This is an energetic and varied figure-of-eight walk through some tranquil, hilly parts of Essex, mostly through woods, both ancient and modern, and through flower-rich meadows and some farmland, which are all parts of Langdon Hills Country Park and the neighbouring Langdon Nature Reserve (which itself consists of five separate reserves). The hills form a crescent shaped ridge running West-to-East, giving panoramic views over the Thames Estuary from many points: out to Canvey Island and Fobbing Marshes in the East, across to Kent and to London’s Skyline in the West.
The lunch destination Horndon-on-the-Hill is a conservation area and features several noteworthy buildings as well as a multi award-winning pub. On the return you walk through more beautiful, undulating woods and then through the Dunton Plotlands part of the Nature Reserve, an interesting area formerly full of bungalows and chalets for Londoners, now with a brand-new large visitor centre and café.
Disclaimer: This walk contains some arable field crossings around lunch (about 1km in total), where it is also afflicted by some road noise from the nearby A13 for a while.
2 comments:
The lunch pub requires a £15 charge for no-shows or amendments within 24 hours of the booking. If anyone is interested in joining the table, can they please contact me by Friday EOB. I will then amend the booking with the final number on Sat morning. Thanks
Four n=4 walkers today, under w=grey-skies and with some haze in the distance, preventing clear far views from the various viewpoints into the Thames Valley or back to London's Skyline. Nevertheless a varied walk that found liking amongst the three who hadn't walked the route before. Mud wasn't really an issue, as - after the dry-ish week we have had - the quick-draining Essex soil meant that paths weren't very slithery at all and the arable field crossings were mostly on firm ground, without collecting mud on soles and smearing up gaiters (apart from one 50m stretch which he had to dance around).
In Horndon-on-the-Hill, the one picknicker marched on and the other three settled down at the pre-booked table for a sumptious 90 mins meal. The Bell Inn: still one of the best and most certainly the most long-term consistent of the SWC foodie stops.
That still left us enough time for a 20 min stop at the Visitor Centre Cafe at the Plotlands, including some purchases from their Wildlife Trust Shop.
16.27 train.
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