Walking the Essex Coast - Grays to Rainham

The plan for this year is walk around the coast of Essex, or as much of the 3oo miles that is accessible. By Essex, I mean the ceremonial county of Essex which includes Thurrock and Southend which aren't part of administrative Essex. For this reason my walk starts on the Aveley marshes. If I wanted to walk around the coastline of the traditional county of Essex I would have to start at the mouth of the river Lee about ten miles upstream. However we are still waiting for the Thames Path Northern Extension to join up Island Gardens with Rainham Marshes. This means that despite living less than a mile from the mighty river Thames I can't walk by it in my old home town.

I picked a cold grey day in January to make a start walking from Grays to Rainham, a distance of eleven miles. Most of the route is industrial taking you past oil depots, factories and freight ferry terminals. Not very pretty but very accessible.

The highlight of the day was the visit to St Clements Church, always isolated from its parishioners hidden among the marshes, is now cut off by the railway and surrounded by factories. The church is where Gareth's funeral took place in Four Weddings etc. It is now in the care of Proctor and Gamble and I was very lucky to bump into the security guard who let me have a look around. Apparently it has connections with the Knights Templar, so I'm surprised Dan Brown hasn't been around looking for buried treasure.

On the way to the QE2 bridge there is an enormous graffitti wall and I met a couple of official artists at work, otherwise I didn't see a soul for about four miles. Less official graffitti artists have been at work on the bridge itself as one of the piers is accessible at low tide. The next town after Grays is Purfleet, site of a large gunpowder magazine, now a Heritage centre. Purfleet is separated from RSPB Rainham by a strange water feature that necessitates a half mile detour inland, although it looks as if a bridge is being built.

I had a rest at the RSPB cafe where I was hoping to enjoy a nice bacon sandwich but got a sausage one instead. The route from Purfleet to Rainham is a familiar one as it forms part of the London Loop and the last part along Havering River path was one our family's favorite Sunday afternoon walks, when falling into the Thames meant almost certain death, according to my mother. Aveley Marshes were formerly Army shooting ranges and now form part of the RSPB nature reserve. The foreshore is also accessible at this point and the views are quite extensive on a clear day.

On leaving Essex, the first thing you pass in Havering is a landfill site filled up with London rubbish brought by barge. On the day I was walking it was giving off the distinct smell of camphor like a Vics vapour rub. The landfile site is being landscaped and may one day become a country park. The only other thing of note on this stretch is the old wartime barges that were used as flood defences before the Thames Path comes to an abrupt halt just past the Tilda Rice factory. Alas here we wait for the path that should take us all the way to Olympic village.

It's about a mile back to Rainham from the Thames through a very unlovely industrial estate and over a enormous footbridge that crosses the Eurostar line to the 103 bus that carried me home.

What a Scilly name!

View to Penninnis Head

A Scilly day out with some pictures

The Scilly Isles are a group of islands about 28 miles south west of Lands End. Only five of the islands are occupied and the resident population is about 2000. The Scillies have their own island council quite independent of Cornwall, which makes them the smallest unitary authority in the UK. They have been inhabited since the Stone Age with several burial sites around the islands. The largest island, St Marys, is where most of the tourists arrive, either by boat or helicopter from Penzance. I chose to fly on a small plane from Lands End airport, which was clearly visible from my campsite.

The climate on the Scillies is quite mild, which is very good for the flower business and the famous tourist attraction, Tresco Abbey Gardens. There were some interesting dark pines on one of islands set against the white sandy beach that made you think of the tropics. The weather for my visit was mild, with sunny intervals and the odd shower. I wouldn't like to be there in an Atlantic storm. What attracts tourists I suppose is the peace and quiet, although I thought there was quite a lot of traffic and the noise of planes taking off could be heard all of the island. There were lots of art and crafts places on St Marys (the only island I visited), boat trips to the other smaller islands, so of which are virtually traffic free. Of interest to me were the tea shops and the remains of the old Garrison.

