THE clock is ticking down to the start of a major project which will highlight the coast of the east of England before ending up in Thurrock.

Sunday, 27 June will see that start of the 500 mile Beach of Dreams walk, Beach of Dreams is an epic journey to discover the hidden gems of the East Coast of England, inviting collaboration from communities and artists along the way in Suffolk, Essex, Southend, and Thurrock.

The walk will start in Lowestoft on Sunday and end in Tilbury on 1 August.

The project has been managed by Thurrock-based arts company Kinetika, whose artistic director Ali Pretty, and Guardian journalist Kevin Rushby will walk the entire route, joined by artists, writers, scientists, and local residents. Together, guided by strong environmental themes and the challenges of our current time, they will consider the question "How can we creatively reimagine our future?"

Residents along the route have been being invited to choose a mile to walk with them and asked to submit an image of the landscape, a drawing and a few words about their connection to it and offer a dream for its future.

A new digital story map of the coastal path, reflecting and recording the narrative of the walk as it unfolds has been created.

You can find out more [L]https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d098d7b3c8a949dda8e7f7e6a1f190cb [.L+]here.[.L].