Harwich International to Mistley (12 miles)

Grayson Perry's "A House for Essex"

I took the train to Harwich Town again, this time intending to cross by the foot ferry to Shotley, and walk the England Coast Path (ECP) along the Orwell shore to Ipswich. However, when I arrived at the jetty, I was told that the ferry had been cancelled, presumably due to high winds (it was otherwise a bright sunny day). It was annoying, because as far as I could see there was no warning posted on the ferry website. Anyway, I had to quickly replan my day. I decided to walk up the Stour estuary to Mistley, following the embryonic route of the ECP where possible (whilst the ECP has been officially opened along the whole Suffolk coast, this is not yet the case in Essex).

The first part of the walk out of Harwich Town is mainly inland beside busy roads, and would also add a few miles to an already long route, so I made the short journey on the train back to Harwich International. Here's a map of my walk.

I left the terminal (for ferries to the Hook-of-Holland) along the access roads. The place seemed eerily quiet - I guess it was some time till the next ferry arrival/departure. I picked up ECP signs along the access road to the Halterman Carless oil depot. This soon became a track, with the oil storage tanks to the right, and a golf course to the left. Notices on the depot fence said that duties had not been paid on the oil stored therein, so removing any oil was verboten and subject to draconian penalties: you wouldn't think we had an oil shortage.

Leaving the depot behind, and passing a sewage farm, I moved into open country along an unmade track called Ray Lane. Here a decision was needed: I could veer off southwards through the village of Ramsey, where I could pick up the Essex Way. However, this would add a considerable mileage. However, an ECP sign pointed me straight on. Seeing no more ECP signs, I followed Ray Lane to its junction with the B1352. Here I found a chain across Ray Lane with a notice saying 'private', so I don't think this can be the official ECP route. Also, I now had to walk beside the busy road until I could take the footpath off through Copperas Wood nature reserve.

Researching after the walk, I think the proposed ECP route goes up to the railway, and follows it to Copperas Wood see page 11 here . Maybe I missed the signs, but if not, until this route is made official, I think it would be best to follow the rather long diversion via Ramsey and the Essex Way.

Copperas Wood is an Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserve, and here the ECP finally reaches the shore of the Stour, although trees restrict views across the water. Immediately adjacent is the RSPB Stour Estuary Reserve, which runs on into the EWT Wrabness Reserve. I saw a few waders, and also a few early Brent geese.

A short excursion on a footpath toward Wrabness Station leads to Grayson Perry's "A House for Essex", surely one of the most eccentric sights on the ECP, looking something like an Orthodox Chapel, the walls decorated with green and white tiles, and the roof adorned with symbolic heraldry. It has been described as a 'Taj Mahal' memorial for Julie Cope (1953-2014), a fiction of Grayson's imagination, run over and killed by a motorbike driver delivering her a takeaway curry. The exterior tiles bear an iconic (literally) image of a woman who looks remarkably like Grayson's wife Claire. The interior is an artwork in itself, which you can only see by staying at the property. Apparently, there is a ballot for stays, and you must agree to strict security conditions, like you would if you stayed overnight in the National Gallery. But it seems like the vegetation has been cleared to allow the general public to see the house from the footpath. [Wrabness Station is just next door, so you could bail out of the walk and catch the train at this point.]

Continuing along the shore, the path is more open to the river, and the dominant landmark for the next few miles is the Royal Hospital School across the river, with its tall central spired tower. The school started as part of the Greenwich navy complex as a school for oprhaned sons of Royal Navy sailors in 1712. It relocated to its current site at Holbrook on the Shotley Peninsula in 1933, with buildings in the Arts and Crafts style.

At Stone Point, there is a sandy beach backed by shanty cabins. The path originally continued along the beach, but there is now no escape to the footpath heading inland due to collapse of the cliffs, so you must head down the tarmacced Stone Lane. Next, the path flanks the Oakfield Wood natural burial ground, following a remarkable 'tree tunnel', then on around Jaques Bay before heading inland on roads to the Village of Bradfield, where I got a cuppa and brownie at the Chapters coffee and wine bar: unusual to find such a palatial reinvention of a large village pub, and one that was actually open and welcoming at that late afternoon hour.

The final miles to Mistley were some way from the water, round the back of new housing developments which have sprung up on the outskirts of the town. Mistley is dominated by the chimney of the EDME Maltings Works, which are still active. Once a thriving river port, the town had a grand church remodelled by Robert Adam in 1776. The nave was demolished in the nineteenth century, leaving two rather incongruous grand towers in the old graveyard, the fabled 'Mistley Towers'. Imposing warehouses along the waterfront have been largely converted to apartments.

I caught the train back home from Mistley Station (change at Manningtree for main line trains to Liverpool Street).

Although this was not the walk I had planned, it had great variety and interest, with a more sylvan setting than the rather flat and bleak coasts further south. Hopefully, the gap in the ECP will be filled soon.