A HIGH-ROAD
IN THE SEA
By MILLER CHRISTY
WITHIN a short time, there will pro- between the estuaries of the Thames and
bably cease to exist one of the the Crouch) is formed largely—as a glance
most extraordinary thoroughfares at the map here reproduced will show—of
in the world—a regular and much-used road a curious archipelago of islands, six in
along the sea-bottom, available only at low number, divided from one another and largely
THE ISLANDS OF THE BROOMWAY : A MAP OF THE COAST-LINE WITH THE SAME
OF THE BROOMWAY AMD AN OUTLINE INDICATING THE AREA DESCRIBED IN
THIS ARTICLE ADDED.
Reproduced by permission of Messrs. G. W. Bacon & Co., Limited.
tide. Few know of its existence, though it
lies little more than forty miles from the
Royal Exchange; fewer still have had
occasion to travel over it; and now that it
is in danger, its unique features seem worthy
of passing record. Elsewhere round the
British coasts there are wide expanses of
sand which may be crossed at low tide by
wheeled vehicles, but nowhere else are such
sands crossed by a permanent highway
which has been in use for centuries.
The extreme south-easternmost portion
of the County of Essex (that portion lying
intersected by a maze of broad, muddy tidal
creeks. The islands are all low-lying and
strongly "walled" against the sea, which
otherwise would soon overwhelm them ; for
the greater part of their area is below the
level of the higher tides, and no point on
any island reaches more than a foot or two
above it. Yet these low lying and unattrac-
tive islands consist, for tie most part, of
rich cornland and fat marsh pastures, while
the creeks dividing them contain valuable
oyster-layings and provide excellent sport
for wild-fowlers in winter.
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