“The witches flung themselves out into the Essex night. Taking over hamlets and villages. Embedding themselves within the heart beat of the area. Follow the route and search an area that was once was a hot bed of witchcraft shenanigans…”

The Essex Witch Trails is a bike ride that connects you to the landscape where centuries ago women were executed on trumped up charges from statements made under duress and torture. Each rider will receive the gps route and a booklet in the post, which like a brevet card will need to be authenticated. There will be six checkpoints to go through. Some stops might have a token to collect, at others somebody will stamp your booklet.  At the end of the ride your booklet will be verified and you will get something to take home with you. It could be a t-shirt, a cycling cap, or even a musette! A unique design for each edition.

After having previously run the event as an all-road affair, we have now switched to gravel; giving us more routes and more places to explore. Colchester is our start and finish, and this year we will be heading out in a new direction. Don’t worry we will still finish at the pub. The route is yet to be finished, but expect the distance to be around 50km. If you want to get a feel for the ride, there is a video made by the excellent Peter Tredway down below or have a read on Blackmore Cycling Apparel’s journal: Essex Witch Trails IIII

If this all sounds interesting, then register your interest and by all means ask any questions by using the submission form down below.

don’t forget to check your junk folder, sometimes my replies might slip in there…