Ray Island

Barrow Hill is a hamlet in Essex, England. It is located on Mersea Island, approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) north-northeast of West Mersea near to where the Strood causeway meets the island. The hamlet is 33 km (21 mi) east-northeast of the county town, Chelmsford. Barrow Hill is in the borough of Colchester and in the parliamentary constituency of Harwich and North Essex. The population of the hamlet is included in the civil parish of West Mersea. It takes its name from a conspicuous Romano-British barrow.

The Colchester earthquake, also known as the Great English earthquake, occurred on the morning of 22 April 1884 at 09:18. It caused considerable damage in Colchester and the surrounding villages in Essex. In terms of overall destruction caused it is certainly the most destructive earthquake to have hit the United Kingdom in at least the last 400 years, since the Dover Straits earthquake of 1580.

Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word meresig, meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is split into two main areas, West Mersea and East Mersea, and connected to the mainland by the Strood, a causeway that can flood at high tide. The island has been inhabited since pre-Roman times. It was used as a holiday destination in Roman Britain for occupants of Camulodunum (Colchester). Fishing has been a key industry on the island since then, particularly oysters, and along with tourism makes up a significant part of the island's economy. The Church of St Peter & St Paul in West Mersea is thought to have existed since the 7th century, while the Church of St Edmund in East Mersea dates from around the 12th or 13th century. The island became popular with smugglers from the 16th to the 19th century. It became a focal point for troops in both world wars, and a number of observation posts can still be found on the island. Tourism remains popular, and there are a number of beach huts and holiday parks on the island. A week-long festival of boat racing, Mersea Week, takes place every summer.

Langenhoe is a village in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England, located south of Colchester. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 536, increasing to 572 at the 2011 Census.The village church was once reputed to be amongst the most haunted buildings in Essex. This ancient church, which had been damaged in the Essex earthquake of 1884, was closed to worship in 1955 and demolished in 1963 after it was deemed structurally unsafe. The name Langenhoe is from the Old English for ‘long hill-spur’.

Peldon is a village and civil parish in the Colchester borough of Essex, England. With Salcott, Virley, Great Wigborough and Little Wigborough, it forms part of the Winstred Hundred parish council. Nearby villages include Langenhoe. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and is a Grade I listed building. The population of the parish as of the 2011 census is 559.In 1870-72 John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Peldon as: "Peldon, a parish and a sub-district in Lexden district, Essex. The parish lies near Mersea Island, 4½ miles S W of Wivenhoe r. station, and 5½ S by W of Colchester; and has a post-office under Colchester. Acres, 2,186. Real property, £3,591. Pop., 501. Houses, 106 The property is much subdivided."

Abberton is a village in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. It is located approximately 0.62 mi (1.00 km) east of Abberton Reservoir and is 4.2 mi (6.8 km) south of Colchester. The village is in the parliamentary constituency of North Essex. The town is served by Abberton and Langenhoe Parish Council.

Little Wigborough is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Great and Little Wigborough, in the Colchester borough of Essex, England and forms part of Winstred Hundred Parish Council. Little Wigborough is located between Peldon and Great Wigborough. In 1951 the parish had a population of 45.The parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas. It is a Grade II* listed building dating from the 15th century.

Roman River is a 275.6-hectare (681-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south of Colchester in Essex. Two areas, Friday Wood and Donyland Wood, were formerly separate SSSIs.The site is in two separate areas. The Roman River, after which the site is named, runs along the southern boundary of both of them. There are areas of woodland, grassland, fen, scrub and heath. The woodland it mainly ancient, and there are more than a thousand species of moths and butterflies, and nearly seventy of breeding birds, including hawfinches, tree pipits and yellow wagtails.Footpaths and tracks runs through the site, including Cherry Tree Lane.

Fingringhoe is a village and civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. The centre of the village is classified as a conservation area, featuring a traditional village pond and red telephone box. The Roman River flows nearby before entering the River Colne. It has been noted frequently on lists of unusual place names. The village's name actually derives from its geographic circumstances: it sits at the confluence of the smaller Roman River and the River Colne. A "hoe" refers to a jutting out piece of land while "finger" describes an elongated finger-like land extension. "Ing" is a common toponym in the UK referring to "peoples". As such, the name refers to the "people living on the land jutting out into the river".

Great and Little Wigborough is a civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England, about 6 miles (10 km) from Colchester. The parish includes the villages of Great Wigborough and Little Wigborough and the hamlet of Stafford's Corner on the B1026 road. In 2011 the parish had a population of 246. The parish touches Layer Breton, Layer-de-la-Haye, Layer Marney, Peldon, Salcott, Tollesbury, Tolleshunt Knights, Virley and West Mersea. The civil parish forms part of the Winstred Hundred Parish Council. There are 18 listed buildings in Great and Little Wigborough.

Abberton Reservoir is a pumped storage freshwater reservoir in eastern England near the Essex coast, with an area of 700 hectares (1,700 acres). Most of its water is pumped from the River Stour. It is the largest body of freshwater in Essex. Constructed between 1935 and 1939, Abberton Reservoir is owned and managed by Essex and Suffolk Water, part of Northumbrian Water Group, and lies 6 km (3.7 mi) south-west of Colchester near the village of Layer de la Haye. In World War II, the reservoir was mined to deter invading seaplanes, and it was used by the RAF's No. 617 Squadron ("The Dam Busters") for practice runs for the bombing of the German dams in the Ruhr. A project to increase the capacity of Abberton Reservoir to 41,000 megalitres (9.0×109 imp gal) by raising its bank height was completed in 2013, along with a new link to transfer water from Norfolk's River Ouse to the Stour. The reservoir is important for its breeding cormorants, wintering and moulting waterfowl, and migrating birds. It is an internationally important wetland, designated as a Ramsar site, Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Area, and is listed in A Nature Conservation Review. A small part of the site is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

East Donyland is a civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the village of Rowhedge. The parish touches Fingringhoe and Wivenhoe.