Whilst we welcome volunteers from all over the world, we are conscious of the carbon emissions created by journeys to Old Hall.

If you are planning to come to stay with us, we expect you will give some thought as to how you can reduce the carbon emissions of your journey, but here is some information which might help you. If we haven’t included anything that might be useful to other volunteers, please do let us know.

By Train

The website of The Man in Seat Sixty-One is very informative about train travel.

Click here for seat 61

Our nearest railway station is Manningtree, about 3 miles away, on the London Liverpool Street to Norwich line. It is served by ‘one railways’

Click here for 'One Railways'

Tickets booked in advance on-line can work out cheaper.

Once you arrive at Manningtree Station, you can catch bus 730 (731) from the forecourt. It leaves at 0622, 0822, 1040, 1240, 1440, 1640 (731), 1835, and takes about 8 minutes to reach Old Hall.

Alternatively, it takes about 50 minutes to walk across country, along footpaths. Please refer to the map at the top of this page.

By Bicycle

If you are going to travel by bicycle, you are probably an experienced cyclist with knowledge about cycle routes across Britain. However, if you are a novice cyclist, the Sustrans website might we worth looking at.

For information about carrying your bicycle on ‘one railways’ click here

By Boat

The Port of Harwich is not far away from us. It is served by Stenaline with sailings to and from the Hook of Holland. From Harwich you can catch a train to Manningtree, and then follow the advice above about travelling by train.

By Coach

There is a coach service from London Victoria to Colchester. Information can be found on the National Express website. Once you arrive in Colchester, you can catch a local bus to East Bergholt (most services stop outside our gate, or get off at the Lambe School). Use Traveline for information about this part of your journey.

By Bus

If you are travelling from either Colchester or Ipswich, use Traveline for information about how you get to East Bergholt.

By Car

We don’t know how easy it would be to arrange a lift to this part of the country from where you are, but sharing a lift might be worth a consideration.

Try Liftshare or Freewheelers

By Air

If you cannot avoid travelling by plane, then perhaps you would consider offsetting your carbon emissions. Two sites to consider are:

Carbon Clear or Co2 Balance.

By Horse

With sufficient notice, we can probably stable a horse, mule or donkey, but we think we'd draw a line at a camel.

Disclaimer: The content contained within any of the links above do not necessarily represent the collective views of Old Hall Community but rather those of the individuals or organisations whose site it is