Country Diary Explores Horsey Island, Essex, and its Literary Connections

Country diary: This ‘secret’ island takes me back to Swallows and Amazons | Amy-Jane Beer

Horsey Island, Hamford Water, Essex: It’s the setting for one of Arthur Ransome’s wonderful books, and today it’s farmed by a single family with innovation and care You need two permissions to access Horsey Island: one from the farmer, the second from the tide, which offers a four-hour window in every 12 when the causeway can be crossed. It takes me 20 minutes to pick my way over, wading the deeper sections where spindly marker posts show the way. It’s a disconcerting place to loiter. In plac...

By Amy-Jane Beer