Walk 2 – A stroll from Grays High Road to Chafford Gorge Saturday 8th July 10.45am
THE COPPER’S TALE
Poaching, Pinching and Paces in Chafford
Capes, Capers and calamity as copper collars culprits!
Meet at Grays Library and take the opportunity to visit the ‘Be Happy, stay healthy’ fair in the Library.
We exit the town via Quarry Hill and Hogg Lane and enter Grays Chalk Quarry Nature Reserve, then down a flight of over 100 steps into the “Lost World” of the pit floor. (nb. an alternative route missing the pit floor is available for anyone not confident on steps).
See the last traces of the lost 20 miles of railway tracks that took chalk down to the river Thames. This previous hive of industry is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest where rare species of bee and other insects thrive in this specialised enclosed habitat.
A walk through the beautiful Gorge at Chafford is the idyllic setting for The Copper’s Tale which captures the lively stories of characters from Grays, Chafford and Lakeside. Ghosts, poachers, plane crashes and lost shoppers all come together in this anarchic performance by The Complete Commedia Company as they find their way to the car park led by the inept policeman. Join their journey as they discover more than they bargained for!
After leaving the pit, we take the footpath/cycleway sandwiched between Chafford Hundred residential area and a high chalk cliff to emerge on Drake Road and on to Chafford Gorges Nature Park Visitor Centre to be greeted by the Warden and finish this walk. Refreshments are available here.
Accessibility
These walks are of different lengths and on different terrain. Some are mainly on footpaths, and other mainly on footpaths where ground may be uneven.
Download our map here and use the colour coding so that you can decide if a route will be suitable for you.
- Walk starts: 10.45am
- Meet: Grays Library, Thameside Complex, Orsett Road, Grays, RM17 5DX
- Performance starts: en route at 11.00am, George St
- Performance ends: 11.30am, George St
- Walk ends: 12.35pm at Chafford Gorges Nature Park Visitor Centre, RM16 6HB
Duration: 1 hr 50 mins
Distance: 2 miles
Walk Leader: tbc
Whilst we endeavour to make all our walks as safe and enjoyable as possible, any walk attended is done so at your own risk. Click here to see our tips and recommendations!
About Thurrock 100
In 2016, with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England, Kinetika collected stories and conversations about Thurrock and its history in the Thurrock 100 Stories book.
This year, Thurrock 100 is performing some of those stories on location using The Complete Commedia Company’s irreverent comic style.
The stories will be performed as part of a walking tour over three days in one weekend. The Thurrock characters and their stories have been linked by location and woven together to create a narrative which is led by one of the principal characters from the book.
With masks by Strangeface, costumes by students from SEC and original scripts and songs by The Complete Commedia Company, Thurrock 100 Tales is a celebration of Thurrock, its places and its people.
Thurrock 100 is a Kinetika project.
