Bradwell coastal circuit (10 miles)

The Walk: This walk makes a circuit of the North Eastern corner of the Dengie Peninsula. Starting from Bradwell Marina, we follow the England Coast Path (ECP) along the Blackwater shore, passing Bradwell Nuclear Power Station and then heading round to the historic Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall. The route returns inland, passing through the Bradwell Wind Farm and the unusual RAF Memorial at the old Bradwell Bay airfield.

Beach and line of barges

Route

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.

Starting from the Marina at Bradwell Waterside, the ECP is generally well signed and straightforward to follow. (Note that the official ECP stays on the embankment, but at low tide there is good walking along the firm sand on the beach.)

ECP signage

I carried on South past St Peter's Chapel along the (rather overgrown) embankment to the Sandbeach Outfall. I then headed more or less directly back across country on a public footpath (which is actually on a paved farm track), passing through the turbines of the Bradwell Wind Farm to the village of Bradwell-on-Sea.

From there, another good footpath heads across the fields back to Bradwell Waterside, passing the Bradwell Bay RAF Memorial on the way.

Path back to Marina

Why do it?

Bradwell Marina is .... well, another marina, with the usual picturesque forest of masts, and little sign of activity on the Sunday morning I was there. One wonders how often all these yachts are actually taken out.

Bradwell Marina

From this stretch of the ECP, there are 'big sky' views North across the Blackwater Estuary to Tolleshunt and Mersea Island (circumnavigated on this walk), and South across the dead flat fields. The two reactor buildings of Bradwell Nuclear Power Station loom large (literally). The reactors have been decomisioned, and by way of contrast, the backdrop formed by the tall turbines of the Bradwell Wind Farm symbolises the current vogue for sustainable energy. The nuclear power station provided 240MW of power, the windfarm manages 20MW when the wind is blowing.

Bradwell Nuclear Power Station

The Dengie Peninsula (between the Rivers Crouch and Blackwater) has become a major site for onshore windfarms. There are two more in the South (Middlewick and Turncole), with a third in planning (Dengie Marshes). Out to sea, one can also make out the turbines of the Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm.

The shore is lined by a beach of shells and shingle. At low tide, extensive mud flats are exposed. A line of 11 barges were sunk on these flats in the 1980s to protect the shore from erosion: and they make a ghosly sight. There is another line where we turn inland.

Ghost barges

The Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall looks like a substantial stone barn, and indeed that was how it as used until circa 1920, when it was rediscovered as an original Saxon building and restored, possibly the oldest surviving unaltered Saxon building in Britain. It was built by St Cedd in the 650s at the place where he landed from Lindisfarne to convert the East Saxons, on the site of Orthona Fort, one of the Forts of the Saxon Shore built by the Romans to defend their province from Saxon Invasions. The Church was built on the foundations of the old roman gatehouse, reusing the stones and tiles from the fort. The straight road running down from Bradwell-on-Sea was evidently the old Roman road running up to the fort. Presumably, the name (....on-the-Wall) refers to the church standing astride the wall of the Roman fort, though now there are no signs of the original walls (above ground, at least).

St Peter-on-the-Wall

An extensive area of salt marsh extends southwards from the Chapel, separating the embankment from the dune backed sandy beach. The Marsh is out of bounds as it is a reserve for nesting birds, and walking on the beach is discouraged. Hence further progress South on the ECP must be made on said embankment, although it is overgrown with tall grass for much of the way, so you may have to descend to the adjacent track, which is a shame because you lose the seaward views.

Overgrown embankment

On the way back on the cross-country route, you pass through the middle of the Bradwell Wind Farm - the turbines are impressive close up, although it always seems paradoxical that even when there is a steady wind blowing, half the turbines seem not to be turning.

Wind Turbine Close Up

The village of Bradwell-on-Sea is about a mile from the sea, although the name probably derives from the parish extending to the coast. It has an attractive collection of houses along the main road, and the church has a distinctive red brick tower.

Church, Bradwell-on-Sea

During WW2, RAF Bradwell Bay to the North of the village, was a large base for missions to the continent. A runway and some buildings - for example, the control tower, now a private residence - are still there, but not accessible. There is however, a striking - not to say, disconcerting - memorial to aircrew lost in action, taking the form of a Mosquito fighter crashed nose down.

Memorial for RAF Bradwell Bay

Logistics:

I based myself at Bradwell Marina. There is a car park requiring 2 one-pound coins to open the barrier, which gets you parking for an unlimited time.

Being a circular walk, you could park at other places along or near the route, including:

large free public car park next to Bradwell Power Station (be sure to go to the public car park just beyond the official car park)
car park near St Peter's Chapel
car park at the village hall and recreation ground, Bradwell-on-Sea

Car park at Bradwell Marina (popular destination for bikers)

Distance:

The circuit is around 10 miles

Challenges:

The official ECP follows the coastal embankment. At low tide, you might prefer to add variety by walking along the beach (there is firm sand exposed at low tide; it might be heavy going on loose sand at high tide.) Be careful if venturing out onto the mud flats.

An inviting sandy beach backed by dunes extends south from St Peters. Signs discourage, whilst not actually forbidding, walking along this beach because there are nesting birds in season. However, in any case, I wouldn't try to walk the whole way along the coast on this beach, because it is dissected by outfalls and creeks, which will block progress. It is not allowed to cross the salt marsh to regain the embankment, and that would be dicey anyway given the waterlogged ground, necessitating a time consuming retreat, with the risk of getting stuck in mud or cut off by the rising tide.

Distant beach seen across the salt marsh

The official ECP South from St Peter's is along the top of the earth embankment. This was badly overgrown with long grass when I did it. It's easier going along the track at the bottom, though you lose the sea views.

Refreshments:

There is a snack caravan ('Munchies') in the car park at Bradwell Marina, though opening hours seem somewhat variable. It is popular with bikers. (There are loos on the ground floor of the harbour control tower.) The bar of the sailing club is also open to non-members.

There is a pub (The Green Man) just up the road from the Marina.

There is a pub (The Kings Head) in Bradwell on Sea.