Essex Saltmarsh and Suffolk Villages

A 521 km loop

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Why this ride

Built for flow, views and useful stops rather than navigation busywork. Out of Amersham and back again: 521 km, roughly 9 h 39 in the saddle. The stops in between: near Midhurst, Pevensey and Scenic stretch in South Benfleet. The climb of the day is near Henley-on-Thames.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Amersham fuel

   Amersham is two towns in one. Up on the hill is the modern town, built around the station at the end of the Metropolitan line in the early twentieth century, the heart of what was marketed as Metro-land. Down in the valley of the Misbourne is Old Amersham, a beautiful street of coaching inns, timber-framed houses and Georgian façades, with a seventeenth-century market hall on its arches. The contrast is striking.

   The town has a darker history, too. In the sixteenth century, several local people were burned at the stake for their Lollard beliefs, and a memorial on the hillside above the old town remembers them. Today, the town is prosperous and peaceful, surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.

   As a start and fuel stop, Amersham is practical. There are service stations on the main roads and plenty of cafés and shops in both parts of the town. From here, the roads lead into the Chilterns, with narrow lanes winding through beech woods, past flint cottages and over steep hills. The A413 and A404 are the main routes, but the minor roads are more interesting, if slower.

   Traffic can be heavy around Amersham, especially at rush hour, and the lanes are narrow, with blind bends and steep gradients. Watch for cyclists, horses and walkers. The beech woods are beautiful in spring, when bluebells carpet the ground, and in autumn, when the leaves turn gold.

2. High point near Henley-on-Thames pass

   Every summer since 1839, rowers have raced up a straight stretch of the Thames at Henley, and the Royal Regatta has become one of the fixtures of the English social season, with blazers, boaters, Pimm's and picnics on the riverbank. The rest of the year, Henley is a handsome market town on the river, with a fine bridge, old inns and the River and Rowing Museum, which tells the story of the Thames and the sport.

   The high ground around Henley is the southern end of the Chiltern Hills. West of town, the land rises steeply through beech woods towards Nettlebed and the Oxfordshire plateau, and to the east, Remenham Hill climbs out of the valley on the road towards Maidenhead. From the tops, you look down over the Thames valley, with the river winding between meadows and wooded slopes.

   For riders, the roads around Henley are among the best in the Home Counties. The A4130 climbs west through Fair Mile, a broad avenue of trees, and on towards Nettlebed and Wallingford, with flowing bends and good views. The minor roads through the Chiltern villages, like Hambleden, Turville and Fingest, are narrow and twisting, with steep hills and beautiful scenery. Turville, with its windmill on the hill above, appeared in many films and television series.

   Traffic can be heavy, especially during the Regatta, and the lanes are narrow, with blind bends. Fuel and food are available in Henley. As a high point, the Chiltern escarpment offers sweeping views over the Thames valley.

3. Food stop near Midhurst food

   Midhurst is one of the nicest market towns in the South Downs, and it sits on one of England's most loved biking roads. The A272 runs east and west across Sussex and Hampshire, through villages and woods and over little hills, and it has a cult following among riders who prefer charm to speed. Midhurst is a natural pause along it, with old coaching inns, timber-framed houses and a broad main street.

   Just outside the town lie the ruins of Cowdray House, a great Tudor mansion visited by Henry VIII and Elizabeth, which burned down in 1793 and was never rebuilt. The roofless walls by the River Rother are hauntingly beautiful, and the surrounding parkland is famous for polo, with matches on summer weekends drawing a smart crowd. The writer H. G. Wells spent part of his youth in Midhurst, studying and teaching at the grammar school, and he wrote fondly of the town.

   The landscape is classic southern England: the chalk ridge of the South Downs to the south, with long views from the top, and the wooded sandstone hills of the Weald to the north. Roads cross the Downs at points like Cocking and Duncton, with steep climbs and sharp bends. They are narrow, often lined with high hedges, and can be busy with cyclists, horses and tractors. Rain makes the chalk roads slippery, and mud from farm vehicles is common.

   Midhurst has fuel, shops, pubs and cafés, as well as several good bakeries. A pub lunch in one of the old inns is a classic experience. Petworth, a few miles east on the A272, has a huge country house with a famous art collection and is equally worth a stop.

4. Pevensey, on the way back swim

   In September 1066 William of Normandy brought his army ashore here, onto a shingle shore that has since moved, and camped inside walls that were already seven centuries old. Pevensey Castle is that layered thing: a late Roman fort, Anderitum, built against Saxon raiders, with a Norman castle planted inside one corner of it. The Roman walls still run most of the way round, and walking the circuit takes ten minutes and a lot of imagination.

   The sea has retreated since. What lies between the castle and the water today is Pevensey Bay, a long, straight shingle beach backed by bungalows, beach huts and a few Martello towers, the squat round forts built against Napoleon. Swimming is possible and on a calm summer day pleasant, but the shingle shelves steeply, so you are out of your depth within a few strides, and the water stays cool well into July. Mind the groynes and any red flags, and keep your boots somewhere the tide will not reach.

   Inland stretch the Pevensey Levels, a flat country of drained marsh, ditches and grazing sheep, full of wading birds and, on summer evenings, a soft haze that makes the downs behind look further away than they are. It is a strange, lonely landscape for somewhere so close to Eastbourne.

   On a bike, this is a rest stop rather than a riding destination. The A27 and A259 carry plenty of traffic, especially on fine weekends, and the coast road through Pevensey Bay is slow. The rewards are just west: the climb over the downs past Beachy Head and Birling Gap is one of the great short rides of the south coast, with the chalk falling away to the sea.

