Maldon Oysters

A decade ago on a chilly autumn morning I went onto the Blackwater to shoot some wild fowl, forage some wild sea vegetables and gather a few oysters once the tide was fully out. As I waded out with a friend into the silty estuary to search for native and rock oysters camouflaged in the grey sand, we were totally alone in the peaceful tidal estuary, gathering food for free. Had we been in France, we most certainly wouldn’t have been alone.

Maldon, which is southwest of Colchester, is famous for its sea salt marshes and, of course, highly prized Maldon sea salt, but it also has oysters.