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 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 ...

to St Mary's church in

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 ...

. It is waymarked, and shown 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 Saffron Trail was conceived by David Hitchman in 2000, as a south-east to north-west route to complement the two west-to-east long-distance paths: the Essex Way and

St Peter's Way St Peter's Way is a long-distance footpath in Essex, England. The path leads from Chipping Ongar to the 7th-century Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall at Bradwell-on-Sea. It is waymarked, and shown on Ordnance Survey mapping. The path St Peter' ...

. The name recalls the cultivation of

crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennial plant, perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stem ...

es in the Saffron Walden area from which the spice

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

is obtained, and which gives the town its name. The trail starts at the pier in

(), in the south-east of the county, and goes north-west across urban and rural Essex. It goes through fields and woodland, over commons, alongside rivers, through historic villages, and some built-up areas and finishes at the church of St Mary in Saffron Walden (). The trail is waymarked in both directions by a circular mauve marker with a purple crocus and the text "The Saffron Trail". The trail has several railway stations on the route or nearby, as well as some rural bus services.

Route

The Saffron Trail passes through the following locations:

Southend Pier Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, United Kingdom. Extending into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. The bill to build the new pier, to replace a previous timber jetty, received roya ...

(start),

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a List of towns in England, town and civil parish within the city of Southend-on-Sea, located in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 22,509. Geograph ...

, Hadleigh, Eastwood,

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 ...

Hullbridge Hullbridge is a village and civil parish in the Rochford district of Essex in England. Bordered to the north by the River Crouch, as well a distance from Hockley and Rayleigh. Hullbridge had a population of 6,527 at the Census 2011. Prehistori ...

, Battlesbridge,

Rettendon Rettendon is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England, about south east of the city of Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch, the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passe ...

, East Hanningfield, Danbury,

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, Broomfield,

Great Waltham Great Waltham, also known as Church End, is a village and civil parish in the Chelmsford (borough), Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England. Description The parish contains the village of Ford End, and the hamlets of Broad's Green ...

, Howe Street, Littley Green,

Felsted Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...

Little Dunmow Little Dunmow is a village situated in the Uttlesford district, in rural Essex, England, in the vale of the River Chelmer about east-southeast of the town of Great Dunmow. It can be reached from the Dunmow South exit of the A120 by following ...

Great Dunmow Great Dunmow is a historic market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It lies to the north of the A120 road, approximately midway between Bishop's Stortford and Braintree, Essex, Braintree, east of London Stanste ...

Little Easton Little Easton is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is situated approximately east from the town of Bishop's Stortford, and north-west from the county town of Chelmsford. Little Easton parish is defined at the west by t ...

, Great Easton, Tilty, Chickney, Henham, Widdington, Newport, Wendens Ambo, Audley End station,

(finish). The highest point of the walk is 121 m (397 feet) near Widdington; the lowest point is at sea level at Southend pier.

Adjoining paths

The Saffron Trail adjoins several long-distance paths: Essex Way (an 81-mile (130 km) east to west walk from Epping to Harwich) intersects at Great Waltham;

(a 41-mile (66 km) east to west walk from Chipping Ongar to St Peter-on-the Wall at Bradwell-on-Sea) intersects at East Hanningfield; Harcamlow Way (a 141-mile (227 km) figure-of-eight walk from Harlow, Essex to Cambridge and back) intersects at Saffron Walden; Thames Estuary Path (a 29-mile (47 km) west to east walk from Tilbury Town station to Leigh-on-Sea station) intersects at Leigh-on-Sea;

Roach Valley Way 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 and the River Crouch and Roach estuaries. It is waymarked, and named on Ordnance Survey mapping. The path Th ...

(a 23-mile (37 km) circular walk around Rochford and the Crouch and Roach estuaries) intersects at Hockley.

References

{{reflist

External links

*Route description from "Visit Essex" in 7 sections:
Saffron Walden to Henham

Henham to Great Dunmow

Great Dunmow to Great Waltham

Great Waltham to Chelmer Village

Chelmer Village to Battlesbridge

Battlesbridge to Belfaris, Hadleigh

Belfairs Wood, Hadleigh to Southend Pier
Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in Essex