The Naze

A photographic dream for the rich diversity of subjects, the wildness of the place and the moods it presents, the Naze lies along the East Anglian coast, north of Walton-on-the-Naze at the mouth of an estuary that pores into the North Sea. Its name derives from the Old English ‘naes’, meaning nose and it can blow fiercely or be calm and gentle.

How to get there
To reach the Naze you need to find the A120 towards Harwich, take the A133 to Clacton /Weeley and from Weeley follow the signs to Walton. Once at Walton carry on following the brown signs to the Naze.
When you reach the Naze itself there is a huge car park in which you will have to pay and display, and be warned there are frequent patrols and the gates close just after sunset and rarely open before sunrise. Therefore, if landscapes are your subject, it is best to park on the road that leads to the car park and walk.

What to shoot
Where you walk will depend upon the time of day you are visiting and what you are trying to photograph. My personal favourite time to visit is at sunrise. In this case you should go down the steps to the right of the Naze tower you will see and once at the bottom of the steps head left along the beach. A quick word of warning here though, if you intend to photograph this part of the Naze you really need to have studied the tide tables before you go. This is for two reasons, firstly if it is high tide you will not be able to access this part of the beach which is undoubtedly the best spot for sunrises and secondly, should the tide be coming in you can get yourself in serious trouble if the sea reaches the steps before you do. However, assuming you can time your visit to a low tide you will be rewarded with some excellent opportunities.

The ‘beach’ is composed of a mixture of mud and clay (wellies are a must!) and as the tide recedes the sea bed is moulded into some fascinating shapes (see the shots to the right). These are different every time you go. You will find pools of water, sea weed, bricks, stones, shells and the occasional fossil to fill the foreground, as well as lots of interesting shapes to help your composition. Throughout the year the sun rises on the horizon and on a good day will light up all of this interesting material (although a stormy sky can be equally dramatic). Originally the Naze was farmland, then a golf course, and was requisitioned at the beginning of World War II as a watch-out location. Two of the pillboxes used for this purpose now stand on the beach where they have fallen as a result of coastal erosion common to the East coast. Their battle against the ocean holds a morbid fascination for me.

On this first part of the beach you are hemmed in by 70 ft high cliffs rich in fossils, which gradually recede as you move along the beach. After half a mile or so, the cliffs vanish and you reach the mouth of the estuary. You will be able, at this point to explore the fauna on top of the cliffs which produce such different images from those you will find on the shore. From here the beach swings towards the West and is your best location for sunsets. During most of the summer the sun sets directly along the river.

If you arrive late afternoon I would recommend not taking the steps to the right of the tower, but walking across the heath land to the left of it until, after a half mile or so, you reach this same part of the beach but without getting muddy!

Whilst on the subject of the heath land, if wildlife photography is more your scene, then the Naze can offer you that to. The Naze is currently a public open space and the dense scrub of hawthorn, gorse and brambles provides cover for numerous animal species and acts as an important landfall for migrating birds, including the occasional rare vagrants. In summer the cliffs provide secure sites for sand martins. Waders, gulls and terns can be seen along the shore and I am sure there are endless lizards and insects that deserve a closer look with a macro lens.

Finally, if you walk to the right of the tower you will be greeted by a more traditional sea front and a line of beach huts. Although not as colourful as those at Southwold, they still present sufficient interest to keep you occupied for a while.

All in all, the Naze offers the photographer many hours of pleasure and has been (up to now) one of the best kept secrets of the area.

More images of The Naze can be found at ImageEast.co.uk

The Naze Images

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