This walk had so much promise; Jack’s first outing on a beach, fish & chips, WWII defences, eroding headland, fossils, a harbour, and The Naze nature reserve. While we don’t recommend this exact route, there’s still plenty to see around the headland, just make sure you time your trip to coincide with low tide for maximum benefit. This particular route had a few eyesores but the main drag for us was rambling for circa. 2-3 miles of endless, overgrown sea wall next to the reserve; it was just too relentless and monotonous in the summer heat.
6.2km / 3.8 miles
Link to OS Route Map: The Naze and Naze Beach
Conditions: Clear skies, breezy, warm
Naze Car Park (Pay & Display)
From the backstreets to the backwaters
Perhaps less well known than Walton-on-the-Naze itself, The Naze is the most easterly peninsula in Essex and an important site for wildlife; from insects to owls. Before reaching the car park, we stopped at SJ’s Fish & Chips, which we ate in the headland car park (I promise that was more pleasant than it sounds!). We passed the chip shop on the walk too, so you could pop in en-route if you like, but there’s nowhere to sit and eat it. Save for the first 50-100 metres, where we looked over grassy headland out to sea, the first section of the walk until the chip shop is urban, skirting the edge of Walton-on-the-Naze with a good view down the sea-front and pier.
Veering right past houses and the aforementioned chippy, it’s wasn’t long before we headed into the marshlands and up onto the sea-wall. This was also not a great start to the walk; there was fly tipping and a scrapyard stretches the whole left side; I recall thinking I’d made a big mistake! Thankfully the view opens up over the Walton Channel and a vast expanse of mud-flats and yachts to the west (this being low tide – we’re not sure how it looks at high tide) and views of Harwich and its large sea vessels to the North.
Hamford Water National Nature Reserve
The mud flats are Hamford Water National Nature Reserve. The area is internationally recognised for its importance to migrating and nesting wildfowl and waders, including Dark Bellied Brent Geese, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat. Seals can also be spotted in the reserve – not today though! More than just mud, the tidal inlet consists of grasslands, creeks, salt flats and marshes and is home to rare plants, too. We followed this path to its most northernly point and round to the east until it meets the beach.
The sea wall is probably the “official” path and undoubtedly has the best views in most directions, but being summer, was overgrown and heavy going – especially a) in shorts and b) with a sensitive, precious greyhound. (This being a nature reserve, we’re not suggesting the wild, long grass is a bad thing, but it makes the walk a bit tough).
To the right, down the sea wall at sea level, was a path on the grassland that was an easier ramble. Not benefiting from any views though, it was repetitive, gave no sense of progress, and was very warm without the sea breeze. Unsure which was the better of two evils, we kept alternating between the two for MILES. The grassland itself has a thriving borrow dyke with dragonflies and damselflies galore; we also saw a couple of swans and their cygnet.
As the path meets the beach, you can join it and follow the cliffs round, or if it’s high tide, continue inland and walk on the headland path back to the car park (John Weston Nature Reserve). If the tide is right you can also ramble west on the beach but you must stay well away from the nesting sites on the beach by walking below the high tide mark. Whichever way you go, do it quickly; there is a sewage works here and the stench is nasty!
Coastal Defences (of wartime and erosion)
The sand here is distinctly muddy (or “clay-y”) and sinks under your feet close to the water’s edge. Further round, it hardens somewhat and there are plenty of rockpools to explore and clamber over. We took Jack to the sea-shore – his first experience of the sea – and unsurprisingly, he was scared of the waves. Our dog is a total coward.
The crumbling clay cliffs are a clear example of coastal change, with the headland eroding at a rate of 1-2 metres per year on average (we imagine this is a popular spot for school trips!). You can clearly see not only the London clay but Red Crag and Thames sand and gravel in the cliff edge. It’s easy to find fossilised sharks teeth and shells on the beach and in the rockpools.
More unusual for a beach find are the seaweed draped WWII pillboxes and ack-ack gun mountings. (I quipped to Martin about the use of camouflage, he did not laugh…). These pillboxes were originally on the headland but fell onto the beach as the cliff eroded. Comparing the current cliff edge with the bunkers’ locations paints a shocking picture of how quickly the North Sea is eroding the coast.
Passing along the impressive rock-built Crag Walk Coastal Defence Structure – intended to protect the coast from erosion – and up some steps, we’re back at the car park. This is the end of the route, but you can walk back along the cliff edge to the wild John Weston Nature Reserve, consisting of bramble thickets, rough grassland and four ponds. Its nesting birds include lapwing, redshank, sedge and reed warblers. It is also an important point for migrant birds and attracts shore loving insects including Emperor and Cream Spot Tiger Moths.
Also on the headland is the Essex Wildlife Trust – The Naze Centre, with toilets and a cafe, more pillboxes and The Naze Tower. Naze Tower was built in 1720 to mark the shipping approach for Harwich Harbour. Standing at 86ft tall, the tower’s had many uses over the years; including as a Chain Home Law radar station to track German warships and aircraft during WWII. Today it’s an art gallery and viewing platform, but it was closed due to Coronavirus. Unfortunately, it may not be too long before coastal erosion means it joins those pillboxes on the beach.
Love Wild Walks
