Peldon

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.

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.

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.

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’.

Ray Island, also known as the Ray, is a 40.5-hectare (100-acre) nature reserve west of Mersea Island in Essex. It is owned by the National Trust, who bought it in 1970. It was leased by the National Trust to the Essex Wildlife Trust managed the site. Following the cessation of the lease associated with the associated with the island the National Trust has resumed responsibility for its management.

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.

Great Wigborough is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Great and Little Wigborough in the Colchester borough of Essex, England. The place-name 'Wigborough' first appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Wicgebergha and Wighebergha. The name means 'Wicga's hill or barrow'.In 1951 the parish had a population of 181. On 1 April 1953 the parish was abolished and merged with Little Wigborough to form "Great and Little Wigborough".Great Wigborough is represented at the lowest tier of governance by Winstred Hundred Parish Council.St Stephen's church dates from the 14th century and is a Grade II* listed building. Heavily damaged in the Colchester earthquake of 1884, it was extensively restored.

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.

Layer de la Haye (often spelled Layer-de-la-Haye; locally known just as Layer) is a village and civil parish in the City of Colchester district of Essex, England. In the 2011 census it had a recorded population of 1,767.

Abbotts Hall Farm is a 282 hectare nature reserve in Great Wigborough in Essex. It is the head office of the Essex Wildlife Trust, which manages the site. It is also part of the Blackwater Estuary National Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar site, Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation, It is an important archaeological site, and includes a Scheduled Monument, Great Wigborough henge.This is a working farm which is managed to encourage wildlife. Seawalls have been breached to create marshland, which has many fish, insects, invertebrates and plants which provide food for migrating birds. A new lake has also been constructed, and fields provide additional habitats for fauna such as skylarks.There is access to some areas and footpaths across others.

Roman River Valley is a 17.8-hectare (44-acre) nature reserve north of Layer de la Haye in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.This wetland site along the Roman River has ancient woodland and marshes. Aquatic plants include the uncommon small teasel, and there are flowering plants such as yellow archangel and moschatel.There is access from the B1026 road north of Layer de la Haye.