Yahoo News RideLondon: All the road closures and times in Essex as the huge cycling event returns to the county for the third year
Huge numbers of cyclists will head along roads in Essex as part of an annual RideLondon event being held this bank holiday weekend. The popular Ford RideLondon-Essex event sees cyclists take on various routes ad different parts of the county.
The 2024 edition takes place on May 26 but locals will face some road closures on Friday (May 24) and Saturday (May 25). The Classique event travels between Colchester and Saffron Walden on Friday, travelling through areas including Uttlesford, Braintree and Tendring.
More than 20,000 cyclists will be riding one of three distances on traffic-free roads through the picturesque Essex countryside, towns and villages, with thousands of people raising millions for charity. The 100, 60, and 30-mile events all start in central London and head out to Essex via Epping Forest, passing through Epping, North Weald, Ongar, Fyfield and Leaden Roding before reaching Great Dunmow.
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From Dunmow, the route takes riders on part of the 2014 Tour de France route, through Felsted, Great Waltham, the Melbourne area of Chelmsford and Writtle before going back through Ongar and onwards towards the finish in London. There will be food and refreshments stopping points on the route, in addition to four official Welfare Stops – in Epping, Felsted School, Ongar and Woodford Green – where riders are encouraged to take an extended break.
Full list of road closures for RideLondon this weekend
The majority of road closures for the event in Essex this weekend will be on Sunday. However, areas of Saffron Walden and Maldon will also be closed on Friday and Saturday for the classique events. A full rundown on the closures is below.
Friday, May 24
King Street, Saffron Walden (4am to 2pm)
Market Square, Saffron Walden (4am to 2pm)
Market Hill, Saffron Walden (4am to 2pm)
Hill Street, Saffron Walden (10:5am to 11:20am)
George Street, Saffron Walden (10:5am to 11:20am)
High Street, Saffron Walden (10:5am to 11:20am)
London Road, Saffron Walden (10:5am to 11:20am)
Audley End Road, Saffron Walden (10:5am to 11:20am)
High Street, Colchester (4am to 8pm)
Lewis Gardens, Colchester (4am to 8pm)
East Hill, Colchester (4am to 8pm)
East Street, Colchester (2:45pm to 3:45pm)
Ipswich Road, Colchester (2:45pm to 3:45pm)
St Andrew's Avenue, Colchester (2:45pm to 3:45pm)
Harwich Road, Colchester (2:45pm to 3:45pm)
Bromley Road, Colchester (2:45pm to 3:45pm)
Priory Street, Colchester (2:45pm to 6pm)
Saturday, May 25
The Causeway, Maldon (10:30am to 11:30am)
The Street, Maldon (10:30am to 11:30am)
Goldhanger Road, Maldon (10:30am to 11:30am)
Lower High Street, Maldon (10:45am to 11:15am)
Mill Road, Maldon (10:45am to 11:15am)
Maldon Bypass - A414 (12pm to 3:30pm)
London Road, Maldon (12:30pm to 3:30pm)
Witham Road - B1018 (12:30pm to 2:30pm)
Maldon Road - B1019 (12:30pm to 2:30pm)
Heybridge Approach, Maldon (12:30pm to 2:30pm)
Langford Road, Maldon (12:30pm to 2:30pm)
Spital Road, Maldon (2pm to 3:30pm)
Sunday, May 26
Buckhurst Hill
From South Woodford (via the Woodford Green roundabout), the High Road Woodford Green (A1199) to the junction of High Road and Epping New Road, (Buckhurst Hill and Loughton turn off) is closed from 05.00 to 18.30.
The High Road, (north of the Epping New Road turn off) is closed from 05.00 to 12.00.
From Chigwell, Palmerston Road and Roding Lane are closed from 07.30 to 18.00.
Heading South from Buckhurst Hill, the High Road and Woodford Green are both closed from 07.30 to 18.00.
Epping
From Golding Hill (Miller and Carter Roundabout), the Epping Road is closed from 05.00 to 12.30.
