This story from 1900 will have familiar elements for anyone who has bikepacked in less than favourable cirumstances:

https://archive.org/stream/wideworldmag ... 4/mode/2up

Highly recommended!

That's the Broomway. As featured in Robert Macfarlane's The Old Ways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Broomway

It is indeed. In fact that's the book recommendation that came along with the link Andy sent me to this article.

He ran out that way over Easter and took some great photos of it:

Clearly the epic thing to do is to ride out there with an inflatable packraft and wait for the tide to rise. Bearing in mind the following:

"The Foulness Burial Register records 66 bodies recovered from the sands since 1600 which is only a fraction of the total who have drowned."