The Roach Valley Way is a long-distance footpath in south-east Essex, England. The 23-mile (37 km) circular path is centred on

Rochford Rochford is a town and civil parish in the Rochford (district), Rochford District in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford. At the 2011 census, the Civil parishes in England, civil parish had a population ...

and the

River Crouch The River Crouch is a small river that flows entirely through the England, English county of Essex. The distance of the Navigability, Navigation between Holliwell Point which is north of Foulness Island and Battlesbridge is 17.5 Miles, i.e. 15. ...

and Roach estuaries. It is waymarked, and named on

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

mapping.

The path

The Roach Valley Way was devised around 1997. Its name refers to the

River Roach The River Roach is a river that flows entirely through the England, English county of Essex. It is one of four main streams that originate in the Rayleigh Hills to the west, and flow east. They then flow towards the centre of the Rochford Basin ...

which arises as four streams in the Rayleigh Hills. It is a circular path centred on the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

of Rochford, together with adjoining parishes and villages. The circular walk can be started at several locations and walked in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The route goes through both rural and some urban areas. These include fields, pasture, marsh and ancient woodland, along rural roads as well as through villages and some built-up areas. A significant part of the walk is along sea walls overlooking the coastal margin of the estuaries of the River Crouch and the River Roach. Roach_Valley_Way

The path is waymarked in both directions by a circular blue marker with yellow bull rushes and the text ‘Roach Valley Way’.

and Hockley railway stations are close to the walk, and some villages have bus services.

Route

The Roach Valley Way passes through the following locations (the order assumes starting at Rochford in an anticlockwise direction): Rochford,

Stambridge Stambridge is a civil parish in the Rochford district in Essex, England. It is located north of the River Roach between Rochford and Paglesham. The parish includes the village of Great Stambridge. The name "Stambridge" means "stone bridge". ...

Paglesham Paglesham ( ) is a village and civil parish in the north east of the Rochford Rural District, Essex. The parish includes two hamlets of Eastend and Churchend, which are situated near the River Crouch and ''Paglesham Creek''. It is part of the ...

Canewdon Canewdon is a village and civil parish in the Rochford district of Essex, England. The village is located approximately northeast of the town of Rochford, while the parish extends for several miles on the southern side of the River Crouch. Ca ...

Ashingdon Ashingdon is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about north of Rochford and is southeast of Chelmsford. The village lies within Rochford District and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh. Ashingdon has a Pari ...

Hawkwell Hawkwell is a village and civil parish in the Rochford district of Essex, England. The 2011 Census gave a population for the parish of 11,730, an increase from 11,231 at the 2001 Census. History Name Over the course of history Hawkwell has b ...

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...

and Rochford.

Adjoining paths

The Roach Valley Way adjoins the long-distance

Saffron Trail The Saffron Trail is a long-distance footpath in Essex, England. The 71-mile (114 km) path leads from the pier in Southend-on-Sea to St Mary's church in Saffron Walden. It is waymarked, and shown on Ordnance Survey mapping. The path The Sa ...

(a 71-mile (114 km) south-east to north-west walk from

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

) they intersect in

Hockley woods Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council. Hockley Woods are the largest residual area of the ...

.Ordnance Survey, Explorer 175 & 176

References

{{reflist Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in Essex Rochford District