   Hailsham, inland, is the place for fuel and shopping. In Pevensey itself there are old pubs near the castle, and fish and chips are never far from any English beach.

5. Scenic stretch in South Benfleet scenic

   Vikings once had a fortified camp at Benfleet. In 893, the forces of Alfred the Great's kingdom stormed it while most of the Danish army was away raiding, capturing ships, women and children, and archaeologists later found charred remains of ships in the creek. Today, South Benfleet is a quiet residential town on the Thames estuary, but the creek is still there, lined with boats and mudflats, and the history adds depth to an otherwise suburban place.

   The estuary landscape is unusual and atmospheric. Wide mudflats, salt marshes and creeks stretch out towards the Thames, with huge skies and the sound of seabirds. To the south lies Canvey Island, reclaimed from the marshes by Dutch engineers in the seventeenth century and protected by sea walls. To the east, on a hill overlooking the estuary, stand the ruins of Hadleigh Castle, painted by John Constable, and the country park around it hosted the mountain bike events of the 2012 Olympics.

   The riding around Benfleet is not dramatic, but the views over the estuary are worth the trip. The roads can be busy, especially around the town centre and the route to Canvey, and the A13 and A127 are major arteries into London. But the lanes around Hadleigh and the marshes offer quieter riding, with gentle hills and views over the water. Wind off the estuary can be strong.

   South Benfleet has fuel, shops, pubs and cafés, and there are plenty of options in nearby Southend-on-Sea, with its famous pier, the longest pleasure pier in the world. Fish and chips by the sea is a natural choice. Head north afterwards and the saltmarsh coast of Essex leads on towards the villages of Suffolk.

6. Photo stop in Mayland photo

   Mayland lies on the Dengie peninsula in Essex, on the southern shore of the Blackwater estuary, a flat, quiet landscape of farmland, saltmarsh and wide skies. The village and its neighbour, Maylandsea, have a marina where small boats lie on the mud at low tide, and the estuary stretches away to the north, glittering in the sunlight.

   The Dengie is one of the most remote corners of south-east England, despite being only an hour or so from London. At its tip, near Bradwell-on-Sea, stands the chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, built in the seventh century by St Cedd from the stones of a Roman fort. It is one of the oldest largely intact churches in England, and its setting, alone on the edge of the marshes facing the sea, is unforgettable.

   The Blackwater estuary is famous for its oysters, and Maldon, at the head of the estuary, is known for its sea salt and its fleet of traditional Thames sailing barges, with their tan sails. The saltmarshes are home to many birds, and in winter, flocks of geese and waders gather on the mudflats.

   For riders, the roads across the Dengie are flat and straight, with long views and very little traffic. Wind can be strong, and the roads can be muddy from farm traffic. Fuel and food are available in Maldon and nearby villages. As a photo stop, the estuary at Maylandsea, with boats on the water and the marshes beyond, is lovely, especially at sunset.

7. Wembley finish

   The arch is what you see first, a white steel hoop rising over north-west London, visible from the North Circular, from Harrow, from the planes coming in to Heathrow. Wembley Stadium was rebuilt and reopened in 2007, replacing the old twin-towered stadium where England won the 1966 World Cup. The new one is bigger, slicker and less romantic, but on match nights the whole district still hums.

   Wembley grew up around the stadium and the British Empire Exhibition of the 1920s, and much of the area is still shaped by those events. Wembley Park has been heavily redeveloped in recent years, with new apartment blocks, shops and restaurants around the stadium and the arena. On event days, traffic and parking restrictions are severe, so check the calendar before planning to finish here.

   The ride into Wembley from the east is all about the A406 North Circular, one of London's busiest and most frustrating roads. Expect queues, speed cameras and frequent lane changes. Filtering is common, but take care around buses and lorries. The final approach through local roads is slow, with traffic lights, roundabouts and plenty of pedestrians.

   Despite the urban sprawl, there are green corners. Fryent Country Park, to the north, is a surprising area of meadows and hedgerows on a hill with views over London. Barn Hill, at its heart, is a good place to watch the sunset over the stadium.

   Wembley has every service you could want, with fuel stations, supermarkets and restaurants on every main road. Ealing Road, to the south, is famous for its South Asian shops and restaurants, and a plate of food there is one of the best ways to end a long day in the saddle.

8. Back to Essex Saltmarsh finish

   Amersham is two towns in one. The old town, on the hill, has a broad high street of timbered inns and Georgian houses, while the newer town, down by the railway, grew up around the Metropolitan line, which ends here.

   After a ride through Essex saltmarsh and Suffolk villages, this is a very different kind of finish. The roads here are narrow, steep and winding, with sunken lanes between high hedges, and the surface is often damp and covered with leaves in the woods. Traffic is light on the lanes and heavy on the main routes into London. In autumn the beeches turn copper, and the colours are outstanding, though wet leaves are slippery. The Chess valley, running south-west from Chesham, has a stream and watercress beds, and its lanes are among the prettiest in the area.

   Amersham's history includes a dark chapter. In the early sixteenth century, a group of local Lollards, early dissenters, were burned for heresy, and a memorial on the hill commemorates the Amersham Martyrs. The town was also a popular filming location, with its old streets and inns appearing in several films and television series. Seer Green, a smaller village, has a quiet green and an old church.

   Fuel and food are easy at Amersham, with stations, supermarkets and many cafes and pubs, especially on the old high street. A pub with a log fire is a good place to end a day in cold weather, and a picnic in the woods is good in summer. Red kites, reintroduced to the Chilterns in the 1990s, wheel above the fields and are an almost certain sight.

   Look up as you park the bike. The kites are the best part of the arrival.

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