I couldn't resist the pull of such a remote top and the adventure of travelling in a very small plane. Telegraph Hill (167ft /51m) is the highest point of all the islands and luckily for me it was about a mile from St Mary's airport. I'd venture to say that most of St Mary's was about a mile from the airport. It wasn't hard to find, the clue was in the name. Like all self respecting tops it was adorned by a couple of aerial mast, and for good measure, an odd round tower and a telephone box. After bagging the top, I spent the rest of the day wandering along the coastal footpath and taking regular refreshment.

Click on the slide show for more pictures.

Highlights from the big trip

The highpoint of the trip, both literally and figuratively, was getting to the top of Dartmoor, all 2037ft / 621m of it on what was an exceptionally good weather day. High Willhays is in the centre of this ridge, with Yes Tor, slightly lower but a bit more impressive on the left hand side.

The whole fortnight was all about high points as I got to the top of 15 out of the 16 hills I set out to bag. The only failure was Carnmenellis in Cornwall, a very unlovely hill with no public access at the top. Kit Hill, also in Cornwall, wins the prize for the best all round views, with Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Hensbarrow Beacon and Plymouth all clearly visible. I was extremely lucky with the weather as I didn't get wet once, whilest totting up over 95 miles and over 45 hours of walking. I averaged a cream tea every other day.


Flying over to the Scillies was also pretty exciting, but not a high spot as the plane cruised at only 1000ft. Flying in tiny aircraft is actually quite good fun, but take ear plugs as they are very noisy. It will probably be the one and only time I actually get to fly over a top.

I think the island shown is Bryher, but I'm not too sure.

Beside yomping over the countryside, eating cream teas, I got to visit quite a few National Trust gardens (usually in pursuit of lunch or tea), walked a little bit of the South West Coastal path on each coast (Channel and Atlantic) and did a few other touristy things. (Subjects for later blogs)

Anyone seen Bill or Ben?

Bagging the Big One

My first UK Mountain

Today was the high point of my trip as I bagged not one mountain but two. High Willhays (2038ft) and Yes Tor (2030ft) qualify as mountains by being over 2000ft. I decided to take advantage of the benign weather as the forecast for the rest of the week isn't good. There was plenty of blue sky and high white cloud with excellent visibility.

Dartmoor is a fairly trackless place and most of the sign posts say helpful things like "To the Moors" which I think most of us could work out. I needed all my map reading skills and the GPS to find High Willhays as it's hidden from view most of the way.

I followed the valley of the West Okement river towards Black Tor, a pretty impressive collection of flat rocks until I came to Blackator Copse (full of ancient oaks) when I had to start going up a very steep gradient. I was looking forward to enjoying the view in splendid isolation but I arrived at the same time as a load of ramblers.

From here I got my first view of High Willhays, a rounded bump about a mile a way. It was very deceptive as the gradient didn't look too strenuous but it didn't stop going up for that mile. Walking on Dartmoor is not particularly pleasant as there are no well defined tracks, and it can be very boggy/rocky. You also have to avoid cows and unexploded ordinance (only the former in my case).

On top of High Willhays it was very, very windy and cold, so I couldn't flourish the map to pinpoint all the other hills and I didn't hang about admiring the view. You could see a very long way in all directions. I went on to Yes Tor, which was a bit more impressive and then had to work out how to get off the hill. After a slight hiccup I was able to re-orientate myself and work out the lie of the land and headed off to the Meldon resevoir and cycleway back to Archie.

This walk lasted over five hours and went on for eight and half miles and was pretty challenging. You need to able to read maps and understand the geography. Dartmoor is an unforgiving place and I was very lucky to find it on such a quiet day, weather wise. You need to have a bit faith in yourself too.

For a fat, fifty-year old who's been living on a diet on cream teas, I didn't do too bad.

Bagging Brown Willy

Brown Willy Tor is the highest point in Cornwall, at 1378ft it is number 16 on the traditional county list. What it lacks in height, Brown Willy makes up for in remoteness. You can either walk 3½ miles from Jamaica Inn on the A30 or 2 miles from Rough Tor car park. I opted for the shorter route, which meant I had to walk over the second highest hill in Cornwall to get there.

