Beeleigh

Beeleigh is home to some of the falls and locks and weir on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.

The Navigation was built in the 1790's to enable transport of goods by horse drawn barge to and from Chemlsford. The town of Maldon had opposed the canal and so the canal had to be cut by hand from here to bypass Maldon and lead to Heybridge Basin on the Blackwater estuary.

The main weir enabled the canal to remain at a constand height when the river was in flood and it is quite a sight when that happens with the water cascading over the weir and into the river Chelmer on it's way to the Estuary via Maldon, passing Fullbridge before reaching the Hythe where it becomes known as the Blackwater.

Here, the rivers Chelmer and Blackwater meet creating a very special environment.

From here, you can walk the old towpath track to Heybridge and further on to Heybridge Basin.

The area also contains the privately owned Beeleigh Abbey and Beeleigh Mill house and remains of the mill which can be reached along a footpath.

The long weir

The lock

The lock in flood

One of the weirs

Into the Chelmer the water flows

The Long Pond and flood gates

One of the bridges

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You reach Beeleigh on foot by joining the canal alongside the Tesco car park or drive along the private road towards the golf course which runs from the side of the Museum of Power at Langford. There is very limited parking by the bridge however this may be closed at short notice.