Here's the area in Google Maps: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Wakering+Stairs/@51.5485...
No Street View though
Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
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Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#12Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#13Curious why "Foulness" is the name for several things on the map. Does that not have a negative connotation in the UK?
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#14Curious why "Foulness" is the name for several things on the map. Does that not have a negative connotation in the UK?
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foulness_Island#Conservation
> The island's name is derived from the Old English fugla-næss, with fugla (modern "fowl") meaning "of birds" and naess being the Germanic word for promontory
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#15It might be more honest and less surprising for the title to read: "Offshore path through tidal flats has killed 100+ people" I also recall another similar place in France where the path has small artificial posts/concrete piers built so that anyone caught out can climb to safety.
The one in France is the causeway to Noirmoutier island. It's a two way road that is impassable at high tide. At both ends, prominent panels display warnings, the current time and the time of the next high tide. Still, there are regular occurences of people that lose their cars and have to be rescued from the shelter poles, and, very rarely, worse.
Incidentally, it's about the same length as this 3 mile path, 4.2 km.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#16Curious why "Foulness" is the name for several things on the map. Does that not have a negative connotation in the UK?
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Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#17It might be more honest and less surprising for the title to read: "Offshore path through tidal flats has killed 100+ people" I also recall another similar place in France where the path has small artificial posts/concrete piers built so that anyone caught out can climb to safety.
There's also a path through tidal flats to the island of Lindisfarne in extreme Northeast England. (There's also a causeway for cars although that is covered at high tide as well.) People do need to get rescued every now and then.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#18It might be more honest and less surprising for the title to read: "Offshore path through tidal flats has killed 100+ people" I also recall another similar place in France where the path has small artificial posts/concrete piers built so that anyone caught out can climb to safety.
The one in France is the causeway to Noirmoutier island. It's a two way road that is impassable at high tide. At both ends, prominent panels display warnings, the current time and the time of the next high tide. Still, there are regular occurences of people that lose their cars and have to be rescued from the shelter poles, and, very rarely, worse. Incidentally, it's about the same length as this 3 mile path, 4.2 km.…
Ah right, I remember reading about it because it was in the news for trying to block off the island from all coronavirus city-leavers.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#19Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#20Terrific piece. Thanks for reposting.
You may enjoy this book, which it is derived from: The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane
The entire Landscape series from Macfarlane:
- Mountains of the Mind (a history and first-person account of mountain climbing)
- The Wild Places (a history and exploration of the 'wild' landscapes of the British Isles)
- The Old Ways (a history and exploration of the ancient paths of the world)
are all really excellent (and can be read in any order). He's a fabulous writer, kind of like a Kapuściński for the natural world.