We stayed at the Crouch Valley Lodge which is attached to the Blue Toad Restaurant. This is all in an out-of-the-way place, but the food is extraordinarily good. The staff are always smiling at whatever time of day you see them.
The Blue Toad sign outside the restaurant.
On Easter Saturday we had a mainly church day. First of all we went to Bradwell-on-Sea which is right on the coast. Well, perhaps a mile inland. Right in the middle of the village is a 14th century church (St Thomas) that has a gorgeous gallery at the west end of the nave which leads to a modern parish room in the tower. The stained glass is pretty good, though 19th century. There are a few 17th century memorials fixed to the chancel wall. It's a cheerful place, one you feel the congregation really cares about. The south side of the churchyard is smothered in maturish trees. On a hot summer's day they will provide welcome cool shade.
St Thomas Church, Bradwell-on-Sea
Further away from the village and right on the coast, literally less than 50 metres from High Water Mark, is the other church for which Bradwell is famous. It is constructed on the remains of the 3rd century Saxon Shore Fort built by the Romans to defend their province. By the mid 7th century, when the church was built, the west gateway was obviously out of use, because that is where the church is sited. It's about 5 metres wide and 10 metres long. It once had an apsidal east end and a porticus. At some point it has been left to fall to ruin and later has been substantially repaired
And then we took the windy road all the way to Maldon where we saw a magnificent early 18th century Library which replaced the nave and chancel of a High Street church. The tower alone remains.
I was up at dawn on Easter Sunday. I don't know why. But I was really taken with the rising sun and setting moon.
After breakfast we made our leisurely way home. On the way we discovered that South Woodham Ferrers doesn't live up to its name. We turned south there and kept going until we came to the top of the Thames bank, dropped down to almost river level and drove across Canvey Island. We both of us had some idea about this island but couldn't think why. Its very flat, as you might expect an island surrounded by mudflats to be, and you can see all the channels cutting it off from the mainland. We carried on as far as we could go and were forced to park beside an amusement park beside a rather well-designed municipal garden. We climbed the bank to a concrete walkway, about 5 metres above HWM, following the Thames and then went towards the sea for about half a mile. On the way we watched parents and children trying to catch things in rock pools and larger pools, some people bravely sitting out in the sun on tiny scraps of beaches and then we bought ourselves an ice cream.
The final visit of our day was to Tilbury Fort right next to the old Ferry Crossing over the Thames. It's an amazing place to walk round, climbing up the defensive earthworks (whatever they're called) and peering over the top ramparts at the extensive defensive water works. The Powder Magazines really caught my attention. Built of brick, the thick walls are buttressed at frequent intervals. Each of the two buildings could hold about 200 tons of gunpowder in 100lb barrels. When you look at the boards in the floor, you realise that these were really cut and laid by soldiers who couldn't care less how the job got done, so long as it was done. The powder magazines are surrounded by an outer blast wall.
For me, the best part of the whole Fort was the magnificent 1682 entrance gateway.
