A sunny day forecast, amid a week of rain, is too good an opportunity to pass. The Thames Estuary Path runs from Tilbury Town to Leigh-on-Sea; 29 miles of “tidal creeks, salt marshes, and mudflats”. Who could resist? It will take me from the start of my coastal walk, at Gravesend, deep into Essex.
I catch the early morning ferry from Gravesend Town Pier to Tilbury Docks, glad of the warm cabin, as an icy wind is blowing up the Thames.
The path leads me round the outer defences of Tilbury Fort, guarding the Thames approach to London since the 16th century.
The Tilbury power stations are decommissioned, so I’m not sure what this Norwegian container ship is doing here. Possibly an overflow from Tilbury Docks?
There is a sodden path, hugging the base of the concrete sea wall, strewn with debris washed up by the tide. I’m glad it’s not a spring tide.
Approaching Coalhouse Point, the path is closed, due to an unsafe seawall, but there are no diversion signs in place. The embankment is not very high, so I take a look. There is a little subsidence, but nothing to worry about. I remember the precipitous cliffs, crumbling into the sea, around the Isle of Portland. Those closure signs were not to be argued with.
There is a fine view of London Gateway Port from East Tilbury Marshes.
The OS map shows a path continuing along the coast, to a jetty, but a signpost directs me inland. The OS map is out of date, and does not reflect the Thames Estuary Path, so I trust the sign. The wonderfully named Mucking Marshes are reclaiming the path. Yes, this really is the path.
I follow the signs, through Mucking, Corringham, and Fobbing, before reaching Vange Marshes. The signs don’t let me down, despite the path being barely visible across the marshes.
I was hoping for a coffee stop at Pitsea, but there is nowhere obvious close to the path, so I plough on, literally, into Pitsea Marsh. As my boots sink into the mud, I am beginning to regret not bringing my hiking poles. They are useful for more than just hills.
Crossing under the A130, it’s a pretty walk along the creek into Benfleet. There are several houseboats, each at the end of a narrow path, cut through the trees. There is one with “LLAMEDOS” on the gate, which makes me smile, once I work it out.
I pass the bridge to Canvey Island, which is not on the path. I briefly consider a detour, but the day is long enough, and I am not a Dr Feelgood fan.
Benfleet marina is full of character, both boats and cars.
Golden hour is here, and Hadleigh Castle oversees my progress along the lush, grassy bank of Benfleet Creek.
Hundreds of birds settle for the night around Two Tree Island.
As the sun sets, and the cold wind rises, my layers go back on. Leigh-on-Sea has a charming seafront, with cobbled streets, cockle sheds, and attractive pubs. I would like to stop, but I want to get to Southend before it gets too dark.
After a pleasant walk along the promenade, the longest pleasure pier in the world stretches away below me, illuminated into the night. One for next time.
Despite the cold weather, and endless marshes, I enjoyed the walk. The Thames Estuary Path is well signposted. Best to ignore the OS map, except in the odd place where a signpost is missing.
My longest daily walk so far, and only a little weary at the end. The Long Distance Walkers Association has various challenge events, culminating in an annual 100 mile walk, to be completed in 48 hours. The qualifiers are 50 miles long, with cut-offs ranging from 20-22 hours. Who knows?
Walk distance: 30 miles.
Total distance: 1,230 miles.
Wow that was certainly a full days walking, literally from dawn to dusk (or perhaps a little longer!). I don’t know how you got past that flooded bit, it looked pretty deep from your photo. The Thames Estuary Path is new, it didn’t exist when I did that bit of the coast (though it was a long time ago) so I made my own route, certainly along the sea wall at Tilbury I remember that. I will investigate the path perhaps it will take me to places I couldn’t get to before. You made what can be an ugly area in places look very beautiful, though I do also remember doing much of this in winter and getting some nice views as the sun went down over the mud flats and creeks.
I did include Canvey Island and Two Tree Island but I know that quite a bit has changed since I was here including a new port I believe. I slightly cheated this bit in that I did one walk from Gravesend and then travelled to Tilbury next time so I didn’t actually use the ferry – but of course since I cannot walk on water I didn’t miss any walking! I must admit to be contemplating extending my coastal walk up to the tunnel at Woolwich at some point so I can say I’ve walked the whole way. I did walk all the Thames Path years ago and the extension along some of the estuary on the south side so there isn’t much to do on the south, but still quite a bit on the north.
Your dark shots near the start and end (especially at Southend) have come out really well. Curious what you used (I assume a camera not a phone, to get a decent exposure, hand-held?).
I had to find another way through the trees to work round the flooded section.
I wish I had taken a photo of the new casino at Southend. It looked pretty impressive at night and you would have enjoyed comparing it with the photo from your visit.
The night shots are all on my iPhone. I now always rest the phone on a wall or some other support, to keep it still during the exposure period. Sometimes works, but there were a lot of dud shots. The joys of digital photos, you can just keep snapping away.