“With the aid of these maps I measured the distance, using a pedometer, from White House Farm to 9 Head Street, Goldhanger, via the farm track and sea wall. This route measured 6,978 metres and at a brisk walk took 70 minutes to complete. I subsequently cycled this route in 35 minutes.
I then measured the distance, using a pedometer, from 9 Head Street, Goldhanger to Brook House Farm track at its junction with Maldon Road via Church Street and the B1026. This route measured 2895 metres and at a brisk walk took 28 minutes to complete. I subsequently cycled this route in 10 minutes.
I then measured the distance, using a pedometer, from Brook House Farm Track at its junction with Maldon Road to White House Farm via B1026 and B1023. This route measured 3290 metres and at a brisk walk took 30 minutes to complete. I subsequently cycled this route in 12 minutes.
I then measured the distance, with a pedometer, from White House Farm to Maldon Road via Brook House Farm track. This route measured 1629 metres and at a brisk walk took 17 minutes to complete. This track is well maintained, clearly defined, and easily negotiable by foot, cycle or motor vehicle. I subsequently cycled this route in 6 minutes.
There are footpaths marked on the Ordnance Survey map which seem to link White House Farm and Goldhanger in a direct manner via Joyces Farm and Lauriston Farm. However I have attempted to negotiate these footpaths but without success. The paths go directly across ploughed fields or
cultivated crops or peter out on the banks of small streams and irrigation canals.
In my opinion the shortest practicable route between White House Farm and Goldhanger without using main roads is via the sea wall. However, the shortest and quickest practicable route between White House Farm and Goldhanger by foot, cycle or motor vehicle is by using Brook House Farm track and the B1026. This route is 1661 metres less than going through Tolleshunt D'Arcy.”
The routes detailed here mostly involve going on a road, and yet no one saw anything. The footpaths away from the road were not negotiable. The sea wall is a narrow route with a drop into water on one side. Is it realistic to believe that Jeremy Bamber mounted a ladies bicycle and cycled across routes that were partly overgrown and he did all this in the pitch black in a matter of minutes?
Hi Patti, so the 6 minutes that people are quoting is just from WHF to Maldon Rd, It looks like that is where people are making the mistake, thinking that 6 minutes is the whole journey.
Just a note on the sea wall, the word 'wall' is a bit deceptive as there isn't a wall at all. It is a raised bank with sloping concrete on one side and a grass bank on the other. There is also rarely any water there, it is only at very high tides that the water reaches the bottom of the bank.
There is also innaccuracy in describing the sea wall as narrow, as it is (and was) several metres across, people often use the track when out horse riding without concerns. There are a couple of pinch points but nothing which makes the route innaccessible or dangerous. In addition to the track on top of the wall (bank/bund), there is a grass track at the bottom for much of the route, this grass track is wide enough for vehicles, in fact a six berth large mobile home has been towed and parked mid way along the track where a jetty extends across the mud flats giving access to the water for people using canoes.
Also, nobody is actually putting a time limit on the length of time for JB to make the journey. He could have taken the best part of an hour if he wanted to.
