Home
Your location

Harwich

Built-up area in Tendring, Essex, England

Coordinates:51.935, 1.253
OS grid ref:TM 23 31
Population:20,723
Dialling code: 01394 (Felixstowe)

Harwich is a compact port town in the district of Tendring, Essex, England, sitting at the mouth of the rivers Stour and Orwell where they meet the North Sea. Its location, opposite the Shotley peninsula and within sight of the container port at Felixstowe, has long made it a strategic harbour and given it a windswept, maritime character.

Today the town mixes working port activity - centred on Harwich International Port at Parkeston with ferry links across the North Sea to Hook of Holland - with a strong sense of heritage: Georgian and Victorian seafaring buildings, Napoleonic defences such as the Harwich Redoubt and nearby Martello towers, and a small local tourism and fishing economy. Good rail and road links, including the Mayflower Line, keep it connected to Colchester and the wider region while local museums and events underline its long maritime story.

Postcode districts covering Harwich

Most populated places nearby

Neighbouring places

Example postcodes in Harwich

Transport links

  • Airport London Southend Airport 34.6 miles55.7 km
  • Airport Stansted Airport 43.5 miles70.1 km
  • Railway station Harwich International Railway Station 0.9 miles1.4 km
  • Railway station Dovercourt Railway Station 1.2 miles1.9 km

Schools in Harwich

  • Spring Meadow Primary School & Nursery Primary
  • All Saints' C of E Voluntary Aided Primary School, Dovercourt Primary
  • Chase Lane Primary School and Nursery Primary
  • Harwich and Dovercourt High School Secondary
  • The Mayflower Primary School Primary
  • St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Primary

Local points of interest

  • Harwich International Ferry Terminal Harbour 1 mile1.5 km
  • Felixstowe Trinity Terminal Harbour 2.6 miles4.2 km
  • Harwich Harbor Harbour 2.8 miles4.6 km
  • Pedlars Wood Forest 6.4 miles10.4 km
  • Newbourne Springs Nature reserve 7.9 miles12.7 km
  • Foxall Stadium Stadium 8.4 miles13.5 km
  • Suffolk College University 9.1 miles14.7 km
  • Portman Road Stadium 9.5 miles15.3 km
  • Sutton Hoo Archaeological site 11.6 miles18.7 km
  • University of Essex University 13.5 miles21.8 km
  • Colchester Community Stadium Stadium 15.1 miles24.3 km
  • Roman Circus visitor centre Museum 15.6 miles25.1 km