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King's Head Street

Harwich, pronounced 'Harich' or 'Harridge', is a port town in Essex, East Anglia.

Harwich lies at the junction of two estuaries and the area forms one of the UK's major harbours (although most freight shipping operates from Felixstowe, a short distance over the water, rather than from Harwich). Ferries to northern Europe operate from adjacent Parkeston, while there are fast rail and road links to London.

Get in

By train

The conurbation of Harwich, Dovercourt and Parkeston is served by 3 train stations. The town is on Mayflower Line (a branch of the Great Eastern mainline), which is operated by Greater Anglia.

  • 1 Harwich International, Parkeston Quay, Harwich, CO12 4SR. Largest of Harwich stations. Serves port and Parkstone area. Harwich International railway station (Q2058152) on Wikidata Harwich International railway station on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)
  • 2 Harwich Town, George St, Harwich, CO12 3NA (5 minutes walk from the Ha'penny pier). Harwich Town railway station (Q4654950) on Wikidata Harwich Town railway station on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)
  • 3 Dovercourt, Kingsway Harwich Essex CO12 3AG (just of Dovercourt High Street (the conurbation's main shopping area)). Dovercourt railway station (Q2135790) on Wikidata Dovercourt railway station on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)

There's an hourly local service between Harwich Town and Manningtree, calling at all stations. As of May 2011, a few services run to London Liverpool Street. Heading north to Ipswich and Norwich, change at Manningtree, cross via the underpass to Platform 3 and there's usually a connecting service waiting on the other side. From Harwich International there's also the DutchFlyer train which takes arriving and departing Stena Line passengers between the ferry terminal and London Liverpool Street. This train is usually more spacious (12 cars instead of 4) and is much faster than the local train. There is also a twice-daily service to Cambridge (via Ipswich) which connects with the Stena Line ferry service.

By car

The main route into Harwich is the A120 trunk road, which connects with the A12 at Colchester and the M11 at Stansted Airport. If coming from the Midlands along the A14, change to the A12 at Ipswich and then to the A120 at Colchester, or alternatively exit the A14 at Ipswich at take the A137 local road towards Manningtree and then take the B-roads towards Harwich - this way is more direct but slower as it uses narrow countryside roads.

By bus

Regional bus services terminate at Harwich Town Bus Station, opposite Harwich Town train station. There's 2 principal routes - services to Colchester run every 30 minutes and take about 1 hr 20 min, and services to Clacton run hourly and take just under 1 hour.

By boat

The main purpose for travellers to pass Harwich is to get to the International Ferry Terminal at Parkeston Quay.

  • There are several services per day to Hook of Holland in The Netherlands, taking around 8 hours. The ferry port is easily accessible from the A120 road if travelling by car, and Harwich International train station is directly connected to the terminal building. The DutchFlyer mixed-mode ticket at £50 one way allows travel from any National Express East Anglia rail station (including London Liverpool Street, Cambridge and Norwich) to any Dutch Railways (NS) station including the ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland.
  • 1 Harbour Ferry, The Quay, Harwich CO12 3HH, ☏ +44 1728 666329, . April - October: 7 crossings per day between 9:30AM and 4:30PM. Ferry for foot passengers & bicycles from Felixstowe and Shotley £4.50. (updated May 2017)

By bicycle

The town in on National Cycle Route 51 running through Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex, through the town from Felixstowe and then on to Colchester. The section between the town and Colchester forms part of the North Sea Cycle Route [dead link] and EuroVelo 12.

Get around

Map
Map of Harwich (England)

Harwich is fairly small and all sights can be walked between. First runs 2 urban bus routes, the most useful of which is the 20/20A which runs every 30 minutes between Old Harwich and Parkeston Quay Ferry Terminal and also serves Parkeston Retail Park. Local trains bound for Manningtree also link the 3 rail stations (see Get Around/Rail) every hour. Driving a car around Harwich is easy - traffic is light and parking in the town centre is very cheap.

