Sunday, 4 June 2000

Coastwalk

Stanford le Hope → Pitsea

[Overgrown railway]

Distance: 6.6 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: unknown

Substantial growth
« Tilbury | Southend-on-Sea »

The railway line from Fenchurch Street in London to Southend-on-Sea is famously known as the Misery Line. Looking at the state of the track as it passes through Stanford-le-Hope as I returned to the car after today's walk it's easy to see something's wrong. I'm sure there are rails down there somewhere, but they're hidden by aggressively growing weeds.

Overgrown plants of another kind were a key feature of today's walk.

The weather's been beautiful so I've been wearing shorts and a t-shirt. At the start of the walk this seemed a wonderful idea as I meandered through a series of paths, lanes and fields through the villages of Corringham and Fobbing.

From Fobbing, the route drops down to the flood plain and crosses arable fields above Vange Creek. At least, that's the theory. The first field was OK, but through the second the path was less visible. By the time I'd reached the third, determination pushed me forwards, forging a path through a field which was planted to the very edge.

In England and Wales, landowners are required to maintain public rights of way that cross their land. The owner of this particular field had neglected this duty, which I was lawfully intent on performing for him. After an hour I'd finally made it through the six-foot crop, navigating as accurately as I could without visible landmarks. On the far side of the field I was greeted by a deep ditch filled with nettles. There was no way forward. Exhausted, I retraced my steps, cut across up the hill to High Road and limped on to the nearest station at Pitsea, my arms and legs criss-crossed with dozens of tiny cuts from the fierce crops.

Posted by pab at 22:06