The Countryside - The Coast - Essex

The rich, fertile landscape with its gentle and rolling countryside is crossed by river valleys, creeks and estuaries with a scattering of villages and towns, and long views across golden wheatfields to distant church spires. But not all is devoted to agriculture - pockets of ancient woodland, fiercely protected and the great forests of Hatfield & Epping, once part of the Royal Hunting Forest, remain. Country parks, hundreds of miles of public footpaths and bridleways ensure that everyone has access to the countryside. Amongst the hills and vales, picturesque villages can be found such as Finchingfield with its cluster of cottages, village pond and green. Nearby is Great Bardfield with its pargetted houses, and Hempstead, birthplace of Dick Turpin. To the east is the lovely old hillside town of Castle Hedingham, overlooked by its Norman castle keep. While to the south is Pleshey with its country cottages and castle mound, Greensted’s log church, the idyllic setting of Little Easton and the Rodings, a group of attractive villages which lie along the river valley of the same name. The Stour Valley (to the northwest of Colchester) provided the inspiration for the landscape painter John Constable, visit the lovely village of Dedham where he went to school. To the south, around the little town of Tiptree, is an area rich in fruit growing.

Stretching for 310 miles, it is not widely known that most of the Essex coast has been designated an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). This status will help preserve the flat saltmarshes and mudflats that are a haven for wildlife. From the coast many rivers and creeks project inland passing the low-lying islands of Mersea, Foulness and Canvey, in one area once the haunt of smugglers. Maritime heritage, and today major yachting centres can be found at Burnham-on-Crouch, Brightlingsea and Maldon, where beside the quay one can see the famous Thames sailing barges moored. Don’t miss the lonely, little St. Peter’s Chapel at Bradwell, while to the south is Leigh-on-Sea, an old fishing village where the cockle boats can still be seen unloading their catch daily, try the cockles in the restaurants and pubs along the front. But the coast is perhaps most famous for its seaside resorts, Southend-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze with all their traditional seaside attractions and entertainment.