Ascent/Descent:
127/120m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 4 ½ hours
Toughness:
3 out of 10
Take
the 10.14 Southend Victoria
train from Liverpool Street (10.23 Stratford, 10.34 Romford etc.), change at Wickford
onto the Southminster service (arr. 11.03, dep. 11.06), arrives North
Fambridge 11.20. Nervous about the 3 minute connection in Wickford (the
connecting train typically does NOT wait)? Take the 09.44 train from L’pool Street…
Return
trains
from Burnham are hourly on xx.10 (80
mins journey time). Buy a Burnham-on-Crouch return.
Serenity,
tranquillity, solitude: you’ll find lots of it on this walk on the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, which
largely follows the tidal River
Crouch
eastwards towards the North Sea, on a wide grassy path atop the sea wall, and
with the prevailing wind in the back. Far away from any conurbations, you’ll
experience wide open and scenic countryside, constantly changing river views,
salt marshes, reed ponds, mudflats, creeks, rich bird life, sailing boats and
marinas, to then end along the promenade in charming Burnham-on-Crouch, with its plethora
of tea options, on the last day of The Endeavour Trophy regatta. Flat throughout (apart from the diversion inland for lunch at
the good value pub The Three Horseshoes in Althorne), and with exceptionally
easy route finding.
Shortcuts:
·
It
is possible to shorten the walk by taking the train back from Althorne, just
before/after lunch.
·
You
can also cut short the approach to the river from Fambridge station in the
morning by using a more direct route (cuts 1.4 km/0.9 mi) or cut the Burnham
ending short by using a more direct route to the station (cuts 2.1 km/1.3 mi).
·
Taking
both shortcuts therefore reduces the length of the walk to 17.4 km (10.9 mi).
·
Finally,
if you bring your own lunch (no shops along the route) for a picnic by the
river, you can cut out the walk inland to the lunch pub, reducing the walk by
2.9 km/1.8 mi.
Lunch
is at the family-run The Three Horseshoes in Althorne (11.5 km/7.2 mi). For tea, you are spoilt for choice for
cafes, restaurants and pubs in Burnham (we might even manage to gate crash the
bar at The
Royal Corinthian Yacht Club again in its stunning location overhanging
the river estuary…). For details on all these options consult the Walk
Directions pdf.
For
walk directions, map, height profile, some photos, a video and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.162
1 comment:
Always a nice walk, whatever the weather, whatever the season, in my opinion, but especially so when it's w=sunny-with-a-breeze-from-behind, and the tide is low, the mudbanks are exposed and the birdlife is busy, as it was today.
n=18 walkers today, 13 or 14 of which went to the lunch pub. Some were quite happy with their food, others had some grumbles, but outside in the sun, this didn't really matter all that much. 9 of us then had a very good cream tea (or just tea) in Burnham at the Georgian Tea Gardens and most of those then also had a drink on the wooden terrace of the Ye Olde White Hart pub, overhanging the river. 18.10 train for those. Purrrfect day.
Post a Comment