Picture-perfect villages , and the Hedinghams routes

Total distance of main route is 87km/54miles

Stambourne Gestingthorpe Little Henny A Green Henny 13 Grass Street R 4 . B1057 Green S Short rides to B ur 1 5 0 Great 8 10 Henny A 30.6km/19.1miles Craig’s Audley End End Workhouse Green B 12.7km/7.9miles A1017 1 3 Rose Green 1 A C 12.2km/7.6miles

C A

R. o Dorking 1

l 3 n Ty e 4 e Wickham D 14.7km/9.2miles B Rushley 1 Leavenheath St Paul 5 Green 0 8 E 19.8km/12.3miles Cornish Hall Robinhood Twinstead End End Green F 33.7km/21.1miles 11 Long ST Gardens RY Honey NE G 11.6km/7.2miles N Ty e N U RD A

7 Y 1 BUR 34 5 Gainsford SUD H 19.7km/12.3miles A 0 End 1 T S 1 H Castle 0 S E B 1 N Little E E E P 7 U Q C Delvin En d 2 M  O T O Cripple R N B O 1 A K 3 Corner 1 S 1 5 D L O A 0 Sible DG 8 E R Hedingham Great O Attractions along this route

B Highstreet A Maplestead D Green Lucking Little Street LL Maplestead 1 HI S Bures Marks Hall Estate CUCKOO CHOO EBMARSH RD B L ROAD P 10 D Bures 2 Sampford A T Paycocke’s House 5 E B 7 O RE R T 1 E S 0 K H 5 A T 3 Coggeshall Grange Barn A S 3 1 ver tou D i 0 O B R r Almshous e Cobbs 1 Y 15 7 N 0 Green Fenn E C 8 4 Coggeshall Museum & Heritage Centre ' S

H 8 9 D A L 1 A 5 L Cressing Temple B10 B105 3 O 5 3 R 1 R 3 O A 4 H A

S D 6 R  R Bardfield Vineyard iv A e M

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P E 7 Museum P

a Finchingfield Daw’s Cross

n D t Southey Green B Little 8 Finchingfield Antiques Centre 15 Horkesley B 0 8 1 A 0 11 9 Finchingfield Windmill 7 5 24 5 A1 0 3 1 Wormingford 1 2 B Brickkiln 4 The Howe 08 10 Colne Valley Railway Green 1 B15 3 Lower 1 Bridge Green A 11 Hedingham Castle

End School 7 Wethersfield 1 12 Green 0 L Townsford Mill Antiques Centre 1 L REET HI B 3 A C T LL A 1 OLN S OVE R H Countess  B1053 E K D 5 13 East Anglian Railway Museum R R 0 Waltham ’s Blackmore D O O M Cross 7 BR Bunting’s AR 8 End N F Cross A Whiteash A1 EE 1 Green GR 14 St James the Less Church Green 3 24 Great  BROOK STREET Bardfield Colne Green D R Engaine LOWER GREEN 7 E 1 12 B1 5 E 3 50 10 R 1 8

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E H R Rotten O I Accommodation A L End D L Hemp’s TIDINGS HILL CHA Beazley PP for details see overleaf A1124 Earls White Green E B End L RO Shalford 4 AD 1 6 Colne 2 Colne 5 4 1 0 7 8 1  1 A1 0 A 124 Wakes & 1 The White Hart Hotel 1  B Wa kes Colne A Colne 1 B

0 1 5 0 D 2 7 5 A131 A Hare and Hounds O 3 13 VE ONSR R  AD RN D S O R R E Fordham E Chappel D S N 3 Plaistow Greenstead U Rose O Brook Farm O B P Green Green H 4 Green  Church 1 7 2 W 0 1 0 E A1124 End 5 0 1 1 N 3 West B 4 A 31 5 Brickwall Farm 1 T  A E Bergholt  E

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R T S i R v iv 5 N e Greenlands Farm e r Shalford A Colne r  W Green P S a n High 1 t F 3 Garrett Bardfield 1 C G A Burton’s Green Saling H N B A Jasper’s E Fordham 1 P

