Maldon

Maldon district sits on the Essex coast around the tidal Blackwater and Crouch estuaries, with the low-lying Dengie peninsula to the east. The coastline, salt marshes and mudflats meet farmland and small towns, and the district includes Maldon town, Burnham-on-Crouch, Heybridge and a string of coastal villages. Maldon itself has Hythe Quay and Promenade Park beside the river, and the network of creeks and sea walls shapes transport, land use and wildlife habitats across the area.

The local economy mixes agriculture, marine trades and services. Burnham-on-Crouch maintains a strong sailing tradition and an annual regatta. A long-running salt works in Maldon still produces the pyramid-shaped sea-salt flakes that bear the place name. On the Dengie peninsula, St Peter-on-the-Wall at Bradwell-on-Sea stands on a tidal headland and dates to the 7th century, sitting amid reclaimed marshland and grazing pastures. Large areas of intertidal habitat support waders and wildfowl and are used for recreation, small-scale fishing and conservation alongside the built-up centres.