Pioneered by CPRE and the Ramblers’ Assocation this triple-marathon walk neatly bisects the county. The Essex Way is clearly signposted, allowing even the most casual walker to enjoy the open air and big skies of the Essex countryside.
I first walked the Essex Way with a life-long friend, simply to prove that we could. Then, having done it once, we did it again, only this time to raise money for charity. And raise money we did!
Perhaps the most satisfying donation of all was that from a lady who ran out to greet us in Coggeshall: "Aren't you the two trying to raise money for the Air Ambulance? I just heard about you on BBC Essex!" That lady literally threw us the day’s angling fees from her lake and helped us collect £7,500.
There's always that big moment in a walker's life when the day dawns and it's time to set off. Epping railway station isn't a particularly glorious start to such an epic trek, but within minutes you'll have left the roads behind and be in open country, just the distant hum of traffic behind the sound of the birds. It feels good to be out in the open, to be alive, almost indescribably so for me.
It's hard to say what is most satisfying about a walk like this one. Is it the feeling of being at one with nature, or having cast off the heavy mantle of the office, the fax and the phone, or is it just about freedom? No-one else to please, just ourselves, and all day long to do it in. That feeling doesn't exist for most of us in our everyday lives!
Physical preparation involved nothing more technical than building up on weekend walks to 15 miles in one go, checking out clothing and footwear. We used all the maps and guides we could find, measured distances ourselves and planned our target points along the way.
Friend and I walked the 81 miles in three and a bit days, covering around 25 miles a day. We could have done more, but chose not. Leaving one car at a target point, we'd make our way to where we last finished and then walk the Essex Way, back to the car. One day we'd enjoyed the walk so much that we added another five miles and did that too.
Highs, warnings and lows? Well there weren't many lows, but some good advice might help here. Wear clothes that fit properly and watertight boots too, not shoes. Padded socks are a bonus and make sure you can remove clothing in layers as it gets warmer. Wear a shirt with a motif on the chest and you'll soon find out what walkers’s nipple is and it’s no joke!
Set realistic targets. We were aiming for three and a half miles an hour and that’s possible but unlikely as you struggle across a particularly wet cow-field or through fierce stinging nettles. At one point we managed little more than one mile an hour along a deeply rutted bridleway outside Chelmsford. Later and on the flat, we managed four miles in just under 60 minutes. You have to feel you're ahead of things so over-ambitious targets won't help at all.
Take lots to drink, food is less important. Plan your stops. We found that churchyards almost always had a water tap and some shade if we needed it too. Beware those churches that take away the tap-handle!
The highs? Finding out that plain, cold tap water can be the most wonderful drink of all. Really it is.
I loved the part where we followed the river towards Chelmsford, little more than a stream as it meandered this way and that. For several minutes we watched a pike, torpedo-shaped, gliding in and out in the shallow water, oblivious to our delight. I've lived in the country most of my life and yet still I saw new and enjoyable things every day on the Essex Way.
My favourite section is that leading through the trees and along the river, Copperas Bay, around Wrabness. We stopped there for lunch, resting on a fallen tree and watching all manner of wildfowl and other birds to-ing and fro-ing. Peace and quiet, spoiled only by the thought that soon we would be at the end of our adventure.
Don't listen to those who will have you believe our county is too crowded, with too little open space. From start to finish, including all our stops, we took 35 hours and in all that time, we met no more than 20 other walkers. We had rain, wind, glorious sunshine, bloody feet (on the first day), chaffed bits and sometimes not enough to drink, but most of all we had fun. Just thinking about it makes me want to set off again.