Mersea Island walk

Mersea Island walk

          Mersea Island lays nine miles south east of Colchester, and is situated in the estuary of both the Colne and Blackwater rivers the only way on to the island other than by boat is by a causeway known as the Strood, although short the Strood has been a constant barrier onto the island for hundreds of years and would prove an inconvenience, although not a huge one, to me at the end of my walk as well.
          The walk is actually described in an issue of TGO magazine and as it was only a few miles away I decided to do it, so with my bag packed and the tide tables checked I set off.
          As usual I would have run keeper, and the robotic voice announcing my progress every hour (I swear that voice gets more condescending every time I use the app). Parking in West Mersea I started walking in a clockwork direction around the island with the coast on my left hand side. West Mersea has been known for its oyster beds since the Roman period and Mersea oysters are still sold in Colchester today, empty oyster shells can be found in areas on the side of the road leading down to the foreshore of West Mersea,

          A diversion from the route described Led me away from the shore briefly and into the interior of the island after which I dropped down close to the Strood, even though there was still a few hours until high tide the water around the Strood was getting high and would soon cover the roadway, as I continued to follow the route I came across a worrying sign,

The Strood 

          Could this mean my walk would have to end earlier than expected? thankfully no, the sea wall may have been breached but the path had been rerouted further south, this meant that although I wouldn`t be following the exact route I would still be able to complete my walk. from here the walk became much flatter as it did stick close to the shoreline following the Pyefleet channel all the way around the East Mersea.

          With a pace of 4.8KPH I soon reached the furthest easterly part of the route and took a little lunch before starting on the south side of the island, unfortunately the weather decided it would change at this point and what had been a pleasant walk soon became a battle against the rain, it didnt however dampen my spirits nor my pace, what would though would be the blister that had started to form on my heel and as I suspected my pace slowed to 4 KPH, not that it mattered overly much as at this point I was nearly back to the car anyway.
          With my slower pace I knew I wouldn`t be able to make the causeway before the Strood was covered and so did that most British of things, popped into a cafe, had a cup of tea and waited for the tide to drop, which would happen within the hour.

           

          As my boots are now starting to give me blisters its time I consider buying some new ones, oh the decisions, new Salomon`s or Asolo`s or Marmots!

          This walk although easy does require a good pair of boots as well as all the usual the equipment and I would recommend it to anyone wanting an easy walk or introduction to walking.

Follow the link below to go to the Lone Wolf Mobile Bushcraft website.
www.lwbcfs.com