Following from my last walk from Purfleet to Grays, I decided there was little merit in following the England Coast Path (ECP) inland around Tilbury Docks, so instead I 'leap-frogged' straight to Tilbury to cover the next section of the ECP, bookended by stations at Tilbury Town and East Tilbury. The walk follows the Two Forts way along the shore of the Thames Estuary, between Tilbury Fort and Coalhouse Fort, and onward to the Mucking Marshes former landfill site (now being reclaimed). I deemed it too far to follow the path inland around the landfill site, so instead, I stopped at East Tilbury Station. Having arrived back at my car parked at Tilbury, I drove round to the Thurrock Thameside Nature Park, where there is an excellent visitor centre with cafe, and views over the next short section of the ECP beside the RSPB Stanford Wharf mudflats. NB The map shows my route, with various diversions and excursions which you may not wish to follow precisely. You can download the Google map info, as a KML/KMZ file, then convert to GPX using a site like GPS Visualiser. Walk route in BLUE. Walk from Tilbury Town Station to Worlds End in RED.
Essentials:
Start/Finish: By train, start at Tilbury Town station. Either walk or take the bus down to The Worlds End Pub, next to Tilbury Fort. By car, park free in the car park at the Worlds End pub. Finish at East Tilbury Station. If you don't fancy the 1.5 mile walk back to your car, there is a bus from the station to Tilbury Riverside, from which it is a short walk along the riverside path to the car park (the bus fare is included in the train ticket).
Walk: The route basically follows the ECP alongside the Thames from Tilbury Fort to Coalhouse Fort (aka the Two Forts Way), then onward to the boundary fence of the Mucking Landfill site. The ECP then follows the fence inland, until you can branch off on a footpath to East Tilbury Station.
Distance: main route 7 miles from Tilbury Fort. 1.5 miles walk from Tilbury Town to the Worlds End pub (or take the bus).
Refreshments: By car, you might stop off at the Tilbury ASDA Superstore for supplies, coffee (Costa) and comfort break. The Worlds End pub by Tilbury Fort (check opening times, looked closed). Cafe in Tilbury Fort when open (in season). Cafe at Coalhouse Fort.
Points of Interest: Tilbury Riverside (including Cruise Terminal). Historic Worlds End pub (site of former ferry landing). Tilbury Fort (charge - check opening hours), dating from Tudor times, and one of several built to defend the Thames approaches. Riverside walk: views across to Gravesend and Cliffe/Hoo, shorebirds, pill boxes, anti-aircraft tower, jetties, shipping. Coalhouse Fort - dates from the latter half of the nineteenth century, built on the site of former Tudor blockhouses (the cupola of the companion fort at Cliffe on the Kent bank can be seen across the River). Former BATA factory buildings at East Tilbury visible across the marshes. Crane gantries of the Mucking Landfill Site, which used to be a major dump for London's rubbish, brought down by barge. Distant views to London Gateway Port (cranes, containers, ships). Optional drive to the Visitor Centre at Thurrock Thameside Nature Park.
Notes: There seem few ECP signs at Tilbury, but the path is fairly obvious, starting with the river promenade in front of Tilbury Fort (it is also signed as the Thames Estuary Path and Two Forts Way). The path then crosses via a gantry to follow the shore on the concrete foot of the river wall, to emerge on an a gravel path in front of the old West Tilbury landfill site (seemed inactive). Near Coalhouse Fort, the ECP branches inland, presumably to encourage people to visit the facilities at the Fort, but you can continue more directly to the moat/lake fronting the fort. After Coalhouse Fort, the ECP follows a flood wall somewhat inland behind a grass area, which you can walk through if you want to stay closer to the river. Signs indicate the shoreside path may flood, though I suspect this happens only at the highest tides.
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| Large ship heading upriver, Coalhouse Fort |
My other coast walks can be found on this page.
Previous walk: Purfleet to Grays
Photos: Lovely sunny day in early March.
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| Car park (free) at Worlds End pub, also next to Tilbury Fort. |
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| Tilbury Riverside (sadly, the ferry across to Gravesend has ceased operation) |
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| Tilbury Fort and moat |
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| Tilbury Fort river entrance |
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| Tilbury Fort info board |
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| Ship passing Gravesend |
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| Two Forts way info board |
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| Other side of the moat |
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| Sadly, there was a herd of rather unkempt horse |
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| Gantry over the wall onto the shore |
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| The path along the foot of the river wall |
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| Ship docked at jetty |
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| Large ship heading upriver |
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| Graffiti (not quite as impressive as Purfleet-Grays) |
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| West Tilbury landfill to left (seemed inactive), former jetty (for waste barges?) to right |
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| Looking into the West tilbury site |
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| Beach |
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| Signing as ECP (Acorn) and Thames Estuary Path |
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| Blossom and blockhouse |
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| Another ship (river was busy) |
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| Approaching the radar tower at Coalhouse Point |
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| Coalhouse Point info board |
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| Radar tower |
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| Embankment heading to Coalhouse Fort (not ECP) |
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| Ship passing the mounds of stuff at Cliffe ('cupola' of Cliffe Fort visible to the right) |
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| Blossom at Coalhouse Fort |
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| Coalhouse Fort |
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| Path following river wall after Coalhouse Fort |
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| London Gateway Port |
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| Blossom (hawthorn?) |
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| Bata factory buildings at East Tilbury (major and benevolent employer back in the day) I believe there is a museum just down the road from East Tilbury Station. |
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| Grassy alt path inside the wall |
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| Duck ramp built into the wall |
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| Blossom and London Gateway |
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| Cranes at Mucking Marshes Landfill Site |
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| Shoreside chairs |
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| Path headding around Mucking site |
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| Good stone chipping surface (when I last came this way years ago, this was an impassable quagmire) |
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| ECP sign |
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| Footpath to East Tilbury |
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| East Tilbury Station |
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| Path from Cruise Terminal to Worlds End |
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| At Essex Wildlife Trust's Thurrock Thameside Nature Park: view to London Gateway |
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| Striking design of the Visitor Centre |
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| The Mucking Cranes (the reserve was created on reclaimed landfill) |
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| Visitor Centre Cafe |
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| View over RSPB Stanford Wharf Mudflats Reserve, created with funding from the operators of the London Gateway. The ECP goes along the distant grass bank. |
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