Essex Walks

The Walks

As two keen walkers from Essex, we created Essex Walks as a non-commercial site. We are not affiliated to any club or organisation. The walks on this site are all walks that we have enjoyed. That means they have an interesting and varied route, and good views of Essex countryside. In addition they are welcoming, include little or no roadside walking, and there is room for parking. Our walks come in different lengths from 3 miles to 15 miles or more. All our walks are on legal public rights of way, permissive paths and land open to the public, so you never have to be anxious about trespassing.

Essex is a beautiful county. With its rolling hills to the north and long and varied coastline to the south, with its unspoilt villages and hamlets, old 16th century coaching inns, rich architectural heritage, undulating farmland and patches of ancient woodland, there is plenty to see and enjoy. And, over all it all, the vast, open Essex skies. There are several well established long distance walks through the county, many parks and open spaces, and mile upon mile of well maintained footpaths. Sometimes you can walk all day and never see a soul; at other times you find yourself regularly exchanging smiles with friendly strangers.

Information

For each walk, we have provided a map detailing the route (with photographs), full directions, and where possible, refreshment places (pubs, village shops etc) along the way. We have tried to let you know if the footpath signs are missing or obscured, and about any other obstructions you may encounter. We have kept the route instructions short so that it's not overwhelming, but we do include helpful information where there could be confusion. For example, where a field exit is not visible from the entrance, we tell you so and provide a photograph together with advice such as 'head across the field towards the large oak tree'.

Why we made this site

When we began exploring Essex, we found planning walks surprisingly confusing. Some woods are open to walkers, some are privately owned. Some parks are open all year round, others have restricted opening, some even charge an entrance fee. Some beautiful areas, open to walkers, do not show on the maps at all and some footpaths shown on maps have been moved or fallen into disuse over the years.

Much of the open land is in private hands: owned, for example, by Essex County Council, the Essex Wildlife Trust, or the Woodland Trust. Unless you know who owns a particular piece of land it's hard to know whether you can walk there or not, or whether there's a charge or a restriction. This makes trying to explore new parts of Essex quite tricky.

With this web site we have tried to cut through the confusion and provide information about walks that are open and accessible all year round.

Quality Criteria

When we include walks of our own devising, we enforce a strict quality assessment, namely:

1. Is the status of the PROW clear?
2. Does the start/end of the route provide car parking and/or good public transport links?
3. Is there access to refreshments/toilets (eg pub)
4. Is there good visual amenity on the route?
5. Is there a variety of environment - water, woods, green lanes and historic villages?
6. Does the route avoid road walking, or at least keep it to safe quiet lanes?

If a walk we've recorded does not meet the majority of these criteria, then it doesn't get published.

And remember...

This is the Essex countryside. Wear walking boots! You could encounter water, mud, rabbit holes, nettles, brambles and other encumbrances anywhere at any time of year.

We hope you enjoy these walks

Privacy

No personal details of visitors to this site are seen or kept by the authors of this site.

If you use the Garmin Communicator Plug-in, there is a warning about privacy (below), which does not apply in the way that it has been implemented on this site, as upload of your GPS data is not allowed.

Feedback

We would love to have feedback from you, so whether you have enjoyed these walks in Essex or not please let us know with the short Satisfaction Suvey via the "Satisfied" tab on the right. We're always interested in any comments sent in via the "Contact" section as well..

Disclaimer

It's sad that in this litigious world, we have to provide the obligatory legal disclaimer, as follows:

Essexwalks.com has endeavoured to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this web site, and reserves the right to revise, update or make obsolete some or all of the contents without obligation to notify any person of such changes. Despite every effort to the contrary, errors, omissions or discrepancies may have occurred in preparation of these documents, and the authors assume no liability for loss or damages incurred due in part or in whole to such errors.

Links to other web sites are provided on this site. Essexwalks.com is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. Essex Walks shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.

Inclusion of a walking route is in no way an indication of its quality in terms of scenery, attraction, usability or safety. Whilst care has been taken to include routes that are on rights of way, or paths or access areas where permission exists, inclusion of a route is no evidence of a current right of way or permissive access.

The route descriptions we provide are intended to be used in conjunction with the relevant OS Explorer maps, and we are not responsible for the safety or well-being of any one who chooses to follow these routes. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. There are inherent risks in any outdoor activity, and walkers are responsible for ensuring their own safety.