The Essex Way is a waymarked
long-distance footpath
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...
long, along footpaths and roads in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
The trail starts in
Epping Epping may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Epping railway station, Sydney
* Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
* Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...
in the southwest, crosses
Dedham Vale and
Constable country to finish at the port of
Harwich on the
Stour estuary.
It leads through
ancient woodland
In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...
s, open farmland, tree-lined river valleys and leafy green lanes, unveiling historic towns and villages along the way.
The route is waymarked by Essex Way plaques and direction arrows. The original
CPRE signs were dark green, but most of these have now been replaced with Essex County Council plaques depicting two poppies on a white background. These are attached to fingerposts, stiles, gates, footbridges and posts. The waymarks, together with the maps in the guidebook, make the walk easy to follow. The guidebook illustrates points of interest along the way and includes an accommodation guide for the whole route.
History
The Essex Way was conceived as a result of a competition organised by the
CPRE in 1972.
Adjoining paths
The Essex Way crosses several other long-distance footpaths including St Peter's Way (a walk from
Chipping Ongar
Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 th ...
to
Bradwell-on-Sea
Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about north-northeast of Southminster and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Mal ...
), the Three Forests Way (a circular walk linking Epping, Hatfield and Hainhault forests), the Saffron Trail (a 71-mile/114 km walk from
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
to
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...
) and the Essex Clayway (a route linking the Essex Way at
Coggeshall
Coggeshall ( or ) is a small town in Essex, England, between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road Stane Street and the River Blackwater. It has almost 300 listed buildings and a market whose charter was granted in 1256 by Henry III.
...
to St Peter's Way at Mundon).
Transport
The Essex Way is well served by public transport, especially by train services.
Maps
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
1:25,000 "Explorer Maps": Epping Forest & Lee Valley No. 174,
Chelmsford and The Rodings No.183, Braintree and Saffron Waldon No.195,
Sudbury, Hadleigh.
References
External links
Full route description from Harwich to Epping with photos and mapsEssex Way route maps, trail narrative, accommodation guide and details of the annual Essex Way relayColne Valley PagesPhotos of the Essex Way on geograph.org.uk
Long-distance footpaths in England
Footpaths in Essex
County-themed walking routes in the United Kingdom
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