Another island walk today and we chose a sunny but blustery day to tread the high and exposed embankment loop. It was fine when the wind was behind us but a little more arduous when walking into it. Great paths though – so well maintained and much appreciated.

I’m still not 100% well so agreed to be part rambler/part chauffeur today – handy also in that the island is somewhat remote in terms of public transport. This being a large nature reserve, we parked up in the RSPB car park and, in the absence of any other walkers or twitchers, we got talking to the friendly RSPB man. He was so helpful in showing us the route on a map, informed us that the path was easygoing (I put my walking pole back) and pointed to his collection of wildlife photos. Amongst the pictures of birds, hares and butterflies my eyes were drawn to a photo of a snake! “Oh yes, we have adders here” he casually said, “You’ll find them basking on the sea walls.” And so a lot of heavy stomping went on today, to warn those pesky slithery things that ‘the Rambling Roses are coming, you better skedaddle!’

Besides that worry, it was a beautifully scenic walk, and as promised a huge variety of birds, colourful wild flowers and lots of perfectly tiny blue butterflies everywhere. We saw seals basking and swimming in the shallow waters too – always a treat.

Not sure how we did it but the island walk turned out to be a mile or two longer than estimated and the last stretch by the marina was particularly narrow and high. My energy levels were dipping by this time and I felt extra wobbly, had to concentrate fully so as not to tip over the edge. 9 miles in and I was really flagging – we could see the car parked in the distance and I was willed on by the thought of cheese and pickle sandwiches awaiting us.

And like the bull worry a few days ago, no adders crossed our path today – thank the Lord!

After our picnic lunch, Steve walked on to the pretty village of Paglesham. I donned my chauffeur hat and drove there, parked up in the shade and enjoyed my book for an hour until my fellow rambler completed his 12 miles for the day.

That completes our walking for this little breakaway to Essex. Steve has walked 80 miles in that time – I’ve only managed half of that!

We have loved the area, loved the exquisite house we’ve been staying in and absolutely fallen in love with Bertie – the resident ginger cat. Mary and Doug have said we can come back anytime and I have a strong suspicion we’ll be taking them up on that offer. “Au revoir” as they say, “until we meet again.”

Saturday 10th May 2025

A rather pleasant day today although walking 15+ miles after a 3 mile parkrun does make for a lengthy day … even more so because my normal walking buddy decided to rest up.

So it was a day walking either side of the River Roach, accompanied by a cacophony of cuckoo sound and the absolute treat of watching not just one game of cricket but two! 

It’s unusual to see one game of village cricket these days let alone two but it appears that Rochford CC, a small Essex village, are able to do just that!  Lucky them and lucky me.

Anyway enough sport distraction, this is a tale from the river bank – a gloriously sunny day, spectacular estuary views, birds a-plenty and a bus back home for dinner, having been dropped off in Paglesham by Mrs R just four hours earlier.

Whilst being recognised as the England Coastal Path it seems that not many folks have walked along this section, although in late spring the grass and cow parsley is in full growth mode, making it almost a case of wading through the waist high undergrowth!  The views though are amazing and can be doubly appreciated as you walk the other side of the river on the way back. This Essex coastline has endless such inlets to be covered.

I have to say, our coastal path walking has highlighted that parts of this delightful small island we live on remains pretty much undiscovered … you can walk for miles with not another person in sight. A lonely 15 miles completed, just the birds, cricket and sea shells to keep me company!!