Lower Connecticut River and Gillette Castle

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Essex

   Essex is the kind of Connecticut river town that makes visitors suspect it has been arranged for their benefit. It sits on the west bank of the Connecticut River, a few kilometres from Long Island Sound, and its main street runs down to a waterfront crowded with sailboats, cruisers and old brick warehouses. It was a shipbuilding village from the seventeen hundreds, and the Oliver Cromwell, a frigate of the Continental Navy, was launched here in 1776. The Griswold Inn, which opened the same year, still serves meals in a tavern full of ship paintings and old guns, and it is possibly the oldest continuously operating inn in the country.

   Read the complete Essex write-up.

2. 2. Chester

   Chester is one of those Connecticut River towns that seems too small to have so much going for it. It sits on the west bank of the lower river, in the hills of Middlesex County, a few miles up from the Sound, and has a tidy village centre with a handful of good restaurants, a couple of galleries and a tiny theatre. It is a fraction of the size of East Haddam across the water, and quieter, which is why riders like it.

   Read the complete Chester write-up.

3. 3. East Haddam

   East Haddam is the town on the Connecticut River that most people know from the postcard: a long white bridge, a hillside of old houses, and a gothic opera house standing right at the water. The Goodspeed Opera House, built in 1876 by a local shipping and banking magnate, is a Victorian jewel, and it has become known as a home for musical theatre. Its tall wooden frontage faces the river like a stage set, and from the swing bridge, you get the best view. The bridge itself is an old steel swing span, and it still swings open for taller boats when needed, so you might sit in a short queue.

   Read the complete East Haddam write-up.

4. 4. Back to Essex

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Essex write-up.