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Brightlingsea is a small town at the
entrance to the River Colne, between Colchester and Clacton.
It
is approximately 70 miles from the centre of London. It
has a population of nearly 7,000.
A quiet town with much of historical interest, it's
surrounded by classic Essex mudflats and marshes, many of which are
Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It's a great area for walking,
bird watching and, above all, sailing!
All Saints is the
Parish Church of the Town and greets you as you approach
Brightlingsea. It was built c.1250 and has a
particularly fine tower. Inside there is possibly a
unique set of memorial tiles for those lost at
sea.
Other traditions of the Town are preserved by
the Cinque Port Liberty, the
Colne Smack Preservation
Society and the Town
Museum (open Easter to Autumn)
which focuses on its maritime links.
There is also
the Colne Yacht Club and the
Brightlingsea Sailing
Club.
The Town is a thriving yachting centre, where
large numbers of small boats are built and there are
many related industries.
The town was a busy fishing port for many years and
its fishing smack crews were superb sailors - which is why many of
them crewed the big J-Class Americas Cup challengers. There's still an
annual smack and barge match in the Autumn and the early-morning start
off Bateman's Tower is always a great spectacle.
The Town Centre is also
thriving with a good cross-section of shops, pubs,
restaurants and cafes. Brightlingsea has a wide range
of leisure activities from boating on the lake to
sailing and swimming. The beach has a Rural Beach Award
and there is a children's paddling pool near Bateman's
Tower, with an open-air swimming pool close by.
Walks
alongside creeks and salt marshes, the habitat of many
interesting birds, can be enjoyed. The Hard is a good
place to start and many people like to just sit and
watch boats being launched and children 'crabbing' at
high tide. The walk along the Prom, as it's known by locals, from the
Sailing Club will take
you past rows of beach huts to the open air swimming pool and boating
lake and then on to the paddling pool and Bateman's Tower. The latter
was actually built as a beach hut for the daughter of the said Mr
Bateman in Victorian times. It's used for starting cruiser races by the
Colne Yacht Club and, in
Pyefleet week at low tide, by
BSC.
If you want to go further, walk past the tower along the old railway
line beside the River Colne. A walk back along Promenade Way will take
you past the skateboard park, the Mirror Millennium Garden (to mark the
holding of the Mirror European Championships at BSC in the year 2000,
with a sculpture designed by a club member) and the camp site.
There is a Touring Caravan Park and also a
Leisure Village, housing caravans and cabins for
seasonal usage.
Blooming
Brightlingsea... Brightlingsea has won:
Anglia in Bloom
Best Small Town 1996-2002 (exempt 1999)
Premier Award Winners 1999 and 2003
(Changed criteria by the RHS then moved us from ‘Small
Town’ to ‘Town’.)
Best Town 2003 and 2004
Britain in Bloom
(nominated by Anglia in Bloom to represent the region in the
national competition)
Small Town Category
National Finalist 1998
3rd Place 2001
RHS Silver Gilt Medal 2002
Town Category
RHS Silver Medal 2003
2004: barred! (entered by Anglia in Bloom for 3 years in
succession)
RHS National Flowerbed
Competition
RHS Silver Medal 2003 and 2004
The town comes under the authority of Tendring
District Council .
Visited by many tourists,
Brightlingsea is a quiet place, without the arcades and
noisy distractions of the big resorts.
All in all, a
very pleasant and friendly place to
visit.
Brightlingsea came into the national spotlight
in the 1990's with protests against live animal exports
and there is still an active group within the
town.
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The Cinque Port Liberty
Prior to the Norman Conquest, King Edward the
Confessor had contracted the five most important Channel ports of
that day to provide ships and men "for the service of the monarch"
and although this was frequently as a "cross-Channel ferry service",
it was not exclusively so. Under the Norman kings this became the
essential means of keeping the two halves of their realm together,
but after the loss of Normandy in 1205, their ships (the for-runners
of the Royal Navy) suddenly became England’s first line of defence
against the French.
Today the Cinque Ports have only a ceremonial role,
but a base for the Lord Warden of the Ports is still provided at
Walmer Castle and new Lords Warden are always installed at
Dover.
Every member of the Confederation, together with
their Limbs, is situated in Kent or Sussex, apart from Brightlingsea
which, as a Limb of Sandwich, uniquely lies in
Essex.
The
Cinque Ports |
Picture tour of
Brightlingsea
Brightlingsea One Design
Recommended attractions
near Brightlingsea
Recommended towns near
Brightlingsea
Colne
Yacht Club
Brightlingsea Sailing Club
Colne Yacht Club
Cruiser Race Courses
Brightlingsea - 5 day weather forecast
Brightlingsea Town Guide
Martha & The Maffins - Echo
Beach
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