Potters Bar & Barnet Local RSPB Group
Cudmore Grove Country Park and the River Blackwater
by Gordon Neighbour
This article is mainly, but not entirely,
intended for retired people with leisure and also younger persons, assuming that
both have cars. I suppose that there are persons in the group who think of
Abberton Reservoir and Fingringhoe Wick as two different places, instead of as
part of a complex that includes two of the following: salt marsh, reed bed and
meadow which extends from Maldon right through to Fingringhoe with its army
shooting ranges, a length of 14 miles.
Salt marsh, as the RSPB tells us, is getting to be a rare commodity, so why not
explore the area, which by car is1˝ to 2 hours from where you live, and take the
opportunity to take home some of the area’s food produce.
Starting at Heybridge basin you look over Colliers Reach, part of the navigable
River Blackwater, to Northey Island. This is where coal brought by barge was
unloaded from the 19th century onwards, for both the town and the local iron
foundry. Grey plover, eider duck and waders can all be seen in winter.
Refreshments are available at the basin. At low tide a causeway is exposed at
South House Farm a mile south of Maldon. The battle of Maldon was fought here on
the August 9 991 AD. This was during the time of Ethelred the Unready. England
was a rich country, but its defences left much to be desired. After raiding
along the south coast, some 93 Viking long ships commanded by Olaf Trygguson
were moored off Northey Island. Viking raiders were camped on the island. On
that day, the Vikings attacked over the causeway to reach the mainland. They
were opposed by a smaller force of Essex men led by Byrthnorth an Eldierman
(Saxon spelling) of Essex. Who lost the engagement? His body, minus the head,
(kept by Olaf Trygguson) was buried at Ely Abbey, later the Cathedral. This was
a sorry time for England and led to the paying of Dane Geld to keep the Danes
from raiding. The National Trust owns the island. There is no public visiting.
Last year we had our Christmas lunch on a Thames barge moored at Riverside Quay.
Nearby is the 12th century St. Mary’s Church. There is a statue of Byrthnorth on
an outside wall plinth as you enter. After lunch our coach was parked in
Promenade Park. In this park is a more recent statue of Byrthnorth. At that spot
the Essex men made their last stand.
Some three miles further east is Goldenhanger. Just past the pub, which does
meals, is the church. A footpath by the side of it is a short walk to the sea
wall and the tidal River Blackwater. You look across the Stumble to Osea Island
a mile and a half into the channel. In 1903 Mr F. Charrington, who had given up
his brewing interests and
became temperate, built a home for alcoholics on
the island. Alas the scheme fell through because the locals kept the residents
well supplied, for a price! The area is rich in bird life, particularly in
winter.
About three miles east of here is Tollesbury, known as a yachting centre. There
is a pub here (no meals), but follow the road towards the sea where, opposite
the marshes, is a small factory estate. There is a café adjoining the roadside
that does meals. Then past the historical sail lofts, still in use. Built in the
early 1900s,they are associated with Tommy Sopworth and the J class yachts of
the 1930s. You are at the saltings. A footpath here, with bird watching all the
way, leads to Abbots Hall Marsh. Marsh harriers are often seen. Being over 80 I
have not walked this.
There used to be a light railway here called the Kelvedon & Tollesbury. Its main
use was to take hay (there were thousands of horses in London), vegetables and
Tiptree jam to a pier that used to be at Tollesbury, where a sailing barge would
take it to London. The line closed just after WW2. It used an old shunting
engine with three coaches with an open veranda at either end. I actually saw it
at that time.
With a car you have to drive back to Tolleshunt D`Arcy. Along the B1028 running
north from here is the Tiptree jam factory. It has a restaurant for the public
for lunches and cream teas in the afternoon. We, though, head east on the B1026,
past the cross roads to Salcott, and follow the road to Peldon and Mersea.
The B1026 goes over one of the Abberton Reservoir causeways to Colchester. I
will not speak of the reservoir, or Fingringhoe Wick, for you should know both
of them quite well from our outings. Both are Essex Nature Reserves. If you are
a householder you may not know that, because of set aside, a number of farms now
sell their own pork, lamb and chicken. As you leave Abberton Visitor Centre you
will see to your right a church on the hill, plus the start of preliminary works
to increase the water capacity of the reservoir. Just past that church you will
see a sign on your right: “All meat at wholesale prices”. There is a complete
well-stocked butchers, including beef from that farm, which is open to the
public. We get a lot of our meat from there. Do not expect it to be open of a
Sunday. If you carry on over the cross roads at Layer de la Haye towards
Colchester for a mile further, you come to the “Donkey and Buskins”. It has a
most comprehensive menu, including local caught fish and vegetarian meals.
Prices are reasonable. Some of the beer comes from two microbreweries, one at
Maldon, the other on Mersea Island. It is my favourite.
(The second half of Gordon’s article will
appear in our next issue)
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