Take a tour of the Upper Roach Valley, beginning in Grove Woods, and discover the nature that calls it home
Distance: Approx. three miles
Time: Two hours (excluding time to stop, stare and snack!)
Start in Grove Wood Car Park (string.taps.this), just along from the primary school on Grove Road. Across the recreation field on the right and into the mature hedgerows, you will spy a rickety wooden-planked bridge (valid.hears.casual). Balance across it and walk the narrow path with hawthorn and holly on one side – brimming with songbirds – and the green fence of the sewage works on the other. Lined with wild carrot in summer, follow the public footpath until it opens up into a field on the left-hand side separated by a barbed-wire fence (hubcaps.missions.magic).
Be sure to say a friendly ‘Hello!’ to the horses in the field. Late-summer to early-autumn is the perfect time for this walk as the paths aren’t too muddy. I took this route last winter and passed a couple struggling in the ankle-deep sticky mud – the man’s jeans and once pristinely white trainers were coated brown, to which he laughed and said, ‘I’m meant to be going to the pub after this!’
Rawreth Hall Woods will be directly in front of you (weeps.unity.kilt). Follow the path through the trees until you reach a long meadow (stood.subject.minimums), buzzingly alive with insects in the summer.
By this point, one rarely sees another soul, apart from the occasional dogwalker. It’s just you and the blackbirds, darting in and out of the hedgerow. Cross the meadow of knapweed and other wildflowers until farmland opens out before you, green or golden depending on the time of year, where rooks probe for food with their beaks to the ground (digests.scarecrow.drank).
Walking uphill towards the spaced-out line of ancient oaks exposed on the ridge (equivocal.certified.arranges) will reveal the panoramic view across to the high-rise apartments of Rochford and Southend. It is an astonishing amount of land to find on the edge of bustling Rayleigh – and quite hilly by Essex standards!
Following the line of oaks staked in the ground like waymarkers, you will arrive at Gusted Hall (tender.node.stuffy), a grand red-brick private house, which can be dated back to 1199, when it was known as Gratsted Hall. The name supposedly means ‘gravel place’ but as of yet nobody knows why. From this viewpoint you will be able to see back to where you popped out from the meadow. If you have brought a picnic or flask of tea, now is the perfect moment – it’s all downhill from here (I mean that in a good way).
Retrace your steps back down the hill or continue onwards, working your way back in a circle to the original path by keeping the treeline on your left. The chattering of magpies and repetitive see-saw call of the great tit soundtrack the journey back through Rawreth Hall Wood and Grove Wood – past the horses, over the rickety bridge and back to the car park.
You’ve made it – a journey to a corner of deepest Essex. The Oakwood (minute.sector.match) on nearby Rayleigh Road or The Rayleigh Lodge (these.shout.goods) are both ideal locations for a post-walk drink and bite to eat. All of that walking stirs up quite the appetite!
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