View across the Thames Estuary from One Tree Hill
Significance: Unitary Authority High Point for Thurrock
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Langdon Hill NHN = Langdon Hill
Elevation: 116m
Date climbed: November 24th 2023
Coordinates: 51° 33' 5'' N, 0° 25' 19'' E
Route Start & Finish: Beacon Field Car Park, 1 Dry Street, Langdon Hills, Basildon, SS16 5LT
Route Distance: 8.1 km (5 miles)
Route Elevation change: +/- 143m
Subsidiary tops on route: Hawkesbury Hill (70m), One Tree Hill (80m), Old Hill (75m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 13
OS Trig Pillar: TP3681 - Hawksbury Bush
Pubs / Cafes on route: N/A
Map: Southend-on-Sea & Basildon Map | Brentwood & Billericay | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 175
Links: Wikipedia: (Thurrock, Langdon Hills), Peakbagger, Hillbagging
After a couple of quick drive-bys to bag the twin high points of Southend, I drove to the nearby Langdon Hills Country Park for a more interesting adventure. The high point of the Unitary Authority of Thurrock is a slope point near the top of Langdon Hill, cut off by the Thurrock/Basildon boundary. It can also be bagged on a quick drive-by but the 8km walk including the nearby Trig Pillar and One Tree Hill is much more interesting.
Start at the Beacon Field Car Park and take the footpath than runs along the right hand side of Dry Street. The footpath will end so you’ll need to walk along the road for a short distance. There’s no pavement but it’s a quiet lane and dangerous as long as you keep an eye out for cars. At 1.6km (1 mile) into the walk take a right onto One Tree Hill (road), then take the first footpath on the left. Follow the footpaths across the fields in a north-easterly direction, joining Hawkesbury Bush Lane. Take a right onto a footpath that enters Langdon Hills Country Park.
Instead of following the footpath that runs diagonally across the field, keep to the left hand side of the field and follow a small path into the woods, ascending up Hawesbury Hill. Here you’ll find the Trig Pillar hiding in thick undergrowth at the top of the hill. Any nice views of the estuary have been long since overgrown.
Retrace your steps out of the woods and take a left to follow the fence to re-join the footpath that started back at the gate. Follow this path in a south-westerly direction for 1km to reach One Trill Hill (road). Cross the road and walk through the car park to take the path up to the summit of One Tree Hill. There’s great views to the south on a clear day (which I didn’t have when I visited).
After One Tree Hill continue heading in a south-westerly direction, cutting through Northlands Wood. The path will take a sharp right-turn to the north and start ascending Old Hill. You can visit the summit with a short diversion from the path, but there’s little of interest there. Continue to follow the path as it snakes around Old Hill, crossing over Old Hill Avenue and back into Langdon Hills Country Park. When you meet a bench dedicated to the Langdon Leggies Nordic Walkers take a right to follow a path that gently ascends through the woods back towards the car park.
When you reach the east-west path before the Beacon Hill field you’ll be at the Thurrock/Basildon border and the Thurrock High Point. The more interesting feature is the Beacon a few metres further into the field. From here walk diagonally across the field to the north-western corner to the Langdon Hill “summit” before returning to the car park.
