Pictures of West Mersea

About West Mersea

This is a small coastal town in the Colchester region of Essex, it lies in an area renowned for its lively caravan and leisure parks, catering mainly for families.

The beach is crammed full of colourful beach huts and has fine views across the mouth of the River Blackwater to Bradwell-on-Sea. The beach is safe for bathing, windsurfing is popular and there is a small jetty for boats. For those wishing to escape the crowds there are plenty of places to enjoy a quiet stroll, including the hard from which you can admire colourful sea-craft. Away from the beach there are lots of shops and ice cream parlours.

Historically, the village dates back to Roman times when it was just a small settlement. A burial mound was discovered just a short distance from the church, this was found to contain the remains of a cremated body in a tiled burial chamber believed to have existed since the Ist century.

Despite the explosion of caravan parks bringing in a large summer population, West Mersea has managed to retain its character and old world charm, this can be seen in the number of handsome Georgian properties and weather-boarded cottages remaining from when West Mersea was just a small fishing village, visited by folk in search of oysters or a bit of quiet sailing.