On the Crouch Estuary, right next to South Woodham Ferrers new town, is a large area of coastal marshland that has been set aside as Marsh Farm Country Park. A mile or so north of the country park via a walk along the seawall is Woodham Fen, an Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserve. Part of the country park also is managed as a nature reserve.
The area has something to suit most tastes – a long-established grazing marsh that is rich in wildlife; farm animals to interest children; and some relics of the eventful history of the Essex coast. Finally, Woodham Fen is one of the few places where you can still see the natural transition from saltmarsh to dry grassland. Elsewhere, seawalls force an abrupt change from one to the other.
Visiting
Woodham Fen can be entered from the A132 (Basildon/Wickford–Woodham) at the Shaw Farm roundabout, 41/2 miles from Wickford, where it meets the B1012. To reach Marsh Farm turn right down Ferrers Road and follow Woodbine Road round to Marsh Farm Road.
The railway station at South Woodham Ferrers is about five minutes' walk from Woodham Fen, and two miles from Marsh Farm via the creekside path. Bus services run to and from Chelmsford, Wickford and Basildon.