At over 600 years old, recorded as early as 1419, the Broomway runs for 6 miles (9.7 km) along the Maplin Sands, some 440 yards (400 m) from the present shoreline. It was named for the "brooms", bundles of twigs attached to short poles, with which the route was once marked. A number of headways or hards ran from the track to the shore, giving access to local farms. The track is extremely dangerous in misty weather, as the incoming tide floods across the sands at high speed, and the water forms whirlpools because of flows from the River Crouch and River Roach. Under such conditions, the direction of the shore cannot be determined. After the road bridge was opened in 1922, the Broomway ceased to be used, except by the military.
Often compared to the similarly dangerous path across Morecambe Bay, the Broomway has long been notorious as "the most perilous byway in England". It has earned this reputation by virtue of the disorientating nature of its environment in poor visibility, and near inevitability of death by drowning for anyone still out on the sands when the tide comes in
. Many people have died on it over the years"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Broomway
- Foulness Broomway - OS maps
