Blue House Farm Nature Reserve - Ferry Boat Inn

The Ferry Boat Inn is currently undergoing a major renovation and is expected to re-open this Autumn/Winter 2019/2020. When the Pub re-opens it will provide a lovely place to rest, enjoy a meal and the use of the facilities. Until the Pub reopens, there are no public toilets along this route. Dogs are allowed on the sea wall but they are not allowed on the permissive footpaths throughout Blue House Reserve. This is for the safety of the wildlife and the farm animals. We parked at the Blue House Farm Reserve parking lot and followed the footpath to the Ferry Boat Inn, from there we walked down the road to the marina and made our way onto the sea wall. The walk is quite smooth and flat but can get rather muddy in the winter rainy seasons. There are several benches along the sea wall walk to stop, rest and enjoy the lovely views of The Crouch River. We walked almost to the end of the Reserve along the sea wall and then made our way back along the path and then left the sea wall to follow the permissive footpath along to all three of the hides on the Reserve. The hides are wonderful and many wild birds can be viewed from them. Don’t forget to bring a pair of binoculars with you! The Reserve is a bird-watchers paradise. The trail loops around and ends back at the parking lot for a very nice 10,000+ steps walk. It can be quite windy on the sea wall as the trail is very exposed. While the path is generally quite flat, it is somewhat uneven. We look forward to The Ferry Boat Inn opening soon (I will amend this route as soon as it does. To advise it has opened) It was a lovely old Pub in the past that we enjoyed a rest and snack at on this walk, and we hope it will be a lovely newly renovated Pub in the near future. It’s addition makes this walk a extremely pleasant one on sunny days!