W 0 P Heath Green E

5 R L A1124 3 O Places to eat 2 R Great T B O E A A O  A Y R D N L ET O E V TRE D Te y A IN CHURCH S Folly D E G TEY R A D 4 ROA G 11 Crow’s O N Green 2 D Aldham 24 1 Baumann’s Brasserie RO 0  Green AD 1 Great Bocking 1 D Tumbler’s B MOORE RD Seven Star 3 ROA Tel: 01376 561453 Churchstreet 1 L Eight Ash Saling L L Green Green A YO A B N S H Green 105 www.baumannsbrasserie.co.uk 3 E LLR HA OAD N ES A G L G K O 3 AC C 2 The Bell Inn 5 B 5 12  0  A 1 LANE B A CKLEY'S 1 BU Tel: 01787 460350 3 Stisted B 1 Beacon 1 r 0 te End www.hedinghambell.co.uk 5 a W 1 Ro 12 408 3 w man A B1 k A c T River a E l R D B A 3 Dickens Restaurant Café Bar

r L B Rive A O Marks 

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N Stanway 0 Y Te y E Pattiswick 2 E 14 T 1 8 Tel: 01787 273080 4 East Gores B 40 Bocking 120 A A M MarksTey 0 B A12 Copford www.dickensrestaurant.com BRAINTREE R R Little O I A D Stebbing 12 A 0 G Te y Duckend D Broad Green B1256 E A120 12 Green Tilkey Green A 4 de Vere Arms ALF SH OR A1 H D 20 3 ROA Coggeshall D 1256 0 Tel: 01787 223353 A 2 2 1256 Blake B A1 B 1 Bradwell 1 End Rayne 2 www.deverearms.com/restaurant.php 0 Highfields  A12 B1024 Copford 6 256 0 ROBINSBRIDGE 1 B125 A12 B1 Braintree B ROAD  A 1 Green N 0 4 5 The Barn Brasserie 1 6 2 1  O 0 5 8 022 T 1 0 7 2 B 12 A L A 1 12 1 Perry 2 0 E 1 4 B Y Braintree A Tel: 01206 212345

1 Green R B O Freeport B A 1

A D 120 0 www.thebarnbrasserie.co.uk A1 2 2 4 Langley 0 120 OA D Green Easthorpe 3 A R C Heckfordbridge INK S U Coggeshall 5 L TH 1 0 EDG Hamlet 2 3 1 E 2 L 0 1 B AN Watch House W E THEDGE L 1 A C U A IT B1 N E B Green 0 B Bartholomew HA 18 7 Great M 1 1 Green ROAD 0 14 Frenches Notley Cressing 2 2 This map is intended as a guide only. Please refer to relevant B 4 1 Green A OS Explorer maps for specific details. T RD ECA OL 3 P 5 0 Black Hardy’s 1 Notley Green B MI LL LAN E B R 1

i 0 v 2 Key B Cressing 4 1 Molehill e Birch 4 r Silver End 1 Green B 5 2 7 r 2 Cycle Route 3 a 1 2 Willows i 0 n A 1 Green B Causeway Young’s Gore The Green B Short rides End Cobbler’s End 1 Pit 0 B 1 Green Thistley 8 4 1 1 02 0 Green 3 1 2 Traffic-free section 1 B 3 Birch B A 1 4 White Messing Green 1 Place of worship 7 Notley Kelvedon Smythe’s North End 12 B1022 Telephone in rural area A Green

4 Layer Public House 2 2 R 0 1 Rank’s Green White Notley 1 2 i 0 Breton v 3 B 1 1 e Layer National Rail A H B r I B T G 1 Marney 0 Miles 1 2 3 e 4 5 H 0 1

