Days 32 Southend-on-sea, Leigh-on-sea , Essex

A visit to Southend and the glorious, muddy, Thames estuary

It's a fine day! Well, still a little cloudy, but fine enough to head to the coast.

We negotiated our way out of London (Barb omits to say that she was highly suspicious when I announced I'd be ignoring the GPS and using my local knowledge to escape London - I did grow up here after all! And no, I didn't get us lost. Grrr) and managed to find our way to Leigh-on-Sea. This is next door to Southend on Sea and 40 miles or so (65 km) downstream from Tower Bridge.  The estuary is about 5 miles wide at this point and broadens rapidly into the North Sea.

Surprisingly for a quiet weekday morning (and not a holiday) we had a lot of trouble finding somewhere to park. Where on earth do the tourists park when they get here? Frustrating! We eventually found our way to a flyover crossing the railway and parked (legally) on that. Phew!

Barb was not overly impressed by her first view of the water (or, it has to be said, her last a few hours later). It was dirty mud. It's the Thames Estuary not the sea, John pointed out. Hmmph! It can't be truly dirty, rather it's healthy in a muddy kind of way. It's known for its shellfish and in the past Londoners would come down by train on day trips to enjoy the fare - think cockles and mussels, alive alive-oh. Oops - just seen that Barb mentions this herself later on.

Not the prettiest of views

That's Kent across that muddy expanse

Barb was feeling a little grumpy and wondering why we had come here. Until, that is, we walked further along the road and she started to see some pretty buildings and cafes. Now this is more like it!

Cute little pub

What's this? A cute little tea room? Let's go in

Barb was immediately charmed by the decor

Their selection of cakes wasn't bad either ....

Things really picking up now...

This was worth blowing the diet for ....

Even John had to admit that the pot of English tea was just right

Equanimity restored and Barb conceded to go for a walk further down the road. Leigh-on-sea is famed for it cockles and mussels (alive alive-o).

John has fond memories of doing yacht deliveries from here. Each to their own. Only one - I picked it up from a mud berth and took it to Greece via the Canal du Midi (the owner specified that bit).

Happy memories for John

Boats in the mud

Okay .... the village is pretty-ish I guess. John's dad came from these parts

We drove on to Southend-on-sea a few miles further up. Again this place has fond memories for John. He remembers coming here with his family. It's still technically on the Thames Estuary, so no actual beach (although they've shipped in some sand from somewhere). The town features the longest pleasure pier in the world. One point three miles long. So of course there's a train to take people out to the end, although there is the option to walk out and back if you're willing. Barb wasn't.

We await the train. One every half hour.

Views of the "beach" end of Southend-on-sea

Happy couple on the train

Barb was a little freaked by the ricketiness of the pier

Phew! we made it without crashing into the sea

That's the RNI lifeboat station right at the end of the pier

The boats get winched down to the sea from here. The original launch slip was
demolished by a ship running into the pier some years ago.
Winching, it seems, is just as fast though less dramatic

It's a very busy shipping lane here coming out of the
Thames to the English Channel and North Sea

Looking back at the pier ... we're glad we took the train after all

Barb is always a sucker for a beach hut

John is always happy to be around boats and water

The shore-side amusement park is closed until the summer holidays

Loads of amusement arcades line the other side of the road all the way along

How adorable are the dunnies?

There's an old fashioned cliff lift
(and also a new elevator which isn't as charming)

Barb was enchanted by this magical fairy garden

We drove back on the back roads of Essex through gorgeous little villages with unusual names ... Steeple Bumstead anyone?

It was a very good day and the weather does seem to have cleared. Good thing too as we have lots of washing to catch up on in preparation for our trip to France, starting tomorrow (Saturday) with a night in London so we can catch the Eurostar to France.