Hadleigh Castle Country Park walk

Essex Coastline, a ruined castle with a view, and 2 Tree Island

Hadleigh Castle Benfleet to leigh on Sea
Hadleigh Castle

Benfleet to leigh on Sea

Jun-12 • moontiger on Flickr

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Dancers on the shore Benfleet to leigh on Sea Leigh Folk festival
Dancers on the shore

Benfleet to leigh on Sea Leigh Folk festival

Jun-12 • moontiger on Flickr

newwalk walkicon swcwalks leighfolkfestival benfleettoleighonsea short14 7442764976

Big clock Benfleet to Leigh on Sea.
Big clock

Benfleet to Leigh on Sea.

Jun-15 • moontiger on Flickr

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Goats Rue Benfleet to Leigh on Sea
Goats Rue

Benfleet to Leigh on Sea

Jun-15 • moontiger on Flickr

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Hadleigh Castle Benfleet to Leigh on Sea
Hadleigh Castle

Benfleet to Leigh on Sea

Jun-15 • moontiger on Flickr

leighonsea walkicon swcwalks short14 19302636105

Image005
Image005

Dec-08 • Andrew Murphy

short13, swcwalks 6166181571730486578 P

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Image0115

Sep-10 • Andrew Murphy

short13, swcwalks 6166181596195599842 P

Start Benfleet station
Finish Leigh on Sea station
Length

3.5 miles

Time 1 hour 30 minutes.
Travel Trains leave from Fenchurch Street Station. The back entrance to the station is not far from Tower Hill underground - follow the signs. There are 4 trains an hour. Get a return to Leigh-on-Sea (not to be confused with the other Lees and Leighs dotted around the south-east).
Walk Notes

This short walk along the Essex shoreline was devised to coincide with Leigh Folk Festival, normally held at the end of June.

The Festival lasts several days culminating in a full Sunday of free events. It is very much a community affair with local Essex acts as well as some bigger names. And there is a pretty wide interpretation of the word “folk” - reggae, C&W, cajun, and blues bands rub shoulders with more traditional performers. You'll find free stages along the waterfront as well as artists in pubs and other venues. Be sure to buy merchandise or put coins in a tin to add your support. Most of the action happens along the waterfront but there is at least one pub and a hall on the other side of the tracks that are worth visiting

Information, Map

Eat

If the weather is fine, a picnic at Hadleigh Castle is recommended. There are several pubs and other eateries along Leigh’s waterfront

  • The Crooked Billet 01702 480289
  • The Peterboat 01702 475666
  • Ye Olde Smack 01702 476765
  • Sara’s Tea Garden
  • The Ship, over the railway bridge, is usually quieter.

Or, you could climb up the hill to the rest of the town.

C2C

C2C, who runs trains on the London Fenchurch Street - Benfleet - Leigh-on-Sea - Southend-on-Sea - Shoeburyness line, have serveral obfuscated discounts.

  • Tickets on weekends are 20% cheaper ("super-off-peak"). Railcards give an extra 1/3 off.
  • Buy online from the C2C website (ony) 3 days in advance to get a 40% discount (makes a difference Mon-Fri when super-off-peak tickets aren't available). Railcards give an extra 1/3 off. Use on any train, but no refunds due to an admin charge if you don't go.
  • A Senior Rover (day pass) is £10 (£7 London Freedom Pass holders) for 65+
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By Train

Out (not a train station)

Back (not a train station)

By Car

Start SS7 1NF Map Directions Return to the start:

Finish SS9 2ET Map Directions Travel to the start:

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Help

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Version

May-17 IanT

Copyright © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml

Walk Directions

The directions for this walk are also in a PDF (link above) which you can download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone. OpenStreetMap (not OS) mapping is used in the PDF for licence reasons.

  1. Leave Benfleet station on the Ferry Road/Canvey Island side - not the town side. This exits onto a main road, where you turn left.
  2. The main road soon turns right, over a bridge to Canvey Island, but you continue straight on along a minor road following Benfleet Creek. This ends in a car park, where there's a gate on the left into Hadleigh Castle Country Park.
  3. The easiest route is then to turn right and continue to follow the coast all the way to Leighon-Sea, which is about 3.5 miles away.
  4. Further along the way you have options
  5. Option: To visit the castle:
  6. The grounds around the ruins are a good place for a picnic, with views down to the estuary and beyond
  7. The straight creekside path eventually comes to a dogleg, turning first left then right. But instead of going right with the main path, pick out a fainter path going north to a gate then a rail crossing. The crossing is about 200m left of a brick structure. After crossing, head on up the field to a gate in the top right hand corner. Follow a cycle path eastward. Ignore one or two "Wild Walk" gates on the left but, as you near the castle, a gate off slightly to the left leads onto a broad path heading left, uphill along the western side of the castle. At the top, enter the grounds via a gate on your right
  8. Exit the castle at the other side between turrets and follow the path down. It rejoins the cycle path which heads east to Leigh. Here you need to aim for the waterfront. Turn right just after the station and go through a gate on your left, down steps to a road and follow this past waterside shacks and sheds into Leigh .
  9. Option: To Visit 2 Tree Island
  10. Continue along the creek side path. A little later, you can turn right to explore Two Tree Island nature reserve.
  11. The main walk, and 2 Tree Island option continue
  12. Carry on along the creek side path into Leigh. Note the railway station on your way into Leigh – that’s where you will be leaving from.
Start
Finish
© Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml