Jemma Schofield and Chris Watson always wanted to get married in the land of fire and ice.
04.08.2023 - 17:51 / theguardian.com
The fortunes of this estuary island are linked to the tides
There’s something about having to check the tide times before you set off that gets you in the right frame of mind to visit Mersea. Connected to the Essex coastline by an ancient causeway, the fortunes of this estuary island are linked to the ebb and flow of the tides. They provide the perfect conditions for the oysters that have been cultivated here since Roman times but they can also be treacherous, as anyone who has made the mistake of driving across the Strood at high tide with seawater lapping at their wheels will testify.
For as long as I can remember my family’s summers have been punctuated by trips to Mersea, whether it’s an outing to eat vinegar-soaked cockles on a bench overlooking the estuary, or a September foray in search of the first Colchester native oysters of the season. But it’s not just the seafood that brings us back. It’s the sense of something shifting when you cross on to the island.
Life moves at a different pace here. Even in West Mersea, which is the hub of the island’s tourism activity, the attractions are delightfully low-key: crabbing off the jetty, watching sailing boats from the marina and strolling around the little tangle of fisherman’s cottages known as “the Old City”.
Down on West Mersea’s shingle beach, a row of beach huts cuts a bright swathe through the muted landscape of watery blues and browns. A handful have been kitted out in vintage style and can be rented by the day from the Little Beach Hut Company.
On summer weekends the West Mersea waterfront can get busy but it’s easy enough to escape the crowds. Our favourite spot for beachcombing is Cudmore Grove country park on the island’s eastern tip, where fossils and hippopotamus bones have been uncovered by coastal erosion and, if you’re lucky, you may spot a red squirrel.
East Mersea is also home to Mersea Island Vineyard, where you can pick up a bottle of white wine or oyster stout, and Seafood at Dawn, an unpretentious restaurant on a country road, serves up fresh seafood platters.
As the sun sets, the exodus back to the mainland begins. But if Mersea is beginning to work its magic on you, check into the White Hart, a newly renovated inn from the team behind the Sun Inn in Dedham, offering six jaunty guest rooms and an adventurous menu that runs the gamut from bone marrow custard tart to steamed mussels. And oysters of course. There will always be oysters. Joanne O’Connor
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