Paddling up Paglesham Creek

Paglesham, just a few miles from Southend-on-Sea, is bordered to the north by the River Crouch and to the south by the River Roach. Its origins go back to Saxon times and its population survived mainly by rearing sheep that grazed on the flat marshlands. But its remote position on Essex's east coast, and its proximity to waterways, attracted smugglers who would sail up the river bringing in their ill-gotten gains to pass on at a profit to anyone who was happy to make some easy money.

Smuggling was such big business that at one time the entire population of Paglesham was involved in one way or another. In the 18th century one famous resident, William Blyth - also known as Hard-Apple Blyth - was considered to be one of the most notorious smugglers Paglesham ever produced. He started out as the village grocer, progressed to churchwarden and was reputed to have torn up church records to use as wrapping for his butter and bacon. Brazen Blyth would not only evade Customs officials but his party piece was spending evenings at the Punch Bowl pub drinking whole kegs of brandy and crunching wine glasses. This unusual diet and lifestyle clearly did him no harm. He died in 1830, aged 74, and was buried at Paglesham church.

'Wife-farming' seems to have been another popular pastime. Daniel Defoe, in his travels around Paglesham, noted that some men boasted that they had fifteen or more wives. Stories circulated at the time that the women who couldn't stand the rigorous lifestyle and bad weather here, either died from the cold or abandoned their more robust husbands for a more comfortable existence in the uplands from where they originally came. The men simply chose a replacement.

When the villagers weren't smuggling or 'wife-farming' they were engaged in oyster farming, a lucrative business which peaked in the mid-19th century. Oysters were considered common food for Londoners who couldn't get enough of them, and the shortage provided the people of Paglesham with plenty of work. Scores of fishermen would sail out along the estuaries of the Crouch and Roach and return to have their oysters processed by one of the big companies, such as the Roach River Company, now long gone.

On this walk you will see sheep grazing along the grassy sea wall and marshland, just as they have done for centuries, but you'll have to look hard for smugglers in the creeks and estuaries. Oysters are still farmed locally and an annual oyster festival brings a flurry of foodies to the pubs.

Where to eat and drink

Two pubs provide great food and a smugglers inn atmosphere. Choose between the Plough and Sail Inn at Paglesham Eastend or the Punch Bowl Inn at Paglesham Church End. At the latter, crews of smugglers once played cricket in the nearby field, but would keep their cutlasses and loaded pistols within arm's reach just in case the law caught up with them!

What to look for

Paglesham Creek is the habitat of a host of visiting wildfowl. Look for brent geese, black-tailed godwits and shelduck and in winter you may see short-eared owls. You may be lucky and spot insects such as the rare Scarce Emerald damselfly or the Roesel's bush-cricket. In the sea wall look for rare plants such as sea barley and beaked tassel-weed.

While you're there

Paglesham Eastend is home to the delightful OBS cottages, a small row of cottages out of the 120 homesteads in the village. The initials stand for Olivia Bernard Sparrow, a 19th-century benefactor who owned nearby South and East Hall farms. Lady Olivia built the cottages and, with the help of the Revd Herschell, provided schooling for the poor children of the parish.