I was born and grew up in the UK but now live in the beautiful city of Perth, WA, however we always get back to the UK at least once a year to visit my parents in Essex.  As it’s normally for a month we like to travel around visiting friends and relatives.  There are also some great country pubs in Essex where we go for gourmet lunches and dinners!

The Bear Inn, Stock

Rustic gastropub with timber beams and a wood burning fire.  Great food and service.

 The Green Man, Herongate, Essex

The Peter Boat, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, is one of our favourite pubs.  Sitting on the banks of the Thames Estuary it’s a great place for lunch and then a walk through the High Street.  Although there are at least four other pubs in this small street, The Peter Boat is always the most popular.  I started going here when I was 17, and over 40 years later it’s still a number one choice for me!

West Mersea, Essex

We had lunch here one day at a place called The Oyster Bar.  What a great find this was.  A very casual cafe but serving gourmet seafood.  There are some cute houses around here as well.

Hubby’s favourite – jellied eels

Fresh crab and prawn salad

Waiting for their fish and chips inside The Oyster Bar

Southend on Sea

We had been recommended the next place by my uncle who like my hubby is a great seafood eater – they see food and eat it!  Sorry couldn’t resist.  Anyway this “restaurant” is called Billy Hundreds and I’ve added a link as the history is fascinating.  Briefly:

“Over 140 years ago my Great Grandfather William Pullum worked as a fish porter in the famous Billingsgate Market in London, his porters badge number was 100.

He was known as Billy Hundreds..” to read more click on the link above.

It’s a Spanish tapas place, just a small shack on Southend Beach and on a windy day sitting underneath the alfresco blinds you almost feel you could be blown away.  The menu is adventurous specialising in fish tapas but also with many other fishless dishes.  Also the wine menu is pretty decent too.

I’ve taken the liberty of adding a photo of my Auntie Val eating alfresco at this restaurant!

Tilbury Fort

Tilbury Fort is a great place to visit and somewhere I had never visited before, even after all those years living in Essex.  It’s located on the Thames Estuary and was built in the reign of Henry VIII in 1539, due to international tensions between England, France and the Holy Roman Empire.

There is a lovely pub for lunch nearby called The World’s End.  

It’s always nice to get back for a visit, but nothing beats our home in Perth, WA