea defences. I thought they were trying to walk all around the island but I realised that this would have been too ambitious for such young children. 

The last part of the walk, along Reeveshall Marshes and Maydays Marsh back to the car, I found difficult even though the weather and path were good. My feet were beginning to hurt a lot.  I did not walk the very last part of the footpath because it appeared to have been impassable. My premonition proved correct because when I got back to the car there was a sign saying that the path in the opposite direction was closed.  Instead I kept a little inland on a proper sea wall.  All that remained was for me to return to collect my bike and drive home,  my first time back along the A14 and not too busy it was either. A nice change from the M25.