Essex Moods

Blackmore, named after the rich dark soil which surrounds it, is at heart a collection of ancient buildings built beside the village green and church. St Laurence is Norman although the magnificent timber tower was erected in 1400.

Bradwell-juxta-Mare's history is visible in the landscape. The Saxon church of St Peter, the coastal defences protecting reclaimed land, and the decommissioned nuclear power station, have each in turn defined this part of Essex.

Canvey Point on Canvey Island is a bleak and windswept spit of Essex salt-marsh, barely above sea level. It's less than half a mile from town, but feels like a different world.

Buildings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries nestle around the village green and along the main street. But the main feature of Chappel is the colossal yet elegant Railway Viaduct built in 1849.

First afforested in the 13th century during the reign of Henry III, Epping Forest has hardly changed since. Ancient trees, magical glades, and wildlife right in the heart of East London.

With a reputation as an exclusive Essex resort, Frinton retains an atmosphere of the 1920/30's. The coastal hamlet was developed as a seaside resort quite recently and has an air of gentility even today, proud of its peaceful seafront without intrusive arcades, tacky novelty shops and candy-floss.

The riverside in Grays is an urban environment, mostly housing but with some industrial and shipping infrastructure. Viewed at night and with the tide high, the grimmer becomes glimmer.

Hatfield is the only English medieval royal hunting forest to survive intact. Its open landscape, dotted with areas of coppice woodland, enabled kings and nobles to ride at full pace in pursuit of deer and boar.

This ancient village in the Stour valley has a Saxon name and a Norman church, but its roots may be much older. Beside a farm track leading to the river lie a pair of sarsen stones, seemingly abandoned. Sarsen stones usually mark a prehistoric sacred site.

The main street of Old Leigh is lined with cafés, a gallery, a pottery studio, cockle sheds, a couple of restaurants and plenty of pubs where you can have a drink and watch the yachts and cockle boats cruising along the estuary. The beaches are sandy - but beware the mud.

West Mersea is the more touristy end of the island with shops and restaurants, boat yards and oyster bars. East Mersea is quieter with grasslands and meadows, salt marsh and sea birds. Both have beautiful sandy beaches, huge skies and impressive estuary views.

The Naze is an eastern peninsula of Essex, incorporating the seaside town of Walton on the Naze. which projects into the North Sea. The Naze Tower was built in 1720 as a navigational aid for shipping using the port of Harwich, at the tip of the Essex coast.

In the heart of Billericay lies Norsey Wood. The 165 acres of coppiced woodland contains a wide variety of wildlife including rare species like the dormouse and pipistrelle bat. The wood also contains a Bronze Age burial mound, medieval deer banks, and many ancient Iron Age pathways.

The clear point of Point Clear is that the views are varied and stunning. Salt marshes and Brightlingsea Marina lie to the north, sandy beaches and the distant Mersea Island to the west, and the Colne Estuary to the south, each with eternally moving water, sea birds, boats, and skies.

Photographed before the regeneration of Purfleet riverside, the pictures capture long-standing urban decay and desolation. Redevelopment of the area is due to commence in 2016/17.

There's a pleasant riverside walk in Rainham heading west along the coastal path from the RSPB reserve to the Tilda factory, then back along Coldharbour Lane. A mix of rural and industrial landscapes, but a bit whiffy past the Veolia land fill site.

Sand, sea, and slot machines. Adventure Island, burgers and The Pier. Yes, Southend does brash. But it also does moody, and mysterious, and magical……

The 500 acres of rolling hills, woodland, lakes, and open grassland of Weald Country Park make for spectacular views. As well as the deer park, there is a herd of wild fallow deer in the park, and herons, mallard ducks, grebes and other water birds on the lakes.