r F B IE 2 2 L 3 1 1 DS  Accommodation 0 A L 1 A Reproduced from Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the 8 N E controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. 1 Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution  Restaurants 0 Kilometres 2 4 6 8 10 or civil proceedings. County Council. Licence no: 100019602, 2006 Faulkbourne Fd Finchingfield Halstead There is plenty to see and do including A textbook example of the traditional Halstead lies seven miles to the north of the medieval barns of the Knights English village, Finchingfield is described Braintree and is an attractive, traditional as the ‘most photographed village in market town with a wealth of shops, Templar, jousting knights at a ,’ Finchingfield has won awards restaurants and interesting walks. The town Norman Keep, steam railways, for its traditional picturesque setting. developed from pre-historic origins and The combination of duck pond, village a Roman settlement that included a villa magnificent houses with stunning green, hump-backed bridge and pub, complex. Wool and weaving provided the gardens and listed windmills. overlooked by colour-washed cottages, mainstay of business over the centuries. a windmill and a medieval church, give The surviving Townsford Mill built in 1788 and it an unbeatable series of views, which straddling the River Colne, is a picturesque Coggeshall are often found on calendars, chocolate reminder of the town’s industrial past and boxes, tea towels, postcards and jigsaws. is now one of the largest antiques centres Coggeshall is a lovely little ‘olde worlde’ Later in history, when industrialisation in Essex - the perfect location for shopping town with a lot to offer. Coggeshall’s started, straw weaving and hop growing and lunching. attractive centre is made up of nearly became important to local employers 200 listed buildings, many are timber- and Edward Bingham produced pottery Earls Colne framed dating as far back as the from his workshops in what is now Pottery Earls Colne nestles in the Colne Valley, 14th century. Paycocke’s House is an Lane. His work isn’t always to everyone’s and is named after the River Colne, exceptional example of a 16th century taste but has become extremely which flows through the valley below. The wealthy clothier’s house. Like many collectable. Today the winding lanes of village has been inhabited throughout of the towns in the area, Coggeshall this medieval village are lined with timber- had a wool and cloth trade and then pre-history and flint arrowheads have framed buildings and elegant Georgian Attractions along the route: 3. Coggeshall Grange Barn subsequently industries of silk and velvet been found in the area, showing that houses, where through small streets 1. Marks Hall Estate A National Trust property, this magnificent weaving, tambour lace making and Stone Age people lived in the valley and squares, you will catch occasional Enjoy the estate that includes the largest timber-framed barn, dating from the 13th brewing. Visit Coggeshall Museum and long before anyone else. Earls Colne glimpses of the impressive castle. surviving ancient woodlands in Essex, century, was constructed for the monks Heritage Centre and discover more was later closely associated with the ornamental lakes, walled gardens, of the nearby Cistercian Abbey. Exhibition about the town’s history. de Vere family who became the Earls of Oxford. In the 19th century the Hunt cascades and mature avenues of oaks, of history and collection of farm wagons limes and horse chestnuts. On the last and carts. Bizarre and obscure events in the past family developed the Atlas Works in Earls Saturday of each month Marks Hall hosts Tel: 01376 562226 have been attributed to ley lines crossing Colne as a manufacturer of agricultural the very popular Farmers’ Market. www.nationaltrust.org.uk in the town. These powerful beams of machinery. Of the four Colne villages, this Tel: 01376 563796 energy linked to the earth’s magnetic is the largest, with a selection of shops www.markshall.org.uk 4. Coggeshall Museum & Heritage field have attracted the investigations of Castle Hedingham’s “real” history situated on the High Street. Earls Colne Centre ghost hunters from across the country. begins with the Normans. The village has won awards for the ‘Best Kept Village’ 2. Paycocke’s House This Museum and Heritage Centre Local people believe the stories are was granted to one of William, duke of and ‘Village of the Year’. A merchant’s house which dates from displays local history including myths, but they certainly inspire the Normandy’s lords, one Aubrey de Vere. around 1500 and contains unusually rich Coggeshall lace, supplemented by imagination. Although he and his descendants built a number of castles at various locations panelling and wood carving. Coggeshall exhibitions relating to the past of this in their extensive lands, they chose was famous for its lace, examples of which historic wool town. There is an authentic Hedingham as their primary seat; by are displayed inside the house. There is working wool loom. Town tours can also around 1140 the third Aubrey de Vere also a very attractive cottage garden. be organised with a local historian. had built the stone keep that has been Tel: 01376 561305 Tel: 01376 563003 superbly preserved to this day. www.nationaltrust.org.uk www.geocities.com/coggeshallmuseum

