“It’s just a big, wet field of mud,” writes one disgruntled visitor to Brightlingsea. Another adds, “My welly got stuck. I left it there as a sacrifice to the mud god.” These reviews are not wrong—the tidal mudflats are legendary.
The locals, of course, know the secret: the mud is the point. It’s full of lugworms for fishing, and a squelchy walk to the water’s edge is a rite of passage. Fun fact: at low tide, you can walk to Mersea Island from the mainland, provided you don’t mind your shoes being permanently stained a shade of “sewer-chic.”
If you go, bring old trainers or waterproof boots. And a sense of humor. One reviewer’s “disgusting sludge” is another’s “natural spa treatment.”
