South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge walk

Varied walk out of the Crouch valley through undulating parts of Essex with a serene riverside finish, passing RHS Garden Hyde Hall, some woods and vineyards.

Stile in Hedge Gap SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge
Stile in Hedge Gap

SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge

Oct-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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The Old Churchyard, East Hanningfield (III) SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge
The Old Churchyard, East Hanningfield (III)

SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge

Oct-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk159 21783656778

Fieldscape (III) SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge
Fieldscape (III)

SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge

Oct-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk159 21348651414

Charity Lane (Track) SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge
Charity Lane (Track)

SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge

Oct-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

walkicon swcwalks swcwalk159 21959177752

Hawe's Wood SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge
Hawe's Wood

SWC Walk 159 South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge

Oct-15 • thomasgrabow on Flickr

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A wheat field South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge
A wheat field

South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge

Jul-13 • moontiger on Flickr

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Big tree South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge
Big tree

South Woodham Ferrers to North Fambridge

Jul-13 • moontiger on Flickr

book3 swcwalks walk159 9240470167

Length

25.7 km (16.0 mi), with 268m ascent/descent. For a shorter or longer walk or an Alternative Ending see below Walk Options

Toughness

5 out of 10, with 5 hours 30 minutes walking time. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 8 ½ hours.

Walk Notes

This varied walk offers splendid views of the Crouch Valley and some mildly undulating landscape. After winding its way out of South Woodham Ferrers through some fields, it leads across plenty of rolling hills and past the large RHS Garden at Hyde Hall, then passes through an overgrown cemetery dense with in bluebells in season and along more fields to lunch. The afternoon route passes a couple more bluebell woods as well as some vineyards and then features an extended stretch between trees on a long disused railway line and finishes very serenely after tea, along the tidal River Crouch and through the grassy salt marshes of Blue House Farm Nature Reserve.

Walk Options

Early Finish: take a bus from the lunch pub in East Hanningfield to Battlesbridge (infrequent service).
Alternative Ending back in South Woodham Ferrers (19.4 km/12.0 mi).
Shortcut in North Fambridge: use a more direct route to the station (22.9 km/14.2 mi).
Extension in North Fambridge: add more riverside walking (28.8 km/17.9 mi).

Maps OS Landranger: 167 (Chelmsford) and 168 (Colchester).
OS Explorer: 175 (Southend-on-Sea & Basildon) and 183 (Chelmsford & The Rodings).
Travel

South Woodham Ferrers and North Fambridge are on the single-track Crouch Valley Line from Wickford to Southminster, with at least one train an hour Mon-Fri, one every 40 minutes Sat, and hourly trains Sun (journey time about 50 minutes, and 6 minutes longer on the return from North Fambridge). Trains to Wickford depart from Liverpool Street.

Saturday Walkers' Club: Take the train closest to 10.00 hours.

Lunch

The Folly Bistro, The Tye, East Hanningfield, Chelmsford CM3 8AA (01245 400 315). The Folly is located 9.0 km into the walk.

Tea

The Prince of Wales, Woodham Road, Stow Maries, Essex CM3 6SA (01621 828 971). Located 8.3 km from the end of the full walk.
The Ferry Boat Inn, Ferry Road, North Fambridge, Essex CM3 6LR (01621 738 844). Located 2.1 km from the end of the walk. A 500-year-old riverside inn, recently completely refurbished.

The Railway, 50 Hullbridge Road, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford CM3 5NG (01245 323 300). Right by the station on the Alternative Ending in South Woodham Ferrers

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By Train

Out (not a train station)

Back (not a train station)

By Car

Start CM3 5NQ Map Directions Return to the start:

Finish CM3 6NE 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-21 Thomas G

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

Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.

This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk