Exciting ways to get away from it all
SEAFOOD AND SHINGLE SHORT BREAK
Mersea, Essex
A briny hit of seaside just a quick hop from London, Mersea is made afresh by the tides each day. The UK’s most easterly inhabited island is where the rivers Blackwater and Colne empty into the sea in a swirl of salt marsh, sand and shingle. Come for open horizons, birdwatching, blazing sunsets – and history. The island has been inhabited since pre-Roman times and lore has it the ghost of a Roman centurion haunts the Strood, the tidal causeway linking the island to the mainland.
Mersea is a tale of two halves: head to West Mersea for breezy beach strolls past colourful beach huts (rentable by the day via ) and shellfish platters featuring Colchester native oysters at the Company Shed (). East Mersea is wilder, with shingle, marsh and farmland where you can spot butterflies, sea plants and the occasional seal. It’s here you’ll find the Mersea Island Vineyard (merseaisland ), which sells crisp white wines. The
