yerffoeg
Member
Recently we visited the upper reaches of the Colne River in our 27 foot bilge keel yacht (it draws 3 feet). Being of an adventurous nature, it was a trip I had been wanting to do for some time. Strange…whenever I mentioned it to the local sailing wiseacres it was met with expressions of incredulity and grimness.
After an enjoyable stay at Wivenhoe, courtesy of WYC, we set off in the early evening about 3 1/2 hours before high water (approaching springs). We had been advised to leave later, but did not want to arrive at our destination in semi-darkness.
We set off up river on a balmy evening and managed to sail to just beyond Rowhedge. From there we motored. The Colne River was pleasant up to a about a mile before our destination: farmland and trees, and folk enjoying a stroll by the riverbank. We never had much more than a metre under the keel the entire way, and kept to the outside of the river bends, where there is deeper water.
Our destination was the pontoon at King Edward quay on the West River bank. The quay was one of the main jetties where ships unloaded when Colchester was a thriving port. The quay is just shy of a mile long and is now occupied by light industries. At the end of the quay is a main road bridge, which is effectively the head of navigation for medium sized yachts, and beyond that is the old Hythe Quay.
A 42 foot pontoon was constructed at King Edward quay in 2013 by Colchester Council with the intention of encouraging more use of the River and ‘boosting the economy’. The pontoon is about a ¼ mile before the road bridge. Initially a foot ferry from Brightlingsea included the pontoon on its itinerary, but that has long since ceased; the council website implies that it is still running. There was an electricity and water marina post installed at the time. The tap is still useable but the electricity outlets are no longer in use. Those permanently living aboard do however have access to quayside electricity.
The pontoon is easy to locate quite a distance downstream, because close by are two relatively new and large multistorey student accommodation blocks, either side of the river. The other landmark to look out for is the old Colne lightship. It is still resplendent in red paint, and is now used by the sea cadets. It is moored on the west bank, just upstream of the pontoon.
On the west bank of the river, for about a ½ mile before the pontoon, there is a continuous line of old barges, mainly in a dilapidated state. When we got to the pontoon it was fully occupied by about four yachts, permanently moored. Two of these vessels were well-appointed and used as accommodation.
There was loud music blaring out when we arrived. It was a warm evening and the liveaboards were having an impromptu party. One of the partygoers, a yacht owner, told us that the deeper water was at the downstream end of the pontoon. Indeed we temporarily went aground at the upstream end when we were turning. He kindly took our lines, and rightly reminded us that we should set shorelines rather than tie onto the moored Albin Vega to which we rafted up; it was in a terminal state of decay.
The river dries below half tide, but we were only about 20 degrees off the level once the tide had gone out.
As far as local facilities are concerned, there is a co-op supermarket less than five minutes away in the ground floor of the residential block behind the quay. Next door is a Pizza Hut restaurant. The Spinnaker pub is just over the bridge on Hythe Quay. Opposite the pontoon on the east bank, snuggling under the student accommodation, is a large Vietnamese restaurant – Bambu.
One problem about the pontoon, which was immediately obvious, is the large quantity of sewage present in the river at all states of tide. One of the locals speculated that some of this was coming from a damaged section of the old wharf downstream; we observed this on our return journey.
We had intended to do a walk in Colchester the following day, looking at the legacy of the Romans, but abandoned this idea mainly because we felt walking in the centre of a city in high summer temperatures can be an ordeal. Instead we had a very pleasant trip motoring back to Brightlingsea. Near to Colchester we met members of Rowhedge (?) rowing club. I asked about the sewage and one of the rowers shrugged his shoulders. There were also several paddle boarders on the river.
Colchester Council have been procrastinating about what to do with the old commercial wharves for some years, but their hand may be forced before long as the pilings are showing signs of collapse. There is plenty of potential to redevelop the area along the lines of Ipswich, for example.
