Walk 71

Jaywick Beach

Mersea Island to Frinton on Sea 20miles

A short 4 mile journey mostly along the beaches of Mersea took me to the ferry at East Mersea, I had pre booked it the day before and I was bang on time and the only passenger! The ferry took me to Point Clear where I hopped off to begin the main journey of the day to Frinton, this took me all the way along the sea wall and I actually got to see some proper sandy beaches today firstly at Jaywick (see Pic) then Clacton and finally Frinton!!! Frinton is just great, the mile or so of the High Street is made up of small independant shops not a Tescos in sight

Walk 70

Maldon

Steeple to Mersea island 29miles

Yes you have read it correctly I walked 29miles today in just on 9 hours, a complete cock up by me as it should have been only 25!!. So today started with a trek down the Blackwater Estury into Maldon which is very nice ( see Pic), then it was along a really quiet canal which runs along side the estury, its was a hot day today and I manged to find some shade by the side of the canal for a lunch stop (very very nice) It was then onto the main business of the day which was 13miles of road walking, which is very hard on the feet but keeps you focused in order not to get run over by some of the idiots on the road!! The final destnation of Mersea Island was very nice, and talk about saving the best till last..the B&B was fantastic the best so far in all of my travels!!! :)

Walk 69

Burnham on Crouch to Steeple 25miles

A very straight forward walk today along the seawall known locally as the "Dengie", all 25miles were on the flat and mind numbingly boring, so it was on with the Ipod set to shuffle and head down for 8 hours.  I did manage to shake off an estury today and finally met up with the North Sea (my sea of choice for the next few thousand miles!) Though the walking itself was tediousI did manage to stop off for lunch at a spot which is popular with bird watchers,  I got chatting to 5 very nice blokes who not only made me a brew but also shared their ginger nut biscuits!
                 Just after my lunch stop I managed to pop onto the beach and rounded the headland for my trek up and down the Blackwater Estury, it was at this point I had my first view of the now decomissioned nuclear power station at Bradwell, what a complete eysore, big ugly brute of a building walked very quickly past it!  The rest of the day was plain sailing all the way into Steeple and my nights accomodation ( which for £50 was pretty poor).

Walk 68

Southend to Burnham on Crouch 22miles

Well Southend what can I say......I started walking in the morning quickly! and the first stop was Shoeburyness which was a breath of fresh air compared with last night, you can always tell by the size of the houses in a town!!! The rest of the day was very forgettable spent walking across fields and country lanes in a vain atempt at navigating yet another estury, the only pic of the day is of the approach to Burnham taken aboard the ferry.

Walk 67

Benfleet to Southend 7miles

A 41/2hr train journey took me to my start point at Benfleet, I decided to take the "senic" route to Southend via Leigh on Sea. I skirted around the bay with Canvey Island on my right and eventually Hadleigh Castle on my left(see Pic) reaching Leigh in under an hour, I like Leigh with its fancy resturants and cobbled streets :) it was then onto Southend and my nights rest in the WORST B&B I have ever had the misfortune to stop in, the room had a bed and a table lamp!