In the photograph above, the wreck you is all that remains of 'The Rose', a coastal barge in the 1880's. It was towed to the quay in the 1960's, where it was planned to convert it as a houseboat but it the work was never undertaken. In the background, you can see the remains of what was a storehouse or warehouse and the Cut runs along the front of the building heading out to Landermere Creek. The Quay is also the location of the last lime kiln in Essex, built about 1869-70, it fell in to disuse in the 1920's. We stopped at the quay for lunch and just enjoyed sitting in the sun, feeling the soft breeze on our face as it came up the Cut off the North Sea, taking in the ancient and historical landscape and its artefacts.
Leaving Beaumont Quay the verges to the right and left of us were havens for butterflies, including the one in the photograph below which I think is a Chequered Skipper. Happy to be wrong if someone else knows different. Passing the substantial area of mud flats and saltmarsh, we were quite taken by the less than sturdy pathways that served as links to go from one 'island' to another. Despite my coaxing, Joanna would not be talked in to trying them out !
- The seawall meanders along the edge of the water, constantly changing direction as it follows the lace-like edge of Hamford Water. Just before the feature known as The Wade, it heads in east, to Kirby Quay. The fine house situated here was once a granary and is located where the old grain barges would have tied up and loaded and unloaded. The quay was in use into the 19thC but fell in to disuse with the arrival of the railway. The book, 'Essex Coastline: Then and Now' uses the following quote from 1824 which describes the area as: "an area abounding with hares and partridge. The Quay or Wharfe connecting Mercantile business with a family concern... capable of containing two vessels... on the Wharfe is a granary, dwelling house, counting house, lime kiln and lime house, store house, stable and enclosed yard'. In its heyday, it would have been a busy and noisy quay, today it is a little haven of peace and quiet.