After departing I sent an email about the sewage in the river to the Environment agency and received a helpful response; they said they would investigate. The same email sent to Colchester City Council met with silence.
For the intrepid East Coast explorer Colchester is worth a visit.
After an enjoyable stay at Wivenhoe, courtesy of WYC, we set off in the early evening about 3 1/2 hours before high water (approaching springs). We had been advised to leave later, but did not want to arrive at our destination in semi-darkness.
We set off up river on a balmy evening and managed to sail to just beyond Rowhedge. From there we motored. The Colne River was pleasant up to a about a mile before our destination: farmland and trees, and folk enjoying a stroll by the riverbank. We never had much more than a metre under the keel the entire way, and kept to the outside of the river bends, where there is deeper water.
Our destination was the pontoon at King Edward quay on the West River bank. The quay was one of the main jetties where ships unloaded when Colchester was a thriving port. The quay is just shy of a mile long and is now occupied by light industries. At the end of the quay is a main road bridge, which is effectively the head of navigation for medium sized yachts, and beyond that is the old Hythe Quay.
A 42 foot pontoon was constructed at King Edward quay in 2013 by Colchester Council with the intention of encouraging more use of the River and ‘boosting the economy’. The pontoon is about a ¼ mile before the road bridge. Initially a foot ferry from Brightlingsea included the pontoon on its itinerary, but that has long since ceased; the council website implies that it is still running. There was an electricity and water marina post installed at the time. The tap is still useable but the electricity outlets are no longer in use. Those permanently living aboard do however have access to quayside electricity.
The pontoon is easy to locate quite a distance downstream, because close by are two relatively new and large multistorey student accommodation blocks, either side of the river. The other landmark to look out for is the old Colne lightship. It is still resplendent in red paint, and is now used by the sea cadets. It is moored on the west bank, just upstream of the pontoon.
On the west bank of the river, for about a ½ mile before the pontoon, there is a continuous line of old barges, mainly in a dilapidated state. When we got to the pontoon it was fully occupied by about four yachts, permanently moored. Two of these vessels were well-appointed and used as accommodation.
There was loud music blaring out when we arrived. It was a warm evening and the liveaboards were having an impromptu party. One of the partygoers, a yacht owner, told us that the deeper water was at the downstream end of the pontoon. Indeed we temporarily went aground at the upstream end when we were turning. He kindly took our lines, and rightly reminded us that we should set shorelines rather than tie onto the moored Albin Vega to which we rafted up; it was in a terminal state of decay.
The river dries below half tide, but we were only about 20 degrees off the level once the tide had gone out.
As far as local facilities are concerned, there is a co-op supermarket less than five minutes away in the ground floor of the residential block behind the quay. Next door is a Pizza Hut restaurant. The Spinnaker pub is just over the bridge on Hythe Quay. Opposite the pontoon on the east bank, snuggling under the student accommodation, is a large Vietnamese restaurant – Bambu.
One problem about the pontoon, which was immediately obvious, is the large quantity of sewage present in the river at all states of tide. One of the locals speculated that some of this was coming from a damaged section of the old wharf downstream; we observed this on our return journey.
We had intended to do a walk in Colchester the following day, looking at the legacy of the Romans, but abandoned this idea mainly because we felt walking in the centre of a city in high summer temperatures can be an ordeal. Instead we had a very pleasant trip motoring back to Brightlingsea. Near to Colchester we met members of Rowhedge (?) rowing club. I asked about the sewage and one of the rowers shrugged his shoulders. There were also several paddle boarders on the river.
Colchester Council have been procrastinating about what to do with the old commercial wharves for some years, but their hand may be forced before long as the pilings are showing signs of collapse. There is plenty of potential to redevelop the area along the lines of Ipswich, for example.
After departing I sent an email about the sewage in the river to the Environment agency and received a helpful response; they said they would investigate. The same email sent to Colchester City Council met with silence.
For the intrepid East Coast explorer Colchester is worth a visit.
P1040257
