Bradwell Waterside and on!

Thanks, Linda for your wonderful description of our day praying in Maldon.

The Lord so confirmed to us on our very first day back walking that he was with us. The encouragement warmed us in the cold wind and set us on track to continue from where we had left off in the summer, Bradwell Waterside. A port, or something of a port, with long-stemmed yachts huddling together for the winter on an exposed coast - this was our leaving point for Bradwell, an apostolic location for the county. Always in my mind, I try to visualise this part of Essex as it must have been for Cedd, the Celtic evangelist who brought the gospel to the county. Very different, I imagine!

But the best was yet to come. Because of and despite the cold wind, we walked quickly along to the sea wall, finding ourselves sharing that high path with a resident for a short time. She said she walked that section every day for exercise, even in bad weather. What a treat! But as we progressed, we found part of it broken down and the way barred.

It was a diversion around a salt water marsh, deliberately created to allow the sea to flow in at high tide. Our first salt water marsh...an exciting moment for me.

We had read and heard so much about this anti-flood technique, but I had never actually seen one before. It's a controversial issue as many marshes are made of land that was either a nature reserve, a bird sanctuary or a beauty spot but the argument against the dangers of flooding is strong and it is a legitimate method of releasing the pressure of the sea. It is also cheaper than maintaining a high sea wall, which if one were cynical, one might believe was the real reason!

Here are some shots of this location - worth a walk, even in winter. I loved it. Perhaps you can see why.

We continued until we could go no further, and as indicated on the map, turned inland, following a road where we met Gerry with the car. She then walked back the one mile to the main road with Linda while I drove the car to the joining point. We left Essex to the flock of wild geese we saw at the saltmarsh, happy to have reached our destination for the day.