31 Chelmsford – Burnham on Crouch

Journey Overview

This is a journey that combines the bright and bubbly Chelmsford life of history, entertainment and shopping with charming Essex villages of Galleywood, Little Baddow, Bicknacre and a mix of twists, turns and a range of terrain, before touching the coast at Burnham on Crouch.  with itsbygone high street and quayside, white clapboard cottages, Georgian red brick houses and famous Deco Royal Corninthian Yachting Club.

It’s a trip that makes its way out of Chelmsford, close to the River Chelmor through Great Baddow, Danbury and the Dengbie Peninsula, veering eastwards towards marshes, wilderness, geese and other wildlife and Maldon, glimpsing the River Blackwater and estuary beyond. There’s a renowned unique climate here for producing wine with the River Crouch and sea close by causing a maritime breeze that keeps the cold at bay. Inland the bus goes to the pretty small town of Southminster and then approaching Burnham-on-Crouch, past the fantastic Burnham Clock Tower which is a red brick octagonal clock tower and was built in 1877 over four levels. The bus nestles close to where the River Crouch meets the sea.

A Fab Day Out!

There’s such contrasting joy to be had in Chelmsford, from its fabulous range of independent to big brand name shops, county cricket in the City Centre to a beautiful understated cathedral that is steeped in English history. At this end of the route, there’s so much to savour before getting on the bus towards Burnham on Crouch.

The Mangapps Railway Museum is on the Southminster Road, as the bus travels between Southminster and Burnham on Crouch and is well worth stopping off for a visit. It features a ¾ mile standard gauge passenger carrying line, with restored stations, signal boxes and ancillary equipment removed from various sites throughout East Anglia and beyond, with 18 steam and diesel locomotives and over 80 carriages and wagons, plus some model railways layouts.

Burnham is lucky enough to still have a small cinema in town, showing all the latest movie releases. It has two screens. It costs well under a fiver to watch a film. It is one of the few remaining ‘village’ cinemas in Britain. it was established in 1931. A visit to the Emporium on the Quay gift shop is a real delight so too Burnham on Crouch museum which is located in a former boat-builders premises built around 1910 at the end of Coronation Road with its main entrance on the Quay. Over two floors, there is a fascinating collection of exhibits, displays and archive materiel relating to Fishing, the Oyster Fishery, Farming and Agriculture, Boat Building and the local Iron Foundry as well as more homely items showcasing the history of thetown, including stone age specimens.

A short walk along the seawall from the beach, is a dial-a-ferry passenger service operates during the Spring/Summer season from Burnham-on-Crouch West Quay to RSPB ‘Wallasea Island’ which has an abundance of seabird life, including terns – and large numbers of migrating geese and wading birds which arrive in the winter. There are also trips that run from the jetty out into the sea to discover the seal population residing close by.

Gateway to the 31

By Greater Anglia Railway to Chelmsford from London Liverpool Street or Norwich, Ipswich and Chelmsford among other locations in East Anglia, Suffolk, Essex and Greater London.