Horsey Island is an island in the parish of Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex. [1] It lies in Hamford Water and is part of the Hamford Water National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England. Permission is required to visit. [2]
Horsey Island is an island in the parish of Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex. [1] It lies in Hamford Water and is part of the Hamford Water National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England. Permission is required to visit. [2]
The western section of the island contains a freshwater pool surrounded by trees. At one point boats could moor here, but this is now discouraged. There are oyster beds along here and the north edge of the island. In the centre of the island are a number of farm buildings. In the 19th century, a large section of land was reclaimed, with sea walls constructed. Along with extensive saltings surrounding the island, this offered some protection against flooding. [3] At this time, Horsey Island partially connected to the neighbouring Hedge End Island; this was part of a plan to completely join the two islands together that was never completed owing to financial difficulties. [4]
The island is linked to the mainland by a 0.66-mile (1.06 km) causeway across a stretch of water known as the Wade, leading from the nearest village, Kirby-le-Soken, that can be walked with care at low tide. [5] [6] It is one of 43 (unbridged) tidal islands that can be accessed on foot from mainland Great Britain. [2]
The earliest known record of Horsey Island dates from 1212, when it was known as "Horse Hey". [7] It has been intermittently inhabited, with evidence of buildings dating back to 1536 and appearing on a map in 1594 as Horsey Illande. The local geography has meant Horsey Island has been regularly susceptible to flooding, including severe floods in 1691, 1896, 1949 and the North Sea flood of 1953. [8] The 19th-century sea wall was destroyed by floods around 1897, and the surrounding land was abandoned. [3]
Explorer and author David Haig-Thomas purchased the island in 1939 and lived there until called up to serve in the Second World War. [9] He was killed in action on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
The Wade was repaired after the 1953 flood. [8] The farm is still in active use, [10] thus making it one of the most easterly inhabited islands in Britain, a claim sometimes attributed to the more built-up Mersea Island further west. [11] It remains privately owned. [12]
The island features in Arthur Ransome's children's novel Secret Water as "Swallow Island". [13] The south eastern edge of the island is rich in birdlife and this inspired Paul Gallico to film the BBC's adaptation of his book The Snow Goose there. [4]
Tendring is a local government district in north east Essex, England. It extends from the River Stour in the north, to the coast and the River Colne in the south, with the coast to the east and the town of Colchester to the west. Its council is based in Clacton-on-Sea. Towns in the district include Frinton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze, Brightlingsea and Harwich. Large villages in the district include St Osyth and Great Bentley.
Walton-on-the-Naze is a small town in Essex, England, on the North Sea coast in the Tendring District. It is north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich. It abuts Frinton-on-Sea to the south, and is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton. It is a resort town, with a population of 12,054. The town is in the civil parish of Frinton and Walton. It attracts many visitors, The Naze being the main attraction. There is also a pier.
Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word meresig, meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is split into two main areas, West Mersea and East Mersea, and connected to the mainland by the Strood, a causeway that can flood at high tide.
A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of religious worship, such as Mont-Saint-Michel with its Benedictine Abbey. Tidal islands are also commonly the sites of fortresses because of their natural fortifications.
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Wallasea Island lies in Essex, England. It is bounded to the north by the River Crouch, to the south east by the River Roach, and to the west by Paglesham Pool and the narrow Paglesham Creek. The population of the Island is included in the civil parish of Canewdon.
Northey Island is an island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex. It is linked to the south bank of the river by a causeway, covered for two hours either side of high tide. The island is approximately 1 mile (2 km) to the east of Maldon, Essex and 1 mile (2 km) to the west of Osea Island.
Secret Water is the eighth book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. It was published on 28 November 1939.
Bridgemarsh Island is in the tidal part of the River Crouch in the English county of Essex, three miles upstream from Burnham-on-Crouch. The main river channel runs to the south between the island and Canewdon, and it is separated from the mainland to the north by Bridgemarsh and Althorne Creeks, channels of the estuary.
The River Roach is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex. It is one of four main streams that originate in the Rayleigh Hills to the west, and flow east. They then flow towards the centre of the Rochford Basin, a circular feature which may have been caused by an asteroid impact in the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene periods. To the east of Rochford, the river becomes tidal, and is governed by the Crouch Harbour Authority. It joins the River Crouch between Wallasea Island and Foulness Island. To the west of Rochford, there is some doubt as to which of the four streams is officially the Roach.
Eilean Mhic Chrion is a tidal island sheltering Ardfern in Loch Craignish, Scotland.
Landermere Wharf, sometimes called Landermere Quay, is a former dock area suitable for lying at anchor in the Tendring district of Essex, England.
Rushley Island is a small uninhabited island in Essex, England. It is the smallest of six islands comprising an archipelago in Essex, and is privately owned. A seawall was first constructed in the 1780s by John Harriott, and the island has been the object of farming activities since then.
The Broomway is a public right of way over the foreshore at Maplin Sands off the coast of Essex, England. Most of the route is classed as a Byway Open to All Traffic, with a shorter section of bridleway. When the tide is out, it provides access to Foulness Island, and indeed was the only access to Foulness on foot, and the only access at low tide, until a road bridge was built over Havengore Creek in 1922.
Hamford Water is a 2,185.8-hectare (5,401-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich in Essex. The site is a tidal inlet which has marsh grasslands, creeks, mud and sand flats, salt marshes, islands and beaches. It is described by Natural England as "of international importance for breeding little terns and wintering dark-bellied brent geese, wildfowl and waders, and of national importance for many other bird species." Rare plants include hog's fennel and slender hare's-ear. The main invertebrates are worms and thin-shelled molluscs. The largest island, Horsey Island, can be reached on foot at low tide across The Wade from Kirby-le-Soken.
Skipper's Island is a 94.3 hectare nature reserve north of Kirby-le-Soken in Essex, England. It is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Lee-over-Sands, is a small coastal hamlet in the Tendring district of Essex, England. It is located close to the mouth of the River Colne into the North Sea and is in the civil parish of St Osyth.
The Roman River is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex. It is a tributary of the River Colne, flowing into its tidal estuary below Colchester. The lower end of the Roman River is also tidal, with tidal water flowing upstream to just above Fingringhoe.
The Shoeburyness Boom refers to two successive defensive barriers across most of the Thames Estuary in the mid-20th century. As to the part perpendicular to the north shore most of the latter incarnation remains, and its nearest concrete mooring/patrol point 600 metres south. A 2 km stretch, this is designated a scheduled monument and marks the western edge of MoD Shoeburyness firing range, a restricted area. The rest was taken up in the 1960s.
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