Cockleshell Heroines :)

My sister and I arrived mid-morning to visit our mother, who is having respite care in the lovely village of Tillingham in deepest Dengie Hundred, Essex. She was still in bed and we were asked to return later.

We planned to sit in a pub and discuss Mother's care but none were open. We ended up at a coffee morning in the village hall, which was quite surreal. Would have loved to have taken pics of the doughty village matrons and their wares but thought it would be rude.

From there we went to St Peter's On The Wall, a church built by St. Cedd on the site of a Roman fort in 645 AD. The nineteenth oldest building in Britain, it has been a beacon and a barn in its time but was re-consecrated in 1920.

As we were parking the car and preparing to walk down the Roman road leading to the church we saw a bird of prey stooping low but I hadn't got my kit out. :( The view of the church and its setting is very compelling. It overlooks the Bradwell Cockle Spit SSSI. It is one of only 8 sites in the country where the rare jumping spider, Euophrys browningi can be found. It's an area of shells and saltings and is home to the Little Tern. We saw egrets and oystercatchers but sadly couldn't stay long. The row of boats in my pic are barges that have been sunk, it was low tide, to protect the shell bank from erosion. I'll definitely be going back.

We took Mother for a walk around Tillingham in her wheelchair and bought her a sherry in the pub. She couldn't wait to get back to the home.