Monday 12 March 2012

Wallasea Island, Essex


Wallasea Island is practically a single giant field – a vast plane of green slotted against the sky.

 
   
The exception lies in a clump of industry squeezed into the island’s northwest corner composed of a caravan park, pub, dockyard and marina.
 

The surrounding landscape can't help but get you into a horizontal frame of mind.

Wallasea Island marina


As you walk the sea wall, along the northern edge of the island, Burnham-on-Crouch comes into view.

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The misty, bone-chilling day suited Wallasea and its forlorn atmosphere, broken only by the intermittent explosions from the nearby military ranges.


Along  the north coast of Wallasea, a lot of work is being done by the RSPB to create a sustainable intertidal coastal marshland for wildlife, and to improve access for visitors. The Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project is scheduled for completion by 2019, but will be open to visitors throughout the reconstruction.


Breaches in the old sea wall have allowed the water to encroach and create lagoons for wading birds.


During our walk out to the eastern edge of Wallasea the basins filled with water. On our way back they were emptied, showing just how dynamic the habitat is.


A view over to neighbouring Foulness Island is the reward for reaching Wallasea's east coast.

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