This will be a short walk as I don’t have the whole day. It is raining in short heavy bursts as I follow the footpath that runs off Tinkers Lane on the way out of Rochford. Walking over a muddy field I get slightly lost, until a dog walker points me in the direction of Sutton Church and the incongruous sight of a single gauge railway snaking away into the distance.

I wake up in Burnham to a grey drizzle and walking gingerly down the slippery, mossy slipway I stand and wait for the ferry which will take me over the river. From the marina on the other side I can pick up the Roach Valley Way which will lead me on to Paglesham Creek.

Despite dire warnings of heavy rain I leave my B&B in Bradwell “Juxte Mare” under an overcast but dry sky. Feeling a little cowed by the lifeless nuclear power station, I walk briskly on, aware of the fact that I have a long day ahead of me.

It is a beautiful day when the bus deposits me outside the Maylandsea post office. I walk down to the sea wall and head off up the thumb of land that divides Lawling Creek on the left and Mayland Creek on the right – I walk past a silent sunken forest.

First walk of 2013 and I am excited and apprehensive, mostly as to whether my sore toe will hold up to the 12 miles I have planned.