Tollsbury Trip May 2026

Tollesbury Photography Trip – Monday 18 May 2026

Twelve club members, accompanied by two partners, travelled to Tollesbury Marina for a day of photography on Monday 18 May. Tollesbury itself is thought to take its name from the toll once charged by the Romans to travellers entering the bay.

The outing, however, began with an unexpected challenge. When the visit was arranged for a Monday, it had escaped everyone’s attention that cafés and pubs within several miles of the marina would be closed. Members were therefore advised to arrive equipped with their own tea, coffee and sandwiches, temporarily abandoning the traditional comforts of morning coffee and lunch stop that usually accompany club excursions. Such are the sacrifices demanded by photographic dedication.

Arrivals between 9.00 and 11.00 am were greeted by fair weather and low tide, providing ideal conditions to explore the marina and surrounding mudflats. The landscape presented a wealth of photographic opportunities, from winding tidal channels and weathered jetties to expanses of mud and the familiar red lightship, permanently moored in the creek and standing out vividly against its surroundings.

Attention soon turned to the afternoon’s main attraction. With high tide predicted for 1.57 pm, many members followed the half-mile path to the area of the well-known dead trees, a favourite subject among photographers when partially submerged. The trees, killed many years ago after a breach in the sea wall allowed seawater to flood the land, have since become one of Tollesbury’s most distinctive and atmospheric features.

Fortune favoured the group, as the day’s tide reached an impressive 5.7 metres — unusually high and promising excellent conditions. Arriving well before the peak, members watched as the incoming water gradually transformed the scene. Expectations were fully rewarded. Long exposures proved particularly effective in capturing the stark beauty of the trees, while the changing light and rising water created an ever-shifting landscape. As high tide approached, additional members joined the group and attention alternated between the striking line of trees and a solitary specimen standing nearby.

By late afternoon, photographic ambitions largely satisfied, the group returned to their cars and made the welcome journey to The Beach House Café near Osea Island for long-awaited coffee and cake. Situated close to the colourful beach huts that regularly feature in Essex camera club competitions, the location offered one final photographic opportunity, and at least one member seized the chance to add a few more images to the day’s collection.

A couple of images of attendees:

At one point Linda had had enough walking and hitched a ride in a backpack!

Stephen Stringer