Essex Walks

Paglesham Walks & Route Maps

Paglesham walk, Essex
Paglesham · Photo: Glyn Baker

Discover the quiet charm of Paglesham, where these walks blend peaceful countryside with wide, open riverside scenery.

Starting from this tiny village, the walks lead across flat farmland before meeting the dramatic shoreline of the beautiful River Roach, known for its big skies, winding creeks and abundant wildlife.

The shorter route offers a perfect balance of fields and river, while the extended option transforms the riverside stretch into a truly epic adventure, with around six miles beside the Roach.

Both of the walks include two welcoming pub stops, The Punch Bowl, Paglesham Church End and Plough & Sail, Paglesham, making them ideal for a relaxed ramble with a well-earned break along the way.

Whether you choose the shorter loop or the longer riverside route, these walks offer space, tranquillity and classic coastal views in Essex.

Download the Essex Walks App to follow these routes with real-time GPS navigation.

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Walk information

Paglesham Walk 1

Walk distance
5½ miles
Time
2.5 hours
Route type
Circular

This is a wonderful peaceful countryside and riverside walk from the tiny village of Paglesham.

Half of the walk is open flat countryside with not one but two pubs on route, and the other half of the walk is a glorious stretch of walking alongside the dramatic River Roach which is full of wildlife.

Head clockwise if you want the riverside walk first and then the peaceful countryside and pubs on the second half of the walk.

Paglesham Walk 1 4.3 Ratings and reviews 16 ratings · 11 reviews

Based on 16 user ratings

Community feedback

Overall rating4.3

A very popular walk

Dog friendly4.0 / 5
Path condition3.8 / 5
Buggy friendly1.9 / 5
Wheelchair friendly1.3 / 5
Toilet facilities2.0 / 5
Pub or café3.8 / 5
Route accuracy4.3 / 5
ClimbingGentle slopes
LivestockRarely any livestock
StilesA stile or two
Mud levelMostly dry

Real feedback from people who have completed this walk using the Essex Walks app.

First-hand experiences

User reviews

Walker review

Lovely walk. The path along the sea wall is overgrown in a few places.

Walker review

This is a beautiful doggie friendly walk. It will be windy so wrap up whatever the weather! My spaniel loves this walk and runs agead for miles chasing and sniffing. Make sure your dog has good recal! Pubs are fantastic with great food. Overall a perfect walk, very flat, well marked, it seems harder because of the wind.

Walker review

Very quiet

Walker review

Lovely walk , pathways clear today , however met a lady who said they get overgrown at times . Very open so nice to have a strong breeze to keep us cool . We didn’t use either pub so hard to give a rating .

Walker review

We had to cut the walk short but not sure if we will be returning. While footpaths through the fields were relatively clear, as mentioned by others, the footpath indicated along the top of the sea wall was very badly overgrown, not a good example of a national trail. I like to be by the water, enjoying the river view and this isn't happening here, which is a shame.

Walker review

Nice walk, Plough and Sail was not dog friendly. However the Punch Bowl was great

Walker review

Really enjoyable riverside and country walk, stopped off at the Plough and Sail for a well earned refreshment!

Walker review

The sea wall path was overgrown, so had to walk on the track below so no sea views

Walker review

Lovely walk in the sunshine!

Walker review

I can see why the other person that commented said no pub on route as the route gets a bit ambiguous if you start off towards paglesham east end. You come across a house and its not clear if you can walk through the land but there seems to be no clear paths around it. We ended up back tracking and taking a path that then cuts out pagelsham east end. My advice would be if you want to end up at the pub head away from Paglesham east end at the start and come back that way, hopefully the route will be clearer as you return from paglesham eastend.

Walker review

There was no pub on route so quite disappointed. Walk itself was lovely. (Local Walks Team: The Plough and Sail pub is open and on the route at the end of the small detour marked on the map.)

Walk information

Paglesham Walk 2

Walk distance
9¼ miles
Time
4.5 hours
Route type
Circular

This second walk option is basically a big extension to the first route, for those of you that want a truly epic riverside adventure.

The route still visits the two pubs (with a detour inland for the second one) but the main star of the show is the epic 6 miles of walking alongside the wonderful River Roach.

Paglesham Walk 2 4.8 Ratings and reviews 4 ratings · 1 review

Based on 4 user ratings

Community feedback

Overall rating4.8

An outstanding walk

Dog friendly3.5 / 5
Path condition3.3 / 5
Buggy friendly1.5 / 5
Wheelchair friendly1.5 / 5
Toilet facilities1.3 / 5
Pub or café4.3 / 5
Route accuracy4.8 / 5
ClimbingGentle slopes
LivestockNo livestock
StilesA stile or two
Mud levelMostly dry

Real feedback from people who have completed this walk using the Essex Walks app.

First-hand experiences

User reviews

Walker review

Lovely longer walk

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Essex Walks App

Follow the Paglesham walks with GPS guidance

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Choose a walk and follow the pointer showing your live position on the route map, so you always know you're on the right path.

The app works without a phone signal, so you can keep following the route wherever the walk takes you.

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Expanded route map for Paglesham Walk 1, a 5.5 mile circular walk in Essex