Top 10 Essex walks to try out

If you’re looking for a top Essex walk to do over the Christmas and New Year period with family and friends, then you should maybe check out my recent ‘The 10 best walks in Essex’ feature for Essex Life magazine.

Asked by the long-standing publication to pick my top 10 walks in the county certainly gave me lots of food for thought. But after pondering for a while (quite a while) I managed to select my favourites from right across Essex and put them together, in no particular order, for the article in the autumn.

You can read the full article online on the Essex Life website at https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/things-to-do/walks/22641592.10-best-walks-essex/

But here’s a summary version of the top 10 Essex walks list:

Finchingfield and Great Bardfield – a circular five-mile loop taking in two of Essex’s most picturesque villages

Maldon – an out and back from Promenade Park, along the River Chelmer and Hythe Quay into the historic town’s High Street

Matching villages – take in Matching Green, Matching Tye and Matching, and pick your favourite while you sample refreshments en route

Wrabness to Harwich on The Essex Way – the final eight-mile section of the cross-county walk if heading west to east to end up at the North Sea coastal resort

Mersea Island circular – a clockwise route around the island, 13 miles in total with great and differing views of the Essex coast as you walk

Newport to Saffron Walden on The Saffron Trail – the final six miles of the 71-mile trail from Southend, heading north past Audley End House to reach the appealing market town

Langdon Hills – there are lots of different ways to tackle the heights (by Essex standards) of the hilly ground at Langdon, this one starting at the Essex Wildlife Trust’s Langdon Nature Discovery Centre

Dedham and the Stour Valley – Constable country, the Stour Valley and scenic sights galore to take in on this five/eight mile walk from the village on the Suffolk border

Brentwood and Thorndon Country Park – this one’s literally do-able from my front doorstep, or for anyone heading from the town centre or railway station, in to the superb country park with its family-friendly Gruffalo Trail

Colne Valley – Earls Colne, Colne Engaine and White Colne are the eponymous villages ticked off on this six-mile route around the river valley

If you fancy trying out any of these walks – or any others in your area of Essex – then please do get in touch to arrange a guided walk at a time to suit you