Burnham-on-Crouch is a pleasant little town on the river Crouch in Essex. It’s well known for its yachting clubs and as such there is a lot of boats racing and sailing along the river.
What wildlife can I see?
If you get a boat from Burnham-on-Crouch quay (Discovery Charters) and chug along for 30 minutes or so, you’ll come across a small colony of common seals between the islands of Wallasea and Foulness. The river is not that wide, so no matter where you are on the river, you’ll get good views of the seals both in the water an on the banks.
There area is also a haven for birds, particularly waders, due to the Wallasea Nature Reserve and the great work the RSPB have been doing there to create saltmarshes, mudflats and lagoons using the muck taken away from the Crossrail tunnels in London. Due to this, you’ll see Little Egrets, Godwits, Curlews, Common Terns, Oyster Catchers and Cormarants amongst others.
You can go pretty much all year round, but if you want to see pups, then head there in June and July.
How to get there
Burnham is about an hour and a half drive from central London (with no traffic), but can also be reached by train in just about an hour and 10 mins from Liverpool Street Station.
Where to stay
We always stay at the White Harte Hotel, it has a range of rooms to suite all different budgets and is right on the river front, by the quay where the boat leaves from.
Where to eat
The pub/hotel is always an option, and there are plenty of other pubs in the area. however our favourite place to eat is Ruam Thai. It’s a lovely little place serving traditonal thai food, on upstairs, on the high street.
What else can I do there?
We haven’t done it ourselves yet, but we’re planning on going over to Wallasea Island for a walk round the RSPB Nature Reserve, I believe there are also cycle paths around the island. There are also plenty of other walks in the area, along the river front and towards Foulness.
See Wildlife 