Beyond Harwich

Places we love to visit beyond Harwich:

Frinton on Sea

Best by car as there is no direct train

This lovely seaside town with beautiful 1920s houses. The high street is a mix of independents and chains. Shops we love include Gr8Danes for scandi goods, Caxton bookshop and art gallery - we went in for a card, we came out with a tonne of books! - they show works by East Anglian Artists, so it’s worth a browse. There are a few antique and charity shops and lots of places to eat too.

Manningtree & Mistley

By car: 25 minute drive, or by train: there is an hourly shuttle service from Harwich Town station, with a 10 minute walk from the station into the town centre

Livelier and more sprawling than Harwich, we love going to Manningtree for the lovely Manningtree Arts shop (books and coffee), Estuary Winebar for wine, cocktails and tapas, and the Manningtree antiques emporium, which is best visited with a car because you need something to carry all your purchases home. The Red Lion is a great pub.

There is a lovely 15 minute walk by the river Stour from Manningtree to Mistley. The Thorn hotel has a lovely bar and restaurant. It’s where the Witch Finder General used to lodge, so it has a strange dark link with the past. Mistley is on the same line as Harwich Old Town so you can take a train back from there. Please check train times.

Wrabness

By car: 15 minute drive, or by train: there is an hourly shuttle service from Harwich Town station

There is a Nature reserve and Grayson Perry’s House for Essex

Felixstowe & Shotley

By Foot Ferry

You can visit the Landguard Fort before heading off to to Felixstowe through the nature reserve and along the sea front

Nature reserve

By car: a 30 minute drive to Walton on the Naze