7. Great Bardfield Museum 11. Hedingham Castle 13. East Anglian Railway Museum Getting to Braintree Essex Arriving by Road 19th century village lock-up and England’s finest and best-preserved A working museum representing 100 Travel on the M11 if travelling from London • 16th century charity cottage housing Norman Keep besieged by King John, years of railway engineering and Map 3 DEDHAM • agricultural and domestic artefacts from visited by King Henry VII, VIII and Queen architecture in . Working signal or the south. Exit at junction 8 and take the • • HALSTEAD • • A120. Alternatively take the A12 from the • 19th and 20th centuries, plus rural crafts Elizabeth I, with views of the magnificent boxes, restoration shed, locomotives, BRAINTREE M25, exit at and take the A131 • • such as straw-plaiting and corn-dollies. hall from the ‘Minstrels Gallery’ above, a passenger and freight vehicles, small STANSTED AIRPORT CLACTON-ON-SEA or continue towards Colchester and take the • • Cage situated in Bridge Street. Tudor bridge, a charming dovecote and exhibits museum. Regular Steam days CHELMSFORD B1389 to Witham and the B1018 to Braintree. • • • BRADWELL Tel: 01371 810572 ornamental lake in the grounds. History and special events all year, including the • If travelling from the north arrive via the M11 is made fun with medieval festivals and Chappel Beer Festival. • • BURNHAM-ON-CROUCH taking the A120 from junction 8. • • BRENTWOOD 8. Finchingfield Antiques Centre jousting tournaments. Tel: 01206 242524 • For detailed travel information call • SOUTHEND-ON-SEA An ever changing selection of antiques Tel: 01787 460261 www.earm.co.uk 0871 200 2233 or visit www.traveline.org.uk LONDON • • and collectables presented by 45 different www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk • dealers all under one roof, from 16th 14. St James the Less Church Arriving by Train 5. Cressing Temple Braintree is served by a regular service by National Express East Anglia Cressing Temple was home to the elite century period oak to art deco furniture, 12. Townsford Mill Antiques Centre Small Norman village church with www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com tel: 0845 600 7245 warrior monks, The , pictures, porcelain, wall clocks, long case Over 75 dealers displaying antiques 12th/13th century wall paintings of directly from London Liverpool Street. founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims clocks, silver, books and jewellery. and collectables on two floors of an national importance. travelling to the Holy Land. They were Tel: 01371 810258 impressive weather-boarded watermill, Tel: 01206 866317 granted the Cressing site in 1137 and www.antiqueclockandwatchrepairs.co.uk which became one of Courtauld’s first www.stjamesthelessandsthelen.org Accommodation it became the largest and most silk weaving factories in 1826.. 1 The White Hart Hotel 4 Brickwall Farm important estate in Essex. The Templars’ 9. Finchingfield Windmill Tel: 01787 474451 HHH HHHH Hotel Self Catering were extremely powerful and acquired A small post mill, dated 1755. It has 4 Market End, Coggeshall CO6 1NH Queen Street, , CO9 3RH spring sails (without shutters), a tailpole Tel: 01376 561654 Tel: 01787 460329 vast wealth, so it was here at Cressing www.whitehart-coggeshall.com www.brickwallfarm.co.uk they commissioned two of the most and one pair of millstones. It is not 2 Hare and Hounds 5 Greenlands Farm spectacular surviving medieval timber working, because of its location among HHHH Inn HHHH Silver Award – B&B barns in Europe. trees and cottages, but is opened 104 High Garrett, Braintree, CM7 5NT Lamberts Lane, Earls Colne, CO6 2LE once a month in the summer by the Tel: 01376 324430 Tel: 01787 224895 Tel: 01376 584903 www.hare-and-hounds.com www.greenlandsfarm.co.uk www.cressingtemple.org.uk Finchingfield Society. 3 Brook Farm Tel: 07887 662177 HHHH Farm 6. Bardfield Vineyard Braintree Road, Wethersfield, CM7 4BX Once in the ownership of Anne of 10. Colne Valley Railway Tel: 01371 850284 Cleeves, the present vineyard was A preserved heritage railway and planted in 1990. As the soil and museum housing the largest and most Tourist information climate are similar to those of Alsace, comprehensive collection of historic grape varieties of that region have railway vehicles and locomotives in Essex. Braintree Tourist Information Centre been planted, which are capable of Steam and diesel operated rides in a most Town Hall Centre, Market Place, Braintree CM7 3YG pleasant part of the upper Colne Valley. Telephone 01376 550066 producing very fruity, aromatic wines of [email protected] high quality. Tour the vineyard and walled Special events all year round include a www.enjoybraintreedistrict.co.uk garden, taste the wines and eat in the ‘Day out with Thomas’ and ‘Santa Specials’. beautiful 17th century farmhouse. Tel: 01787 461174 Tel: 01371 810776 www.colnevalleyrailway.co.uk www.thegreatlodgeexperience.com www.visitessex.com