Saffron Trail Stage 5 – Chelmer Village to Battlesbridge
Facilities
Routes
- Length of route (miles) - 11.5
Map & Directions
- 1
START/END:– Under A12 bridge, River Chelmer, Chelmer Village
- 2
River Chelmer Bridge – find dew laden cobwebs at dawn. The bridge across the Chelmer is one of the better places on the path for spiders.
- 3
Lingwood Common – listen for nightingales in spring.
- 4
St John the Baptist church – touch the three wooden effigies inside the remarkable 13th century church at Danbury Mount. The site is steeped in history and tales. Good views from the south-side of the church over the surrounding valley and Hanningfield reservoir.
- 5
Danbury Common – Look for roe and muntjacs deer around one of Essex’s largest surviving heaths. They’re best seen at the wooded edges of dawn and dusk.
- 6
Sportman Lane Ford – paddle one of the trail’s shallowest waterways. Visit after rainfall when the waters get deeper and feeds into Mundon Wash and the Blackwater from Sandon Brook.
- 7
Potter’s Lane – Tramp a carless, green lane stuck in a time warp. One of Essex’s many Unclassified County Roads that is still designated a right of way. The lane has been allowed to go back to nature and is extremely peaceful. Go at snail’s pace, as only ⅓ mile long.
- 8
Battlesbridge – look for kingfishers and bass from the bridge above the tidal lagoon. The bridge defines the place where the fresh and salt waters of the River Crouch meet.
- 9
START/END:– Battlesbridge. Hawk Hill, Battlesbridge, Wickford, SS11 7RN