The Crouch rises in a pond within ‘The Wilderness’, a small wood off to the right of the 1st tee at Burstead Golf Course in Little Burstead, near Billericay. (You can ask permission to see it by calling the golf club on 01277 631171.)
The Crouch then runs parallel with the A176 (Noak Hill Rd) for about a mile before heading eastwards towards Battlesbridge, passing under the A130 at Mayrose Bridge, which is just beyond the sign for South Woodham Ferrers turn-off (approaching from the south).
At Battlesbridge, the river becomes tidal and is navigable at high water.