Continuing around East Anglia I found myself in Clacton again staying at this wonderful B&B called “The Chudleigh” run by a lovely woman named Carol. After I told her I was walking all the way to Colchester she gave me an extra muffin to take with me.

Along the coast I passed through Jaywick, infamous for being one of England’s most deprived neighbourhoods. Honestly it didn’t look that bad, similar to some of the small coastal settlements near where I grew up. Many of the houses like those below were built as holiday homes for Londoners and not intended to be lived in permanently.

Jaywick

I needed to make one last ferry crossing to get over the river to Brightlingsea. However instead of a ferry-summoning bat the Brightlingsea ferry runs on a strict hourly schedule and even has a dedicated app!

The unorthodox design of the Brightlingsea harbour app

I nearly missed the ferry and ended having to wave madly to get it to come back to shore as I ran towards it. After I got on board the captain asked me if I was “the one who pre-booked”. Apparently none of the other passengers were aware of the app.

River Colne near Wivenhoe

After that excitement I walked inland towards Colchester via the picturesque Wivenhoe. Not something I can say about Colchester itself unfortunately, which seemed to be a bit of a dump and was confirmed on a repeat visit two weeks later.