This guidebook describes 25 coastal and inland day walks covering the whole of the county of Essex, stretching from the Lea Valley in the west and the Thames in the south over to the North Sea and up to the River Stour in the north. Walks range from 4 to 18 miles and are mostly circular. Also included is a description of the Essex Way which crosses the county in 11 stages from Manor Park, on the fringes of London, to the port of Harwich - a distance of 96 miles. The walks are suitable for all abilities and there are shorter alternatives for many of the longer routes.

With a huge variety of scenery and walking landscapes, Essex surprises and delights in equal measure. It boasts a 350-mile coastline (which, away from the busy seaside resorts, is barely known), numerous estuaries and river valleys, great and ancient forests, and more green lanes than any other English county except Dorset.

Each walk is described step-by-step, illustrated with OS map extracts and packed with historical, and geological information about the landscape the route passes through.