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| Turnstones at Holbrook Creek |
These comical little birds are some of my favourite estuary inhabitants and can often be seen close to shore on a rising tide. They are amazingly well camouflaged thanks to their mottled plumage, but once spotted are easy to watch because they are so tame and it is possible to get almost within touching distance before they fly away. Seemingly undeterred by human presence these little birds are opportunists and I have even seen them being hand fed at Harwich Pier.
This morning at Holbrook they were behaving true to their name turning stone after stone in search of insects and small crustaceans. I watched them for some time enjoying their antics before leaving them to continue my walk around the creek.
Holbrook is a beautiful and peaceful place devoid of water for much of the day it comes alive at high tide when the tranquil waters bob with little sail boats. Areas of saltmarsh and mutflats edge the creek bounded by high river walls. On the western shore lies the Royal Hospital School; an imposing building designed by arts and crafts architect Herbert Tudor Buckland. The school was originally founded in Greenwich at the turn of the 18th century to cater for the sons of naval men. It moved to its current location at Holbrook in 1933.
Holbrook is one of several creeks along the Stour estuary a wide but gentle waterway flowing from Catawade at the head of the navigation all the way to Harwich harbour and the North Sea. The Stour was once an important trade route with barges regularly carrying goods to and from the port of Mistley.
This small town on the Essex side of the estuary has long been associated with barges and barge building and in 1919 the F.W. Horlock Ocean Transport Company opened a yard at Mistley and began building steel ships. In 10 years the yard turned out many barges including the well know vessels Repertor, Xylonite, Adieu and Reminder. These graceful old ladies are still sailing the East Coast today and are a wonderful legacy to a forgotten era.
Although the barge trade may be consigned to the past the Stour is still an important waterway, but it is now one with two very different identities. At its mouth it displays its industrial side with the international ferry terminal at Harwich and its adjacent oil terminal but travel a little further inland and the estuary becomes very much more natural with large swaths currently owned by the RSPB. It is these contrasts which make the estuary so interesting and one of the best ways to appreciate it is on foot following the Stour / Orwell long distance path.
From the marina at Shotley it is possible to walk along the river path past the wide mudflats of Cockle Creek, the vast expanse of saltmarsh at Erwarton Bay and the stony beach at Erwarton Ness before eventually arriving at the enigmatically named Johnny All Alone Creek.
The landscape here is flat and the estuary wide exaggerating the distance to the opposite bank. The little creek with its intriguing name is a tranquil place where it is easy to feel at one with the surroundings. I often wonder whether this place is named a after a real character and if so what his life must have been like living in such a remote part of the Suffolk Coast. It is easy to see the attraction today of such an abode; how many of us have dreamed of escaping the modern world to spend our days in a beautiful and uplifting spot such as this? The realities may well have been very different hundreds of years ago but today it is hard to imagine a more perfect spot to escape to.
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| The Royal Hospital School looks out over Holbrook Creek. |
Holbrook is one of several creeks along the Stour estuary a wide but gentle waterway flowing from Catawade at the head of the navigation all the way to Harwich harbour and the North Sea. The Stour was once an important trade route with barges regularly carrying goods to and from the port of Mistley.
This small town on the Essex side of the estuary has long been associated with barges and barge building and in 1919 the F.W. Horlock Ocean Transport Company opened a yard at Mistley and began building steel ships. In 10 years the yard turned out many barges including the well know vessels Repertor, Xylonite, Adieu and Reminder. These graceful old ladies are still sailing the East Coast today and are a wonderful legacy to a forgotten era.
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| SB Xylonite |
Although the barge trade may be consigned to the past the Stour is still an important waterway, but it is now one with two very different identities. At its mouth it displays its industrial side with the international ferry terminal at Harwich and its adjacent oil terminal but travel a little further inland and the estuary becomes very much more natural with large swaths currently owned by the RSPB. It is these contrasts which make the estuary so interesting and one of the best ways to appreciate it is on foot following the Stour / Orwell long distance path.
From the marina at Shotley it is possible to walk along the river path past the wide mudflats of Cockle Creek, the vast expanse of saltmarsh at Erwarton Bay and the stony beach at Erwarton Ness before eventually arriving at the enigmatically named Johnny All Alone Creek.
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| The port of Harwich |
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| Erwarton Ness |
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| Johnny All Alone Creek |
The landscape here is flat and the estuary wide exaggerating the distance to the opposite bank. The little creek with its intriguing name is a tranquil place where it is easy to feel at one with the surroundings. I often wonder whether this place is named a after a real character and if so what his life must have been like living in such a remote part of the Suffolk Coast. It is easy to see the attraction today of such an abode; how many of us have dreamed of escaping the modern world to spend our days in a beautiful and uplifting spot such as this? The realities may well have been very different hundreds of years ago but today it is hard to imagine a more perfect spot to escape to.
Stour Estuary Facts
OS Explorer Map 197
Imray nautical chart 2000.5 Rivers Stour and Orwell
The Stour estuary has one marina, 4 sailing clubs and many anchorages between Harwich and Maningtree.
The Stour / Orwell walk is a 42 mile route from Catawade at the head of the Stour estuary to Felixstowe on the Orwell.
Imray 2000.5 Rivers Stour and OrwellImray 2000.5 Rivers Stour and Orwell
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