It was a great afternoon for walking, plenty of sunshine and a gentle wind except on the tops where it did blow a bit. The path to Rough Tor was a very easy climb over lawn-like turf well mowed by the resident sheep and horses. Rough Tor is quite distinctive in shape, with high flat stones balanced on top of each other. There is a Logan Rock which you can move. Not being a Marilyn, I didn’t feel the need to explore it but scrambled down the other side towards Brown Willy about a mile and half away, only visible once you breasted Rough Tor.

Someone had thoughtfully put out some blue flags for a cross country race which led all the way to the top. It was a bit of a plod but not as steep as Lewesdon Hill last week. On the way I passed a ruined farmhouse surrounded by trees bent backwards by the wind, testament to how harsh the climate can be.

Brown Willy was marked by a trig pillar and a cairn, no topographs or aerials, with 360° views over Bodmin Moor. It was satisfyingly remote without being a totally knackering walk. I sat by the cairn enjoying the peace, watching kestrels hovering above. I met only three people on route from Rough Tor; one man who nearly caught with my pants down and two young men, obviously attracted by my powerful aura of knowledge, proceeded to quiz me on all thing geographical.

Topping good top!

A Scilly day out

When I lifted my curtain this morning I was very pleased to see the control tower of nearby Land’s End airport as today is the day of my trip to the Scillies. Yesterday, the airport and most of the campsite were swamped in grey murky mist and so the weather looked kind for my trip. I set away so promptly that I was upgraded to an earlier flight. At the checkin desk, they not only weight your luggage but you as well. I was lucky not to be charged for excess baggage after the numerous cream teas I’ve eaten.

The plane was a Cessna that carried eight people and the pilot in a space rather smaller than the interior of my van. Everyone got a window seat but the best ones are right behind the pilot. It’s a short, noisy but uneventful trip to St Mary’s, the largest island in the Scillies. Land appeared after about ten minutes, green fields and white sandy beaches dotted about in the Atlantic.

Once disembarked from the plane, I headed across the island to the highest point, Telegraph Hill (167ft), about a mile away and clearly visible from the airport. Despite its tiny size, Telegraph Hill has all the attributes of a proper top, it’s a hill and it’s got the obligatory aerial (or two) as well as a weird round building and a telephone box as markers.

Having rapidly dispensed with the business part of the trip, I was free to enjoy the rest of the island in the mild vaguely sunny weather. From Telegraph Hill, I picked up the coastal footpath across the golf course to St Mary’s. There were fine views across to the other islands. The path emerged by Juliet’s Garden Restaurant so I popped in for some tea and cake (seemed rude not to.) Once the food arrived I was joined by some birdlife with a serious addiction to cake and no fear. It was like a scene from the Birds!

I wandered through Hugh Town and did a circuit of the Garrison Walls with splendid views in all directions, taking in all the other islands. Visibility was good and I could see the Bishop’s Rock Lighthouse, with its distinctive helicopter pad about six miles south west of St Mary’s.
Hugh Town looked a little jaded as everyone was recovering from World Gig Boat Racing Championships, which is THE major social event in the Scillies.

Sadly, the weather turned in the afternoon and a soft rain was gonna fall so I retired to yet another tea shop until it improved. I had clear blue skies for the flight home in a slightly larger plane that had a crew of two. The plane did a sweep across the islands which I’m sure was for the amusement of the passengers, so for the first ( and possible last) time I got to fly over a top.

So what do people come all this way for (if not to climb to the highest point.) Most seem to come so they can leave again to visit the other islands, the most popular being Tresco with its famous Abbey gardens. All kinds of boat trips were on offer, sightseeing, wildlife spotting and evening supper trips. St Mary’s has a coastal path, with easy walking and great views. There are even a couple of nature reserves. The only museum was shut though. There were numerous potteries and studios and shops for those who enjoying spending money on holiday. I think you have to enjoy peace and quiet, a more relaxed pace of life and tea shops to get the best out of a holiday here.

The Scillies are pretty remote, there’s only one boat and it takes over three hours from Penzance. However on the quayside a spotted a man using his dongle and everyone had a mobile phone, so not too remote then.