The Thundersley Neighbourhood
Other woodlands and open spaces in Thundersley.
In addition to Coombe Wood, there are several other open spaces, with free public access in Thundersley. They are all designated as Local Wildlife Sites, and are listed in the Castle Point register for these. There is a link (in brackets, with the prefix CP) for each site’s entry after the site name. This link provides fairly technical information as a Word document. In most cases there is an additional link to a site with further, more general, information. All these sites are listed in Oliver Rackham’s book: The Ancient Woodlands of England: The Woods of South-East Essex, published in 1986 by Rochford Borough Council
These sites are listed here in order of proximity and are shown by a Yellow marker in the map below. If you hover over a Yellow marker it will show the name of the site.
To the immediate south there is
Kents Hill Wood (CP9) on the other side of the
London Road. This small wood is described by Rackham: “The flora is poor,
especially in ancient-woodland plants”.
To the south-east there is
To the north-east there is
Thundersley Common (CP21)
To the south-east, beyond
Thundersley Glen, there is Shipwrights Wood (CP18).
See also Castle Point Borough Council.
In the north-west there is
North Benfleet Hall Wood (CP7)
near Woodside Park. See also the
Castle Point Wildlife Group.
All of these are either Public Open Spaces with access free to all, or there is unrestricted access.
The Wider Neighbourhood
Other woodlands and open spaces in Benfleet.
Beyond Thundersley, there are a number of other woods and open spaces. They are shown on the map above as mid-geen markers with letters corresponding to the ones below. You will need to zoom out to see them. Click on the — (minus sign) on the bottom right of the map to zoom out.
These sites comprise:
Hadleigh Country Park
Hadleigh Country Park was formerly known as Hadleigh Castle Country Park, and is still widely refered to by that name. It is owned by Essex County Council and Castle Point Borough Council, and managed by Essex County Council Ranger Service.
Pound Wood,
Tile Wood,
Valerie Wells Wood and
Little Haven
Pound Wood, Valerie Wells Wood and Tile Wood are owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The Little Haven Reserve is owned by the Little Haven Children’s Hospice Trust and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
West Wood
West Wood is owned by Castle Point Borough Council and was managed by the Castle Point Wildlife Group, though we have no up-to-date infoemation about them.
Thundersley on Foot by Eileen Peck
In the Autumn of 2010 a book of walks around Thundersley called ‘Thundersley on Foot’ was published, 1,000 copies being printed with funding coming from the Essex Neighbourhood Forum.
The book was a fun collaborative effort with various people in the local community contributing photographs, line drawings, maps, historical details and information about the natural environment.
Although the book was intended simply as a book of walks it has become a celebration of Thundersley as a good place to live and has, we like to think, gone some way to encourage local residents to feel a sense of community and a sense of attachment to and ownership of their ‘place’.
In the years since publication most of the books have been sold and a walking group ‘Four Seasons’ was set up with walks around the area taking place four times a year. However, the group is not currently active.
The book was sold at various retail outlets and profits, so far amounting to £1,250, have been donated to Friends of Coombe Wood, Castle Point Swimming Club for the Disabled, Essex Crossroads Young Carers group and Mind (South-East and Centgral Essex).