London to Amsterdam - Day 6 - Tollesbury to Colchester

Rating: 3.7 / 5

Distance: 16.5 miles

This is the sixth day of my longest hiking adventure yet. I am hiking from London to Amsterdam.

The hike in England was completed over five weekends in July and August, then during my annual leave in late August I caught a ferry to The Netherlands and hiked the rest of the journey to Amsterdam.

I camped overnight and at around 5am I saw a fabulous view of the red sun rising over the boats and lighthouse at Tollesbury Marina.

I set off early today as I knew temperatures were expected to get above 30 degrees celsius. It was one of the hottest days I've ever walked in. Along the coast there was a sign that read “danger do not get cut off “for those walking on the mudflats / salt marshes.

I helped myself to some blackberries on route. They were very tasty but when I lifted my head up I could see a nuclear power station on the other side of the estuary and I hoped they weren’t contaminated lol.

I followed a path where a sign read “goose friendly path”. That made me laugh and I was intrigued to know what that was all about so I went down the path.

At Saltcott there was a church. I sat on a bench in the graveyard. It was in the shade which was great - it allowed me to cool down a bit as today really was a hot one.

Unfortunately, I had to walk on a main road towards Abberton reservoir for a short while. I was only on this road for a few minutes but it was bad enough. Caution is recommended if anyone follows the route. It is a fast road with bends.

I met my father at the Essex Wildlife Trusts cafe. I filled my water here at a water fountain and got some food from the cafe.

I saw a Great Egret at the reservoir. At least that's what a man that I met thought it was.

I then walked along a segregated footpath to Layer de La Haye. There was a nice church in the village. I also went to a fence and managed to get some snaps of sheep in the foreground and the reservoir in the background.

I find town names like Layer de la Haye very interesting. I've read the reason towns and villages have “de la” in the name dates back to the Normans. After the Norman Conquest, the Normans tried to get the English to speak French. Some words entered our vocabulary and some town names remain from this time. Also the nearby city of Colchester has history with the Normans.

I then walked across the East Anglia Army Training Area. There were public footpaths across the area. I read a sign that said “warning troops training - do not touch any military debris. It may explode and kill you.” I read this on my way out. Not on the way in which wasn't very useful! The sign also read the troops are “active”.

Afterwards I followed a very direct joint cycle and walking path most of the way to Colchester centre.

Colchester Castle was great. Unfortunately, the castle was closing in 10 minutes when I arrived so I missed out. However, it was still great to see it from the exterior.

Colchester was the first city in the UK. It was founded by the Romans but under a different name. It was called Camulodunum back then. Colchester Castle was actually commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1076 and another fact is the castle was built on the foundations of a Roman temple.

If interested - I have created a short film of my London to Amsterdam adventure. The video can be seen below the photos :). Thanks