Sometimes you know it's going to be a good day. The signs are there; the sky is bluer than you expected, the train replacement bus arrives at the bus stop at the same time you do. Alas signs can be false. At the next stop the bus picked a woman who decided to share all her toilet problems with me. I got off at Upminister expecting to be whisked away to Tilbury by a comfortable C2C train but got yet another replacement bus instead to Chafford Hundred, from then a shuttle train to Grays and finally the train to Tilbury, that I could easily have caught from Rainham, a short bus ride from home. Thus I set out from Tilbury a little later than planned and as the connecting bus to Tilbury Ferry was nowhere to be seen, I had to walk the mile and half to the Thames riverside.
The coastal footpath runs for an unbroken six miles beside the Thames from the passenger ferry at Tilbury to a large travelling crane at Mucking (one of the great Essex place names). First stop was Tilbury Fort, arguably the premier heritage site in Essex. It was where Elizabeth I rallied the troops against the Armada and was for centuries the key fort in the defence of London and the Thames. These fortifications date from the 17th century with later Victorian improvements. The Officers Mess now houses a museum and staff accomodation. The fort looks most spectacular from the air where you can really appreciated its star shape. Apparently the worst action occured in 1776 when a cricket match between Essex and Kent left two people dead.
The next point of 'interest' was Tilbury Power Station, as a large coaling vessel was discharging its cargo, so there were lots in interesting machinery on the move and a pleasant smell of coal. There was a rather less pleasant smell of river but fortunately this was a temporary companion and riverside walking improved as I left the Power Station behind. However, the cold wind was a constant companion and I was glad of the extra layers I took with me.
From Tilbury the Thames runs due east for about three miles to Coalhouse Point before making a 90 degree turn north to Mucking creek. This would not be a good walk at high tide as most of the footpath is at the base of the sea wall. It was very pleasant to hear the waves lapping the shore but it wasn't very picturesque. East Tilbury marshes have been used as landfill and have a very derelict air. Apart from a few fisherman along the foreshore, I only met a couple of joggers, a lad on a bike and a man with a shotgun, which may explain why there didn't seem to be much birdlife. The only seat was a shrine to a young boy killed at Tilbury docks a few years ago, which was in keeping with the rather mournful air.
Coalhouse Point is marked by an old radar station, a large oil drum on stilts. Just around the bend is Coalhouse Fort, a fine example of a Victorian casemate fort currently undergoing restoration. It was built with state of the art Victorian defences that replaced Tilbury but these were never used in anger. The fort wasn't open but the Information Office was, with a kind invitation to "Come in and get warm" so I did. At this point there was a break in the clouds and I ate my picnic under blue skies and glorious sunshine which lasted about as long as the picnic.
Next to the fort is St Catherine's church, East Tilbury. Dutch warships had destroyed the church tower some time in the 1680's. In 1917, garrison troops from Coalhouse Fort started to build a new tower but never finished it. A short muddy path, took me back to the riverside for the last part of the walk. This was much the most pleasant part of the walk, watching the odd cargo sheet float silently past, and birds flying over the salt marsh. Along the sea wall, there were curious inclines which were labelled Duck Ramps. Apparently Essex ducks must be able to read.
The footpath ends at Mucking Marshes, formerly used for gravel extraction and now a mjor landfill site, jealously guarded by Cory Environmental. London's rubbish arrives by river in large yellow containers and is landed using the huge travelling crane. I gave up about 500 metres from the end when the path petered out altogether. I followed a footpath from the riverside to East Tilbury, which was developed by Thomas Bata, a Czech shoe magnate, in the 1930's, with a modern factory and housing and social facilities for the workers, the houses appear to be modelled on shoe boxes.
The lovely comfortable C2C train arrived on time but sadly I had to leave it at Grays for the long tortuous ride home on various replacement buses which took nearly as long as my walk.
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