Walking in Essex

25 walks and a 96 mile 'across Essex' route

By Peter Aylmer

Guidebook to 25 day walks in the county of Essex. Ranging from 4 to 17 miles, the walks showcase the county's delightfully varied landscape. Also includes a full description of the 96 mile 'Across Essex' route, which incorporates the Essex Way and a traverse of Epping Forest on its way from Manor Park to Harwich.

Seasons

all four seasons can be enjoyed by the walker in Essex. With its mostly clay soils, it's a good idea to wear boots after prolonged rain

Centres

Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow, Saffron Walden, Southend. Easy access also from neighbouring counties (including Kent by the Dartford crossing) and east and north London

Difficulty

the walks are suitable for all abilities. Ascents are mostly short and rarely steep. Some longer walks of up to 18 miles are included for those seeking more of a challenge

Must See

the coast - unspoilt and barely known away from the famous resorts; an internationally important refuge for bird life. Green lanes - Essex has more than any county save Dorset. Wood and forest - Epping, Hatfield, Hainault and many others
ISBN
9781786310224
Availability
Published
Published
11 Apr 2019
Reprinted
13 Feb 2023
Edition
Second
Pages
208
Size
17.20 x 11.60 x 1.25cm
Weight
240g
Overview
This guidebook describes 25 coastal and inland day walks covering the whole of the county of Essex, stretching from the Lea Valley in the west and the Thames in the south over to the North Sea and up to the River Stour in the north. Walks range from 4 to 18 miles and are mostly circular. Also included is a description of the Essex Way which crosses the county in 11 stages from Manor Park, on the fringes of London, to the port of Harwich - a distance of 96 miles. The walks are suitable for all abilities and there are shorter alternatives for many of the longer routes.

With a huge variety of scenery and walking landscapes, Essex surprises and delights in equal measure. It boasts a 350-mile coastline (which, away from the busy seaside resorts, is barely known), numerous estuaries and river valleys, great and ancient forests, and more green lanes than any other English county except Dorset.

Each walk is described step-by-step, illustrated with OS map extracts and packed with historical, and geological information about the landscape the route passes through.
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Peter Aylmer Cicerone author AYLMER

Peter Aylmer

Peter Aylmer has climbed many hills and walked many long-distance paths all over Britain, and is equally at home in a tent or bothy in the Scottish Highlands as he is in a nature reserve hidden in some unconsidered London suburb.

Peter still relishes the surprise on people’s faces when he tells them that some of his favourite walking is in London and Essex. The secret is knowing where to look. This started early for Peter, visiting his uncle's farm in Essex; later, taking the tube out to Epping Forest after work so that he could walk back home through it. Now, as a walk leader for the Long Distance Walkers Association, he is still developing new routes through both town and country in southern England.

Peter spent his career in education, from teacher and politician to writer and editor at national level. He is now chair of trustees for the UK wing of an international aid charity.

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