Trains to Manningtree

Manningtree train station is on the Great Eastern Main Line, and serves the small town of Manningtree in Essex. For years it kept up a disputed claim to be the smallest village in England, with a population of just 700 - but whatever the truth of that, it's a very pleasant riverside town, situated where the Stour begins to widen into Holbrook Bay. Despite being just 500m long, its high street - a 10-minute walk from the station - is packed with shops, bars, pubs and restaurants, and features some fine Georgian buildings. The station lies just west of town, and was originally built in 1846, to designs by the major railway architect W. N. Ashbee. It was subsequently rebuilt in 1899, and has stood untouched since then. Today it offers regular passenger services to London Liverpool Street, Norwich, Harwich Town and Ipswich, with the trip to the capital taking about an hour and a quarter.