Coastal Heritage - BBC Naze Tower Walk

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Coastal Heritage - BBC Naze Tower Walk - Walton-on-the-Naze

Naze Tower Heritage Walk

~ BBC "COAST" Series ~

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Eight-Stage Itinerary

BBC 'Picture' Links

Click on the map above - and pictures opposite - for more details

Stage 1 - The Tower

The Naze Tower is rated as one of the top twenty historic lighthouse structures in Britain and is grade 2* listed. Built in 1721, and after a variety of wartime and peacetime uses, it has been recently opened as a spectacular viewing point 85 feet above the cliffs. It now boasts a cafe, local museum and art gallery. Inside, you will learn a lot about the Naze Protection Society and its planned Environmental Heritage Project.

Stage 2 - The Cliffs

The cliffs, that border the eastern edge of the Naze, are a world famous site for fossils going back 50 million years ago. The red crag is a rare outcrop of this particular geological formation and is about 2 million years old. It is largely composed of fossil material from this period. The geology of the Naze area was considerably influenced by the effects of the Ice Age. Watch this short video or visit the Nazeman Education Trust to find out more.

Stage 3 - The Nature Reserve

The John Weston Nature Reserve is owned by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The reserve contains many - sometimes rare - examples of plants, is the home to many species of birds and animals, and has a fascinating variety of insect life. (The Nazeman Education Trust provides further details). The area is located at the northern end of the Naze promontory and is constantly vulnerable to land loss through sea erosion. This short video will tell you more.

Stage 4 - The Backwaters

The Backwaters are an archipelago of creeks and islands that is an internationally acclaimed wetland site for migratory birds. Like the Naze itself, this wild and beautiful locality is at the mercy of the elements which have already claimed nearly a quarter of these wetlands over the last half decade. Storm flooding is an ever-present threat to its fragile survival. Watch this short video for more information.

Stage 5 - Commercial Heritage

Passing the site of the once flourishing Foundry gives one a sense of the decline in fortunes of Victorian and Edwardian 'Seaside Britain'. At the end of the nineteenth century the Warner family owners employed 300 people. By the 1960's it had ceased production. The surviving building now houses several small businesses and a private dwelling. This short video tells of reminiscences of the long lost connection with the once mighty Thames sailing barge trade.

Stage 6 - The Town Park

Naze Park marks the northern outskirts of the main town of Walton-on-the-Naze as it is today. However, the original village is now submerged some five miles out to sea! In 1798 the old church of All Saints finally sucumbed to the North Sea waves and was washed away for ever. Today, thanks to the initiative of the East of England Development Agency, a futuristic and symbolic sea memorial design - called 'Lost Town' - is planned to commemorate this loss.

Stage 7 - Maritime Heritage

The old Lifeboat Station today houses a maritime museum. The museum gives a fascinating glimpse of the history of the town of Walton over the years and of its constant fight for survival against the sea. In marked contrast, the new coastguard station - managed by the Thames branch of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency - stands adjacent to the museum. It coordinates search and rescue operations for the whole of East Anglia and monitors ship distress calls. Walton's present lifeboat is moored off Walton Pier, in constant readiness should an emergency arise.

Stage 8 - The Beach

Walton's beaches are among the cleanest in the country and still retain the perennial atmosphere of a bygone seaside era. The beach here is renowned for its sharks teeth fossils that are washed out of the London clay and on to the sand and pebbles at every high tide. The Naze Protection Society charity trust shop in Walton High Street offers - amongst other things - souvenir bags of seven of these fossils for just 50p towards fundraising for its Naze Cliff Heritage Project.

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Stage 1