Walking & Cycling

Stour View is well-connected to the Brantham area for both pedestrians and cyclists, with many local facilities within a short walking distance, along with Manningtree being a very close town with a popular national train station. Stour View is located within the quietness of a coastal town, yet it is also close enough to reach the capital city in roughly one hour.

Walking

Walking is a great way to get about and has multiple health benefits. Did you know it is recommended that adults should get 150 minutes of exercise per week? Walking is the easiest way to achieve that.

Brantham is a small village that has plenty to offer within reasonable walking distance. No further than the 10-minute mark, you will find a primary school, Co-op, restaurants and the village hall; where a mobile Post Office parks every Wednesday. If you’re feeling ambitious, it’s possible to walk to Manningtree following the pedestrian path over the A137. This will take roughly 35-40 minutes.

Additionally, if you’d rather see what local nature has on offer you won’t have to walk far. The RSPB Cattawade marshes are an excellent Essex bird watching hotspot; you will be able to see some beautiful parts of the UK and rare birds all whilst being active and staying healthy.

Some useful websites and apps for walking:

• Go Jauntly – Are you looking for walking routes near Stour View? Go Jauntly is a free walking app that shows you some nearby routes to walk around. You can also record and curate your own walking routes.
• The Ramblers: The Ramblers Association provides a variety of regular programmes of walks. For walks around Suffolk and more information, visit their website.
• Open Street Map – This is good for people who are looking or finding footpaths around their area.
• Discover Suffolk – The Discover Suffolk website suggests walking routes across the county. There is also an app available for IOS and Android devices.

Cycling

Did you know cycling is three times faster than walking?

Cycling is a fantastic way to travel around a small village such as Brantham, with most places taking under 3 minutes to get to.

It’s also a great alternative to cars, towns such as Manningtree are very close and have great facilities, it takes under 10 minutes from Stour View to Manningtree station which is part of the Greater Anglia Norwich to London Liverpool Street line. A popular station with regular transport, the station has 90 sheltered cycle spaces that are monitored by CCTV 24/7, so you can feel safe when leaving your valued possession.

It can also be a great active way for your children to keep healthy; Manningtree High School is popular for residents of Brantham and rated highly. A pathway over the A137 allows cyclists and pedestrians to feel safe by avoiding busy roads.

Looking for some fun in the sun? Alton Waters is just an 11-minute cycle away. Great for a day of family activities.

Some useful websites and apps:

• Love to Ride: Love to ride has something for everyone. Similar to Go Jauntly, you can record your rides and compete in competitions. You can also make new cycling buddies.
• Sustrans: This is a UK based charity that aims to encourage walking and cycling, and is a UK wide network of signed paths and routes for walking, cycling, wheeling and exploring outdoors.
• Cycle Streets: This is one of the most comprehensive cycle route planners. It is free to use and is also available as a mobile app.
• National Cycle Network: To find a route on the National cycle network, or to find out whether the route is traffic free.

Free Cycle Training

The Suffolk Road Safe Team are now delivering sessions for families who want to cycle more regularly, whether to keep fit, to commute to work or school, or to go and visit friends! 

The session will be about 3 hours long and free of charge. They will come to you, chat about what you are trying to achieve, and then work on your route or specific challenges that you have.

Some of the things you’ll learn include:

• how to ride with your children so that you can help them gain confidence;
• a simple system for remembering how to deal with different road scenarios;
• how to improve your safety at any junctions you use;
• how you can use your road position to control other road users and enhance your safety.

Find out more here.