Bradwell Chapel

My home county of Essex has a poor reputation. To many it is new towns and East London and the, shudder, TOWIE types but parts of it are wild and unknown.

Today I went to the East Essex Coast, now to many the Essex coast is Clacton or Southend and kiss me quick hats but I drove to Bradwell-On-Sea down a farm road and parked. I walked down 1/2 mile down a track towards the North Sea.

Here the Romans built a fort and in 654 Cedd came from Northumbria to convert the East Saxons and built a chapel (St Peter on the Wall).

At one point the Chapel would have had a tower and an apse (both gone). The chapel was used as a barn until the 1920's when it was restored.

It lays claim to being the oldest church in England. St Martin's Canterbury is claimed to be pre-Augustinian (597) and Escomb claims to be before the Synod of Whitby (664). Jarrow and Monkwerouth are both 670's. We don't know if Bradwell was built by Cedd (he returned to Whitby for the Synod) but it is old. It's location is remote and atmospheric much more so than St Martin's in Canterbury. If you are in the area it is well worth a visit there are some fine walks along the wild North Sea coast.

Bird wise there ere Curlews about and a Golden Plover (first I've seen for ages).

I drove to Burnham-On-Crouch to pick up some lunch. I bought a coffee and a sausage sandwich and parked up by the Crouch river

Now how many times have I been to Burnham? Normally the most exciting thing I see is a Redshank but today ? A lot of Black-Tailed Godwit.

The legs are the identifier the bit down from the body is longer on Black than Bar (you can write Black on Black-Tailed and Bar on Bar-Tailed)

But nice of one to show us the tail ;)