Registration takes place at Harwich Low Lighthouse.  Note behind you the ‘treadmill crane’ which used to be used for unloading ships.  It may be of assistance to note that many places along the walk were marked with ‘Essex Way’ markers – two red poppies on a white background, some have been removed but many remain.  There are three places along the route where water will be available (water provided by Water Direct of Earls Colne) – these are indicated as ‘Water Stations’ in the following notes.  The notes also contain hourly schedule points to complete the walk in a reasonably sedate five to five and a half hours.  No doubt many of you will do it quicker!

Start – From Harwich Low Lighthouse head along the promenade away from Harwich and the Treadmill Crane.  More modern dock cranes can be seen across the river.  If you are lucky you may also see a large ship entering or leaving port.  Continue on along the sea wall and around the seaward side of the old gun emplacements to Dovercourt promenade.  Walk along Dovercourt promenade for approximately two kilometres, passing the lighthouses and beach huts on your right.  Turn right at the end of the promenade towards the car park.  Turn left and go across the car park and follow track with water filled ditch on right.  There may be some wild fowl visible on the water.

After about 400 metres turn right on to the sea wall and then follow sea wall around to the left.  Continue along the sea wall with the caravan park on the right.  On the left is Hamford Water.  After a kilometre the sea wall turns left and after a further 400 metres just as sea wall turns left again, a path goes down to the right.  The path goes ahead across the field with houses visible ahead to left and right.  Go through a field of oil seed rape and after a total of 900 metres the path goes over a plank bridge.  (Approximately one hour to this point.)  After a further 150 metres go up a small embankment and turn left on to the path at the top.  After 100 metres turn right onto a gravel track which heads up hill with a row of trees to your right.  After 400 metres, ignore bridleway to the left and follow path straight on, turn left with path and then take footpath off to the right.  The path turns left and then right and passes farm buildings on the left before reaching a gate leading onto a road.

Cross road and turn left along footpath.  PLEASE TAKE CARE AS ROAD CAN BE BUSY.  Just after Bayview Crescent, turn right onto the entrance road leading to Little Oakley Memorial Club car park.  Go across the car park and a footpath at the back of the car park leads into a field.  After about 150 metres (part way across the field) turn right onto another footpath which leads across the middle of the field.  (Note, there may be no marker indicating this right turn.)  After another 200 metres cross a small plank bridge on the right and turn immediately left onto footpath with field hedge on your left.  At the end of this hedge the path turns left and right and then drops downhill towards wood.  Turn left on joining path going around wood and continue with wood on right.  After 200 metres turn right over footbridge and follow path, with building on the left, to main road.

Cross over the main road and turn left along the footpath towards the roundabout.  A water station and toilets are available at Ramsey War Memorial Hall on the right.  Using the footpath on the right hand side of the roundabout, go across the A120 road and continue ahead towards Ramsey village.  TAKE CARE at bridge as there is no footpath.  After the bridge cross the road to join the footpath on the left and turn left after 100 metres towards ‘The Castle’ pub.  Follow road through Ramsey village taking care with narrow footpaths and cars.

After about 200 metres take the footpath going uphill to the right between buildings (one is an old Wesleyan Chapel).  Follow the path into a field with hedge on the left and fence on right.  Turn left at end of hedgerow and follow path towards windmill.  Turn right in front of windmill and follow path leading across field to small paddock.  Cross stile and head diagonally across small paddock to stile in opposite corner.  Over stile and follow path across field towards further stile.  Over stile and continue along side of field with hedgerow on your right.  After 50 metres go over further stile and continue towards third stile.

Do not cross this stile but instead turn right just in front of it and go over a stile in hedgerow on your right.  Your path leads directly ahead across field towards end of hedgerow and to the left of old farm building and Arial mast.  There is a marker post near the end of the hedgerow.  Join track just right of the hedgerow and follow to main road (about 500 metres) passing old farm building on your right.  Turn left onto main road.  (Approximately two hours to this point.)  TAKE CARE.  ROAD CAN BE BUSY AND THERE IS NO FOOTPATH.  After 400 metres turn right onto a rough track, just before a large white house.  Gate is marked ‘Copperas Wood Nature Reserve’.  After 150 metres take the left hand track and after a further 250 metres go over a railway bridge.

Just after railway bridge fork left through gate.  Follow path going off to the left after gate and heading downhill.  After 200 metres the path goes over a little bridge.  After a further 100 metres the path goes down a short flight of low wooden steps and continues straight on.  The Estuary of the river Stour can be seen through the trees on the right.  After about 150 metres you turn right onto a path coming downhill from the left.  This leads towards the shoreline then goes down some steps, over a footbridge and into a field.  Path goes ahead with field on the left and estuary on the right.

After about 700 metres the path goes over a plank bridge and through a ‘green gate’ behind ‘Strandlands’.  The path continues over another plank bridge and through a further ‘green gate’ into field.  Following the estuary continue along edge of field and after about 250 metres enter East Grove wood.  The path meanders, you should keep to the path as near as possible to shoreline with the estuary on your right.  The path exits East Grove wood over a plank bridge and goes along the side of a field for 100 metres and then goes up onto the ‘sea wall’.  The path meanders along the sea wall.  After 400 metres the path drops down left to a green trackway just after a gate.  Follow track for about 150 metres and then turn left uphill with a caravan park on your right.  This is Stones Lane.

