Maldon to Salcott
KC3 ECP Leg Number 36
26th October 2021 – 28th October 2021
26.5 official miles
30.2 miles walked
Guest walkers:
Ani the dog
We walked 31 miles on this leg along the Blackwater Estuary and in the Essex Salt Marshes. Starting in Promenade Park in Maldon, the route goes back through Maldon, emerging on the other side of the Estuary and then down past the Heybridge Basin, then turning East along the north coast of the Blackwater Estuary. The route heads inland at Tollesbury to round the Tollesbury Fleet and then finishes with a wonderfully remote walk round the Old Hall Marshes towards Salcott.
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Day by day
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How we approached this leg
We walked this leg midweek over three days. Unlike our first outing earlier in the month, we walked on the first day after travelling for around 90 minutes from our home town, and we walked on the final day before heading home. Day 3 involved some backtracking as we walked back to Tollesbury Marina from Salcott – we decided to do this because there was no obvious parking in Salcott, and limited bus services (if you walk to the main road it is possible to catch the 92 bus which goes to Tollesbury, but is fairly irregular – in hindsight this might have been better as retracing our steps at the end of 3 long days was a bit dispiriting)
To do this route in two days, one could park in Tollesbury on day 1, take the 95 to Maldon, and then walk the 15 miles back. Day 2 either park in Tollesbury and walk back there from Salcott, or take the bus as above, or find a way to park in Salcott in the morning and bus back to begin the walk in Tollesbury.
Where we stayed
We based ourselves in Maldon for two nights, which is an ancient port on the Blackwater Estuary, famous for sea salt. We were in a self catering one bedroom apartment in the centre of town near the King’s Head Centre across from a pretty church. The real bells which pealed every hour were charming but steadily became less charming every hour during the night. One would probably get used to it given time, but we didn’t sleep much. Much of this leg requires pack lunches, which we bought each morning from the town centre mini-supermarket which was a few steps from our accommodation.
Useful links
Places to stop
El Guaca
Very pleasant, reasonably priced Mexican restaurant. Simple and lovely. We ate here on our first night.
Dante's Brasserie
Elegant food, relaxed and informal - we ate here on our second night
The Beach House, Mill Beach Seaside Resort
Nice bar overlooking the estuary between Maldon and Goldhanger. We stopped here on the afternoon of day 1 for a glass of prosecco! It also serves food, though we didn’t eat here.
The Chequers Inn, Goldhanger
Not actually on the ECP but very close. We parked here on day one and caught the 95 bus from right outside the pub back to Promenade Park in Maldon. We did pop into the pub for a coffee – only polite to ask if you can leave the car, which was no problem on a Tuesday morning but might be more difficult at the weekend.
Promenade Park at Maldon
At the start of Day 1 - there are a few nice cafes and kiosks here - it's a good spot to source lunch for later