IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Lime Road, BENFLEET, SS7 1AG

It looks like someone has gained planning permission to build a house in a quite idyllic spot with a view down the hill over Thundersley Glen. The dirt track come bridleway is actually called Mount Rd.

Thundersley Park Road leads from right of bottom centre, curving to the left. Underhill Road leads off this right of centre. These two enclose an estate of new houses. Above this the woodland is Thundersley Glen. To the right, below centre, the light green area is part of Boyce Hill golf course.

Thundersley Glen is part of Thundersley Woods Managed by Castlepoint Council see http://www.castlepoint.gov.uk/main.cfm?Type=3339

Pond in the northern, wooded area of Thundersley Glen. The woodland is now sadly degraded but is a westerly remnant of the former ancient Jervis Wood.

This is a closer view of the new estate seen in Image Underhill Road runs from the lower left towards the upper right. Thundersley Glen is to the top right, and Boyce Hill golf course to the bottom right.

An open area in Thundersley Glen see http://www.castlepoint.gov.uk/main.cfm?Type=3339 for more info

Thundersley Glen comprises a mix of rough and amenity grassland, scrub and well-established woodland, plus the odd pond. Lying in the centre of the Benfleet built-up area, it is extensively used by dog-walkers. The person in this picture did have a dog somewhere. Here the woodland opens out to a stretch of amenity grassland.

This shows the woodland either side of Mount Road, an unmade road south of the A13 or London Road (which lies just off the photo, to the right). Much of the woodland in the centre of the photo is managed as a private nature reserve. These woodlands lie on higher ground, which slopes towards the lower ground to the top of the photo.

The London Road (A13) runs left to right across the image. Coombe Wood lies just above this at the left and Thundersley Glen below it on the right. Hill Road runs from mid-centre bottom up towards the centre. Thundersley Park Road runs from left of centre-bottom up and curves round to join Hill Road. These two roads are unmade at the centre of the image (though they are mad at the bottom). Underhill Road runs parallel to the bottom at the right. Thundersley proper occupies much of the upper right.

This is a view of the A13 Bread & Cheese Hill Thundersley. The hill rises 54m from the 30m contour line at TQ775844 to the 84m Spot Height at TQ788879 (about 1.5km in road distance). That's a long hill in Essex!. The hill got its name in the Edwardian era when motorcars on the way to Southend-on-Sea would boil over by the time they reached the brow of the hill. Chauffeurs would eat their bread and cheese lunch while the engines cooled. It was not long before a hostelry (which still survives) was opened to take advantage of the trade. There are no prizes for guessing its name!