After about 500 metres, Stones Lane joins a tarmac road.  There is a Water Station here and refreshment facilities.  This is the finish/start of the short walks.  (Approximately three hours point.)  A portaloo toilet is available in the grounds of Wrabness church for those in need.

[If you are doing the short walk from Harwich do not forget to register your completion with the officials before you leave.  Transport back to Harwich is available form Wrabness station.  Turn left at the Water Station and continue along this road.  Just after the railway bridge turn left and follow road for about 600 metres to Wrabness railway station.  Replacement buses are expected to run from here to Manningtree (11 minutes past each hour) and Harwich (2 minutes past each hour).]

If you are doing the full walk, or the short walk from Wrabness, turn right at this point.  Continue along this road for about 400 metres passing Wrabness church on the right.  Note the Bell Cage in the Churchyard.  Just before the last house on the right (actually a bungalow) turn right and over stile at side of gate.  Follow path around to the left keeping bungalow on your left.  Path goes downhill between hedges on either side then slightly uphill before crossing over road leading to Wrabness Point, and then downhill again.  At the bottom of the hill path turns left, through gate/stile and down into a gravel and cinder surfaced area.  Turn right and go up steps on to estuary wall.  Turn left along estuary wall.  After about 150 metres, take path going left off the wall and down steps.

Go over wooden bridge and bear left towards gate.  Just in front of the gate take the path to the right going up hill.  Turn right onto a tarmac path next to a ‘Stour & Orwell Estuaries’ sign.  Follow this path and at path ‘cross roads’ continue straight ahead.  Path meanders and then turns right coming out on estuary shore.  Turn left and follow shoreline passing Marsh Farm on the left.  Be careful here the path can be wet.  After about 500 metres the path turns away from the shoreline and heads diagonally across a field toward a railway bridge.  Go under railway bridge and fork right following path across field to old stile/gate.

The path then goes uphill across another field towards houses.  Go through gate onto path with house and garden on the right.  After about 30 metres turn right at main road and follow road.  TAKE CARE THERE IS NO FOOTPATH.  After 50 metres use the footpath on the right hand side of the road.  After a further 250 metres, with the Strangers Home pub in front of you, turn left at road junction by Bradfield church.  (For those of you in need the Landlord of the Strangers Home has kindly agreed that walkers may use the toilets in the pub.  There will also be a Water Station in the pub car park.)  Continue for about 150 metres and then turn right into Mill Lane.  After about 500 metres the road then goes down hill turning right and left.  After a further 80 metres or so, just on a sharp left hand bend, the path goes of to the right and uphill across the middle of a field.  (Approximately Four Hour point.)

The path leads to a gap in the field boundary hedge but this is not visible until you have climb up hill for a bit.  Cross into next field and turn left along field edge for 20 metres and then right along path running across middle of field.  At field boundary the path goes through a gap in the hedge and across a plank bridge.  Continue straight ahead across middle of field to stile.  Cross stile and then the earthwork remains of the Tendring Hundred Railway.  Intended to go from Mistley to Tendring but never completed.  Go through gate into field.  Follow path along field edge with field boundary on left.

Go through gate and out to road.  Your way leads straight ahead from the gate along the road for about 30 metres.  When road turns right, turn left onto driveway to house and after 20 metres right along track with barn on left.  The path runs straight ahead with open fields on the right.  After about 600 metres path becomes more enclosed with wood on left and the remains of a blue/green wire fence on the right.  Furze Hill playing fields are then on the right after which the main path starts dropping down hill with twists and turns but is reasonably distinct.

Near the bottom of the slope the main path goes to the left and through a gate into the corner of a field.  Follow path down hill keeping field boundary to your left.  After about 80 metres your route goes by a stile on your left and through a gap into next field.  After 40 metres there is another stile on the left, do not cross, instead turn right and follow path across middle of field.  At field boundary two gates lead across ‘Green Lane’ and into next field.

Keep straight ahead across middle of field towards railway.  Go through gate, up steps and under the railway.  After 30 metres turn left onto path with maltings on the right.  Follow path for about 100 metres.  On reaching Mistley Green turn right and follow unmade road towards main road.  Turn left at main road.  Continue along this road passing Mistley Towers on your right and then along the estuary towards Manningtree.

After passing converted maltings buildings on the left and two or three houses the main road turns inland, left and right, into Manningtree High Street.  Continue along Manningtree High Street, passing Tesco Express and the Market Place (Toilets are available at the back of the Market Place).  Continue straight on, the road becomes Station Road and after about 600 metres go under a railway bridge.  After a further 400 metres you come to a roundabout.  Please cross the road using the traffic islands near the roundabout.  The approach road to Manningtree Station is straight ahead.  Walk up the approach road to the station and the finish this year is at Manningtree Station Buffet.

WELL DONE.  - Refreshments are available from the buffet.

National Express – East Anglia are kindly providing free transport back to Harwich if required.  Just present you sponsorship form on request.  Buses are expected to leave for Harwich at 43 minutes past each hour; for Ipswich at 15 and 45 minutes past each hour; for Colchester at 31 and 55 minutes past each hour.