Distance: 5¼ Miles
Elevation Range: -1 to 87 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Weather Check: BBC Weather Harwich, Essex.
Map: Click here and once loaded select “Leisure” map
Route Card: Download the Shotley Gate route card
Shotley Gate is a long way from anywhere. Harwich is less than a mile away but its a 26 mile drive to get there unless you can walk on water or have a boat. In summer it’s flooded with tourists. Do they come through choice or because Shotley Gate is just the end of the road?
Fortunately it is a pleasant place with two riverside walks and the same number of pubs (parking near The Bristol Arms offers a good start and end point). It also boasts HMS Ganges once a tough but popular Navy training centre, you can still see where the button boy once stood and why he earned an extra shilling for his bravery.
The churchyard in Frogs Lane has graves from the two world wars including German sailors who lost their lives nearby. A special place set aside to remember those who lost their lives when two submarines collided in the harbour.
The walk starts from The Bristol Arms along The Stour. See Parkston Quay and Harwich Pier from Cockle Creek. Pass riverside beaches and small copse then move inland with a mix of open country, woods, a Viking garden and the Church in Frogs Lane with views of the River Orwell.
An early morning walk will result in a fantastic atmosphere mingled with fresh seaweed and smell of the ocean.
Download the Walkers Route Card Template for Word 2010
Download The Shotley Gate route card
[...] About 2Km from Fagbury Point I could see HMS Ganges and was able to use it to take a bearing as I had marked it on the map a few weeks ago when walking Shotely Gate [...]