How to Arrive

From the M11: Leave at junction 8 and join the A120 eastwards, heading for Braintree and Colchester.

From the M25: Take the A12 at junction 28 (signposted Chelmsford) and then join the A120 at Colchester, after approximately 30 miles.

From the A14: Take the A12 at Ipswich and join the A120 at Colchester. Once on the A120 follow the signs to Harwich and Harwich International Port. On approaching Harwich, to visit Dovercourt, follow the signs to Dovercourt Town Centre and for Harwich, follow the brown tourism signs to ‘Historic Harwich’.

Each year in excess of 10,000 visitors arrive in the Haven by leisure vessel to explore Harwich Harbour and the beautiful coastlines of the Stour and Orwell rivers.

Sailors arriving into the area by boat can access free mooring facilities that are owned and maintained by the Harwich Haven Authority and located next to the town’s Ha’penny Pier. Visiting yachtsman can use the secure facilities – which includes access to toilets and showers – free of charge between the hours of 0900 and 1600 and overnight stays start at £10 for a vessel  of up to five metres. During the summer season – 30 March – 30 October  – a pier master is on hand to welcome, advise and assist passing sailors.

Centrally located in old Harwich the mooring pontoons are ideally situated for hungry sailors to tie-up and enjoy some of the culinary delights on offer in and around the area.

The Harwich Harbour Foot Ferry, which can accommodate up to 58 people on a brand-new boat, takes foot passengers and cyclists every hour from the Ha’Penny Pier across the Harbour to Shotley and Felixstowe.

Hourly train services provide a fast convenient service between Harwich International Port, Dovercourt Town Centre and Harwich Town Stations on ‘The Mayflower Line.’

Rail passengers can travel to Harwich International Station, being adjacent to the ferry and cruise terminals. Regular service connections to London (70 minutes) and also to other UK destinations.

You can travel to Harwich and Dovercourt from London Liverpool street, Ipswich or Colchester, visit Greater Anglia for timetable

Regular services link the Port with the Town Centre. Details & timetables can be found in the Ferry Terminal at the Port, the Guildhall in Harwich and at the Ha’Penny Pier Visitor Centre on Harwich Quay.

Stenaline operate regular day and night crossings on the Stena Hollandica and Stena Britannica from the Hook of Holland to Harwich.

Harwich is easily accessible by bicycle, simply take national cycling route 51 from Colchester. You will also benefit from the various cycling trails in and around Harwich ranging from 1 mile to over 25 miles.

London (Stansted) Airport is within easy reach of Harwich (just 50 minutes by car or taxi), with Heathrow and Gatwick being only 2 hours’ drive away.

Arriving to Harwich by foot will allow you to take in much of the area’s natural coastal beauty, and indeed the industrial landscape that has shaped the town’s history.

For a medium-length walk around historical Harwich and the seafront, begin at Harwich Town station and head through old Harwich to the docks and onward to Dovercourt.

The Harwich to Wrabness leg of the Essex Way, a marvellous 8 mile walk across a variety of terrain, begins at the High Lighthouse in Harwich and passes through Copperas Wood.