A Guide To Visiting Chappel Viaduct Essex

I’ve been wanting to visit the Chappel Viaduct in Essex for so long and finally, I got to tick it off! The viaduct is said to be one of the largest brick-built structures in Britain and is a Grade II listed structure. More than 6 million bricks were used in its construction! It was completed in 1849 and is a rail line connecting Marks Tey to Sudbury. The viaduct is a total length of 1066ft, consists of 32 arches and is 75ft tall at its highest point.

Chappel Viaduct Parking

The village of Chappel is small with very narrow roads, which makes parking along the road next to impossible. There’s parking further up the road at the Chappel & Wakes Colne train station and the East Anglian Railway Museum. From here, the viaduct is around half a mile away.

Another option is a car park behind the Swan Inn pub. Originally I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to park in the pub car park without being a patron. I’ve since read that you CAN park at the very rear of the pub if you want to visit the viaduct.

In my opinion, the best option is to park in a small gravelled parking area that is right next to Chappel Primary School. You can see the viaduct from the car park, but only has space for around 10 cars. There’s a sign at the entrance saying not to park on the grass but several cars seemed to be ignoring this and had parked closer to the viaduct. This is a good place to start exploring the Chappel Viaduct.

Things to do at Chappel Viaduct Essex

Chappel Playground

Just before you reach the viaduct, on the left-hand side is a lovely playground. This was very popular during my visit, with lots of families making use of it!

Explore the Viaduct

The reason for my visit was for photographic reasons! I like the illusion of the holes in the archways. If you look through them, it’s like an endless tunnel which is cool. Each arch is individually numbered too.

As you pass under the viaduct, turn left and follow the path. It’ll cross back under the viaduct a little further down. Here you’ll find information boards that tell you some of the history of the Chappel and the viaduct.

WWII Trail – Anti-Tank Obstacles, Pillboxes and Spigot Mortar Pedestals

If you are interested in history, you can see some of the defences that were put in place during WWII. There was a worry that Germany coming across from France, may have landed on the Essex coast and then try to cross the country through the county. To prepare for this possibility, anti-tank obstacles, pillboxes and spigot mortar pedestals were built. It was also important to protect the railway, that brought in fuel for the nearby American airbases.

Cross the bridge that goes over the River Colne and you’ll be able to see some of these defences. There were 2 main types of anti-tank obstacle around Chappel. One was a ditch, which starts on the other side of the main road. The second was giant concrete cubes. These were used to block potential routes under some of the viaduct arches. It looks like a giant has dumped out its building blocks…they are just missing ‘A B C’ written on them!

Several artillery pillboxes remain today. A large one can be seen under pier 11 and 12 of the viaduct. It was built in a way that it was protected from all angles. Troops could hide inside it and keep an eye on anything incoming on the approach road.

You can still go inside it today but as expected it’s full of rubbish, but surprisingly it doesn’t smell like pee. If you go inside with little ones, make sure that they don’t get too close to the edges, as you never know what’s hiding under the rubbish!

Millennium Green

Following the path back the way you came, on the left-hand side is a football pitch with some goal posts and alongside that is Millennium Green. One area is a ‘Public Recreation’ field, part of it is a big green field, and the other section is a wildlife area, with a wide range of plants and trees, many are newly planted.

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The second area is the ‘Water Meadow Nature Reserve’. A boardwalk goes around the perimeter of the reserve. There’s also a small pond and lake.

Telephone Book Exchange

While you’re visiting the Chappel Viaduct, make sure you bring an old second hand book and stop at the Telephone Book Exchange! This little free library is in a disused red phone box and is located on the main road next to ‘Today’s General Store’ post office.

It’s mainly full of adult books, rather than children’s books. But if you’re looking to recycle a book you no longer read, you might be able to find something new to replace it with!

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