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St. Osyth - Clacton-on-Sea - Essex
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General

Located a little to the east of Clacton in Essex, St. Osyth derives its name from the dedication of a local priory to a 7th century princess - Osgyth - who was martryed there. The St. Osyth naturist beach is on the North Sea coast (south facing) and is just to the east of the Colne estuary.

Getting There

St. Osyth lies south of the B1027 road from Colchester to Clacton-on-Sea. Proceeding from Clacton, go west on the B1027 from its junction with the A133 for just over two miles and take a minor road on the left signposted 'St. Osyth'. Head due south from St Osyth - Beach Road and to the end of the road in Hutley's Caravan Park.  This reaches a dead end at the seawall with a car park pub and cafe just on the left .

From there go over sea wall on to the beach (or through gate in wall during day time), turn right (west) and walk one mile to reach the naturist beach - slow and rather difficult walking on the small shingle.

The dirt road which used to give access to the beach is no longer in existence, having been destroyed by storms in the winter of 2003-4.

 Remains of the road

In reply to an enquiry about the future of the road Alan Hutley [from the nearby caravan park] said:

"Unfortunally this winter about a 400 metre stretch of road got washed away. To rebuild the road we would have to retreat further back on to the saltings, this we are not allowed to touch, as it is an area of S.S.S.I. [Site of Special Scientific Interest]

To replace the road in its original place would only be temporary until the next rough high tide takes it away again. We would love to have the road again, but we have known for along time that one day we would lose the road, the only surprise was, that it did not occur sooner ."

Description
St Osyth beach is on the north shore of the Colne branch of the Blackwater estuary. The shoreline is sand or shingle in some parts, tending to estuary mud in others. Bathing at nearby Brightlingsea is said to be dangerous - as is the case in many estuaries, so caution is required. The far end of the naturist beach is fenced off and is a "Nature Reserve" and "Private Property". To the north of the beach lie marshes and dykes.

Facilities
None on the beach itself - nearest facilities are in St.Osyth itself.

Water Quality
Since it is not a recognised bathing beach, water quality details are not available.

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