From Thornwood Common, the B1393 is closed from 05.00 to 13.00.
From North Weald, the B181 is closed from 05.00 to 13.00.
North Weald
From Epping and Thornwood Common the Epping Road (B181) is closed from 05.00 to 13.00.
From Ongar the Epping Road from Tylers Green roundabout and the A414 are closed is from 05.00 to 13.00.
Fyfield
From Ongar (Four Wantz Roundabout) the B184 is closed from 05.00 to 13.30
From Abbess and Beauchamp Roding the Dunmow Road (B184) is closed from 05.00 to 13.30.
Leaden Roding
From Fyfield and White Roding, the B184 Dunmow Road, and the A1060 (from the Dunmow Road junction) are closed from 07.35 to 13.00.
From High Roding, the Dunmow Road is closed from 06.00 to 14.30.
Great Dunmow
From High Roding, the B184 Dunmow Road, is closed from 06.00 to 14.30.
From Blake End, the B1256 is closed from 06.00 to 15.00.
The High Road in Great Dunmow is closed for a community festival from 06.00 to 17.00.
Felsted
From Gransmore Green and Bannister Green, The Braintree Road (B1417) is closed from 06.00 to 15.30.
From Hartford End, the B1417 is closed from 06.00 to 15.30.
Writtle
From Fanners Green, Woodall Hill and Chignon Road are closed from 06.00 to 15.30.
From Chelmsford, the Rainsford Road/Roxwell Road (A1060) is closed at the Chignal Road junction from 07.00 to 15.30.
From Roxwell, the Roxwell Road (A1060) is closed at the Lordship Road junction from 07.00 to 15.30.
From Chelmsford, The Greenbury Way (A414) is closed at the Highwood Road roundabout from 05.00 to 17.00.
From Ongar, the Ongar Road (A414) is closed at the Highwood Road roundabout, from 08.00 to 17.00.
Ongar
From North Weald, The Epping Road (A414) is closed from 05.00 to 13.00.
From Fyfield, The Fyfield Road (B184), is closed from 05.00 to 13.30.
From Writtle, The Ongar Road, (A414) is closed from 05.00 to 17.00.
From Marden Ash, the Ongar High Street is closed from 07.30 to 17.00.
To see a full map of the route for RideLondon this year, click here.
Other activities taking place for the event
Along with the cycling there will be various other activities taking place at certain points along the route of RideLondon on Sunday, detailed below.
Ongar - There will be a street festival covering the length of the high street. Local businesses are hosting family-friendly activities, arts and crafts and a treasure hunt, as well as smoothie bikes to make pedal-powered fruit drinks. Along the street, where there is an open top bus, will be a live DJ, face painting and entertainers. Local cafes, bars and restaurants will be serving food and drink all day.
Epping - The Epping Community Fete in Epping Green, hosted by Epping Forest District Council, takes place between 8am and 12pm. The fete will run alongside the array of local businesses opening their doors for riders at the official breakfast stop at 25 miles. Onsite there will be local organisations including St Clare Hospice, Essex Police, Open Door Friendship Group, Epping Forest food bank, Places Leisure, and more. Activities include face painting, pavement art, music performances and there will also be a chance to win a bike, courtesy of Cycle King.
Chelmsford - Chelmsford City Council is hosting a Summer of Cycling festival in Central Park between 10:30 and 14:30. There will be several activities for families to try, including free balance bike sessions and free led rides. There will also be refreshments and other activities at the community stalls. Central Park has off-road cycle paths to the refreshment zone at Writtle Green.
Great Dunmow - Great Dunmow is hosting a town festival between 10.15am and 4pm, with live music from the band Noisy Neighbours, and stands for the Scouts, Dunmow Velo, and the Toy Box with activities for children and face painting. Local businesses and organisations will provide games and activities, drinks and refreshments, as well as free balance bike sessions for young children to start them on their cycling journey.
