If the bike was used and the route is thought to be along the seawall, doesn't it take you right through another farmers yard?
I've walked the seawall from Goldhanger and i'm sure theres a farm between WHF and the seawall.
I know there is another route but that would take you past the cottages.
I've read somewhere it was an old shopper bike, hardly a great escape option for a quick getaway.
Andrea's right, it was a sit up and beg, bone shaker of a bike.
In my opinion, there is no way on God's earth that anyone could have cycled the sea wall path on that old bone shaker or any other bike.
Remember Gen, the sea wall path as it is now is nothing like it was during the 1980s. The sea wall and path have been radically improved since then in order to comply with Health & Safety requirements.
Around 25 years ago, that path was narrower and crumbling, the path went right up to the very edge of the sea wall in places, where it crumbled away. There were highly dangerous rocks below. I have old photographs of the sea wall and path which show this I've tried to post these here but the site will not accept my scans for some reason.
It would have been far too risky to cycle that highly precarious route in pitch black darkness or even in daylight. Anyone who took that risk is likely to have ended up on the rocks below.