I don’t know how true all this is – but it makes a damned good story… Keep out of the coffins folks!
Read more about it here, here, here and here.
‘For anyone who enjoys wandering out onto coastal flats during low-tide to explore the terrain, Britain’s Broomway has all the appearances of the perfect gateway. The tidal foot path, so-named for the hundreds of broomsticks that once marked its boundaries, has for nearly 600 years provided access from Essex, England to the farming communities of nearby Foulness Island.
‘The Broomway, however, is more dangerous than its name implies… For at least 100 people, and likely many more, it’s one walk they never returned from.
‘To access the Broomway, you must first leave the mainland of Essex at a point called Wakering Stairs. You then reach a causeway of brick and debris that takes you over the ominous Black Grounds, a kind of quicksand that locals refer to simply as “coffins.” Once on the Broomway, you’ll walk across a firm, silvery mudflat called the Maplin Sands.’
Sailing over it into (and out of) Havengore is an experience, the route was well marked when I went. The risk of coming under fire if you haven’t checked with “Shoe Radar” adds to the experience.
This from Swin, Swale & Swatchway from Lodestar Books sets the scene
‘The tide made up very fast, and soon we weighed and started for Havengore over the sands, but the sight of a horse and cart crossing the entrance of the creek shewed us that we were too soon to get in; we therefore brought up again, and by-and-bye one of the light barges made a start and stood in under foresail and topsail.
A walk along the Broomway would complete the cycle.
I remember that passage now. And yes, it would!