Having spent over 5 weeks recovering from knee surgery, we agreed that Jo needed a short break away. We decided to visit Mersea Island and have lunch in one of the seafood shacks on the seafront. Although it was the Friday of school half term, we managed to book a table at The Company Shed for 14.00 to give us plenty of time to get there. We also needed to factor in when high tide was as the causeway over to the island can flood. We were fine as we crossed a good two hours before but then it took us another half an hour to find somewhere to park. We managed to find a spot in the car park by the high street (just as well we don’t have a longer van!) but it meant a 20 min walk back to the sea front which was quite a way for Jo with her new knee!

Lunch was delicious with a smorgasbord of crab, prawns, oysters and salmon. We weren’t able to get into any of the campsites on the island so we had to wait until 16.15 to cross the causeway. That gave us plenty of time to wander along the sea front watching the children crabbing and families enjoying the good weather. The seafront is a working harbour so quite scruffy but with a certain charm.

Our park up for the night was a Britstop host on a working farm about 45 mins away near Wakes Colne. Britstops is a paid for membership group that allows you to stay on unusual sites like farms and vineyards. The annual membership was about the same as staying on a traditional campsite in high season. The owner of Home Farm was delightful and basically gave us a whole field to choose a spot in.

We were treated to squirrels, rabbits and even hares bounding about whilst we relaxed in the evening sunshine. We wandered over to the monument that was erected in 1790 and dedicated to Michael Hills. Michael left the manor house and grounds to his friend, Philip Astley, on his death. However, it was conditional on Philip taking Michael’s surname. You feel there is an interesting back story that we will never know!

After an amazingly quiet night, we had a lazy morning before departing around 11.30 to make our way home but not before calling on Sheila, an old friend of Liz’s, who lived nearby, just outside Colchester.

Miles travelled since last blog: 196