Essex Way - Mistley to Wrabness

1 December 2013

Looking at the map for somewhere new to walk, I picked on the south side of the River Stour, with its convenient railway line to help with one-way walks. I drove to Wrabness from where I got a train to Mistley. There was no ticket machine at Wrabness so I bought a permit to travel from the machine; the guard on the train, with little time to process it before I got off at Mistley, seemed flustered and ended up refunding the permit to travel, which didn't seem quite the right approach but meant that I travelled for free which I didn't object to.

At the railway station at Mistley I crossed the line on the level, which must be fairly unusual nowadays, and a short walk along the road brought me to the maltings where I joined the Essex Way, heading on this public footpath through the maltings site.

The route then passes under the railway before emerging onto open fields, much to George and Lottie's relief.

Across farmland a view of the Stour and south Suffolk

Potato harvesting near Bradfield

After passing under the railway again, we reach the shore of the river, where it is a slightly squelchy walk in places, with the route of the very closely paralleling public footpath and public bridleway being unclear too

Looking ahead to Wrabness Point, but I abandonned the shore here, climbed a small bank and walked along a field margin.

There was then a walk through Wrabness Nature Reserve before we took to this straight hedged path

Passing the church at Wrabness Hall, I was intrigued to notice this wooden cage...

... containing a bell, hung for ringing but the padlock and the screwed down batons clearly showing that it doesn't get rung very often.

A return to the shore of the Stour

The cranes of Felixstowe in the distance, and it is time to turn away from the river once more and return to the car at Wrabness station.

Total 15.2 km in 3 hours 57 mins.