Essex Waterways
Try the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation Walk
Things To Do
Heybridge Basin links the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation to the Blackwater Estuary via a tidal sea lock. The Basin is an excellent base for a day out with friends or family; hop on a boat trip, hire a canoe or walk the coastal paths.
Have a picnic lunch at Heybridge Basin and see the visiting yachts, or grab a bite to eat at Daisy Meadow kiosk and watch the boats go by. A tea room and two pubs also overlook the waterways.
Heybridge Basin Sea Lock was built as the eastern terminus for the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. The village of Heybridge Basin grew up around the lock, as there was plenty of work unloading the ships into the barges that took supplies to Chelmsford. The village has continued to expand into the 21st century despite the cessation of commercial activities on the Navigation in 1972. The village now supports leisure and recreation, buoyed by the excellent sailing facilities on the Blackwater Estuary and the sheltered moorings in the Basin and upstream.
Parking
Basin Road, Heybridge Basin, Maldon, CM9 4RR
Get Directions to Heybridge Basin
Heybridge Basin
Heybridge Basin & Paper Mill Lock
Walk
Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation
Canoeing & Paddleboarding
Angling
Step on board one of our trip boats and enjoy a cruise along the glorious Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation in Essex with Chelmer Cruises. The Navigation offers nearly 14 miles of waterway to explore.