CSCC Reports 2007: Maldon Trip - June 2007

On 9th June, Chris, Dan H, Beth, Russ, Tim & Dan J went to the sea-side in Essex. It was particularly good to have amongst our number Tim, one of the founder members of the club, who had had a long break from paddling. He looked like he meant business in his new Polish military, black folding boat!

In spite of a dodgy weather forecast, it turned out to be a lovely sunny day. Safe get-ins are few and far between in the Blackwater estuary, but after a bit of slithering around on the mud, we managed to get on the water at St Osyth's Beach (a short drive from the beautiful priory). We spotted Thames sailing barges as we looked back towards Maldon and Bradwell Nuclear Power station in the distance. We set off towards the mouth of the estuary. There we encountered two laid back locals fishing for sea bass from their sit-on-top kayaks. By that point the tide had turned, but we continued to make progress and made it to the first decent beach and stopped for lunch and an ice cream (thanks, Chris) After resting we carried on towards Clacton, passing several Martello towers en route to the pier. We then headed back from whence we came grateful for some tidal assistance for a change. The total distance paddled was 8 miles.

We had dinner in a pub in St Osyth (real ale and tasty fish and chips) and drove back to London. It was a very relaxing trip which left us pondering future adventures such as exploring the Walton backwaters, the River Colne and other rivers to the north of the Blackwater.

Photos at http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n293/romanyexplorer2003/St Osyths to Clacton/