SUP Hoe Mill Lock, River Chelmer, Essex
Hoe Mill Lock is slightly more tucked away on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation and used to be less busy than Paper Mill Lock – although things have changed since 2020, and parking is now much tighter! East of here, Maldon and the river estuary at Heybridge Basin aren’t too far away – just a few locks – but it’s generally a less busy stretch of water through some lovely farmland and countryside. One drawback is that when the carpetweed rises in high summer this stretch tends to suffer worst than most… Heading west it’s just two locks to Papermill for a 7km loop on often clearer waters.
