I remember walking down the hill to the station at Stanford last October – with tired aching feet. This morning I’m walking up the hill from the station to the church and there’s a bounce in my stride.

I have the afternoon to fill a gap so I take the train to Shoeburyness, knowing that I will not be able to follow the coast due to military restrictions. One of three passengers on this grey day, I leave the train and walk northwards into town in the direction of the Wakerings.

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, my toe still hurting a little but bearable.

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.

An early morning bus takes me back to Tollesbury where I push an envelope containing £10 through the door of the closed teashop. On the other side of a gate is a board with information about Tollesbury Wick Marshes, the first part of today’s walk.

Returning to the Peldon Rose, I find myself alone in the breakfast room. Heading out into narrow lanes that take me through the Wigboroughs, dodging traffic and finding nowhere for a late morning cup of tea.

Coming out of the station a bright green flag with the words “Freshly Ground Coffee” calls to me from the bustling boot sale but I am late starting so I walk on. Twenty minutes later, after sighting a beautiful German gundog and the ruins of a castle on the hill to the right, I discover I have forgotten my camera – I will have to use the iPhone.