Walks

The walk is along the shore at Riverside Country Park and takes approximately 45 minutes. This map shows how to get to the Park.

Route

Leave the Visitor Centre and cross the car park, following the path up to the sea wall. Turn right. You are now on the Saxon Shore Way.

Follow this footpath along the sea wall, past Mariner's Farm and on to a wider area of coastal grassland and scrub.

Continue along the sea wall past Bloor's Wharf.

You will eventually arrive at the old Rainham Dock by a small car park.

At this point you have a number of options. You can continue around Motney Hill, visit Berengrave Nature Reserve or undertake the full riverside circular walk.

To return to the Visitor Centre, retrace your steps.

Points of interest along the way

1 - The Saxon Shore Way. This long-distance footpath follows the coastline of Kent from Gravesend to Rye, just over the border in Sussex.

2 - Mudflats and saltmarsh. Looking out over the estuary at this point, you can see an important habitat for many wintering bird species. The Medway is renowned for its mud, which is rich in invertebrate life that provides food for other animals and birds.

3 - Bloors Wharf. Many old maps of this area show that a small wharf has always been here. Originally a place where fishermen put to sea, it was recently a scrap yard that specialised in breaking up fishing boats. Today it has been cleared of buildings, leaving a large area of concrete with a steel fence along the waterfront.

4 - Rainham Dock. This was once a thriving cement works, providing materials for building the London suburbs. The factory closed in the 1930s and most of the buildings have gone. The area offshore attracts a wide variety of ducks and wading birds in winter.

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