Dengie peninsula & Bradwell on sea Essex

Bradwell power station sanken barges
shoreline of Dengie peninsula,
old chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall
Bradwell-on-Sea is a small Essex village on the Dengie peninsula, near where the River Blackwater meets the North Sea. With a population of 877 at the last count it is a delightfully unspoilt place to visit.
Located in the district of Maldon, the nearest town is Southminster 9 km (5 miles) away or Colchester 30 km (19 miles) to the west.
In Roman times the community was recorded as Othona and it had a defensive sea fort which had 12-foot thick walls and a moat but little has survived. The Anglo-Saxons knew the area as Ithancester and it has also been called Bradwell-juxta-Mare and Bradwell-next-the-Sea in its long history.
In 653 AD Saint Cedd was sent by Pope Gregory to found a monastery and bring Christianity to Essex.
The building has survived as the old chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall and it is the oldest church in England.
When a new church was built in the centre of Bradwell, the old church building was used as a navigational aid to shipping. By the 17th century it was being used by a farmer as a barn.
However in 1920 it was restored and reconsecrated although the chancel, apse and tower were long gone. Today St Peter's Chapel remains a place of pilgrimage and is always open.
In the 13th century Bradwell built a quay and from it wool was exported. Records from 1478 show a ship called the Christopher carried wool from Bradwell Quay to Calais.
During World War II, Bradwell Bay Airport was the home of RAF Bradwell Bay, a fighter base for 25 different squadrons. Today, visitors can see the old runways, control tower and a mosquito plane erected as a monument in memory of those who died in combat.
In more recent times, Bradwell-on-Sea hit the headlines as the site of the Bradwell nuclear power station. It was closed in 2002 and has since been decommissioned.
In 1986 11 old WW2 Barges filled with concrete were sunk offshore to protect the salt marsh and sea wall from erosion along the Dengie peninsula Nr Bradwell on sea
Essex UK
MUSIC : Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor)

[@maccathetracca]

Just needs David Attenborough to narrate and you’ve got a masterpiece

[@brianjames3485]

lovely video

[@IanPerry]

Wish I could go out flying. Ian :-(