See

Harwich Redoubt
Harwich Maritime Museum
Ha'penny Pier
Electric Palace Cinema

Local attractions include two lighthouses; the Electric Palace cinema, one of the oldest in Britain and now restored to its original state; the Redoubt fort, dating from the Napoleonic era; a lighthouse museum; a small beach; and of course ship-watching. Many attractions are open during the summer only.

  • 1 Harwich Redoubt. 1 May-31 Aug: daily 10AM-5PM. A circular fort built in 1808 to defend the port, restored by volunteers from the Harwich Society. Harwich Redoubt (Q5677857) on Wikidata Harwich Redoubt on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)
  • 2 Beacon Hill Battery, Barrack Ln, Harwich CO12 3NS. Late 19th/early 20th century coastal artillery fortification Beacon Hill Battery (Q4875953) on Wikidata Beacon Hill Battery on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)
  • 3 Maritime Museum, The Low Lighthouse, Harbour Crescent, Harwich, CO12 3NL, . May-Aug: F-Su 11AM-3PM. Adults £1; children free. (updated May 2017)
  • 4 Lifeboat Museum, 6 Wellington Rd, Harwich, CO12 3EJ. May-Aug 10AM-5PM. (updated May 2017)
  • 5 Ha'penny Pier, The Quay, Harwich, CO12 3HH. Wooden, working pier (updated May 2017)
  • 6 LV18 Lightvessel (Right at the end of the A120.), ☏ +44 7446 171320 (mobile). Mar-end Oct: daily 11AM-4PM. The last surviving example of a manned light vessel in British waters. Adults £2; children £1. (updated May 2017)
  • 7 High Lighthouse, West Street, Harwich, CO12 3DQ, ☏ +44 1255 506183, . Harwich High Lighthouse (Q17663783) on Wikidata Harwich High Lighthouse on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)
  • 8 Mayflower Project, The Railyard, George St, Harwich, CO12 3ND, ☏ +44 1255 318023, . M-F 9AM-5PM. Project to reconstruct a full sized seaworthy replica of the Mayflower vessel. Visitors Centre. Harwich Mayflower Project (Q20642320) on Wikidata Harwich Mayflower Project on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)

Do

Buy

Shopping in Harwich is extremely limited, although there are some art, antique and book stores. Nearby Dovercourt has a number of small supermarkets, mainstream high-street shops, banks and so on, while Parkeston has Peacocks, B&M, Home Bargains and Argos. Harwich has several supermarkets including the Co-op (Dovercourt High Street, and Fronks Road), and

  • 1 Morrissons (Supermarket), Iconfield Park, Garland Rd, Harwich, CO12 4EN, ☏ +44 1255 556383. M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM. Also petrol station, cafe & Garden Centre (different hours from main store). ATMs. (updated May 2017)
  • 2 Adsa (Supermarket), Main Road, Harwich, CO12 3HJ, ☏ +44 1255 202900. M-Sa 7AM-11PM, Su 10AM-4PM. Petrol station (different hours). ATMs. (updated May 2017)
  • 3 Lidl (Supermarket), Parkeston Rd, Harwich, CO12 4NX. M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM. (updated May 2017)

Eat

The Pier Hotel has a well-regarded restaurant specialising in seafood. The Pier Cafe, opposite the hotel on the pier itself, is especially popular during the summer. A number of pubs also serve food, notably the New Bell Inn (lunchtimes only).

Drink

Popular pubs include the traditional New Bell Inn and Hanover and the Stingray with large-screen TV.

Sleep

There are a number of B&Bs and pubs with accommodation.

Dovercourt offers a wider range of accommodation.

Do not stay at the campsite in Harwich: it is better to drive to one of the camping grounds in the surrounding countryside.

Connect

  • 2 Post Office, 477 Main Road, Dovercourt, CO12 4HT. M-F 8:30AM-5:30PM, Sa 9AM-12:30PM. (updated May 2017)

Go next

Routes through Harwich
END ←  UK  NL  → Hook of Holland


This city travel guide to Harwich is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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