I remember this well. My folks lived at Great Clacton, and I was at Bata Technica lCollege, East Tilbury, between 1960 and 1963 so I often made the return journey over a weekend. The whole journey took four hours, and it was very drafty. I think the return fare was around seven shillings. I don’t recall the Harwich leg…that would have been before or after my time.
By Clive Richardson (09/05/2021)
The 53 route went beyond Colchester alternately to Clacton and Harwich. The route served Little Thurrock, Grays (Argent Street Garage), Socketts Heath, Horndon on the Hill, Laindon, Billericay, Chelmsford, Witham (where crews were exchanged), Colchester and then either Clacton or Harwich. The Harwich service was used by ship’s pilots to get them back to their starting point. The route Tilbury-Harwich was 85 miles and the longest bus route in the country at the time. I believe the journey time to Harwich was about 5 hours
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I remember this well. My folks lived at Great Clacton, and I was at Bata Technica lCollege, East Tilbury, between 1960 and 1963 so I often made the return journey over a weekend. The whole journey took four hours, and it was very drafty. I think the return fare was around seven shillings. I don’t recall the Harwich leg…that would have been before or after my time.
The 53 route went beyond Colchester alternately to Clacton and Harwich. The route served Little Thurrock, Grays (Argent Street Garage), Socketts Heath, Horndon on the Hill, Laindon, Billericay, Chelmsford, Witham (where crews were exchanged), Colchester and then either Clacton or Harwich. The Harwich service was used by ship’s pilots to get them back to their starting point. The route Tilbury-Harwich was 85 miles and the longest bus route in the country at the time. I believe the journey time to Harwich was about 5 hours
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