Alison

Enjoying Essex ~ Battlesbridge and Southend ~

Essex is my home county and where I spent the first 30 years of my life, apart from the first 2 which were in London. We will be based here for the next couple of months and I will be writing about some of the small towns and villages that make up this county.

Battlesbridge

This little villages straddles the River Crouch and is home to several antique centres. Over 80 dealers are located here. We visited one sunny day a couple of weeks ago and stopped at The Barge Inn for a quick drink. There’s nothing like a countryside pub in England for cosiness!

The Barge Inn
River Crouch
“My Antique”

I was lucky enough to catch the setting sun over the river and this oast house.

Southend Pier

Southend is a fairly large town in Essex and boasts the longest pier in the World! It extends 2.16 kilometres into the Thames Estuary. Even though I lived in Essex for 30 years I have only ever been to then end once. So on a bitterly cold day two weeks ago we ventured out to Southend with the purpose of walking to the end. My friend had mentioned that she had seen a school of seals frolicking earlier that week so I wanted to see these as well. We almost changed our mind when we arrived because of the cold but saw it was fairly busy with a number of walkers promenading along, so not to be fainthearted, we paid our £1 each and off we went.

Not even half way along I looked enviously at the train as it trundled by with all the people well wrapped up inside. We had to stop at a shelter so I could arrange my scarf and hat to get the most from their warmth. We had the intention of walking back as well but my energy levels were completely depleted so we paid the extra to take the train. I definitely made my 10,000 steps that day!

Before
After
Colourful Beach Huts

The sun was finally making an appearance but clearly not sending any warmth!

The train we rode back in
Beautiful pink sky
“Pull up a Seat!”
Images through the train window of the seafront
Lastly the lone seal, making a surprise appearance before we boarded the train

Thanks for coming on this journey with us, look out for more mosts about Essex in the coming weeks.

27 comments

  3. That train looks a stunner, I suddenly want to go to Southend Pier! Herne Bay (where we live) used to have the second longest pier, but there’s only a short stretch left now, since the 1987 storm. We will be in Essex soon too, to see me granddaughters…..I wonder if I can work in a quick trip to Southend….

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    • On a sunny day would be a great walk, especially if the seals are out or sea lions, I get confused! Nice restaurant and bar at the end too. Definitely worth a visit
      Thanks for your comments 🙂

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  6. I’ve done that walk too – but in the summer when it was gloriously sunny! I’ve always had a soft spot for Southend as it was our Sunday ‘excursion’ trip when I lived in London (young people today won’t believe that we spent our weekends so simply, fish and chips on the Pier, sitting on the beach and then back to London tired and happy). You were brave to attempt that walk in the icy wind, I know it can blow hard off the sea there.

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    • Haha me too Mari, it was a special treat to go and see the lights in Southend and go to Peter Pans Playground
      The Kursal is still standing and I was never allowed to go there ..much too rough!

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  9. Southend Pier is something else isn’t it? Unbelievably long and you just wonder why? But so impressive. Not sure about the town but the pier is certainly worth a visit and a long walk. Glad you’re enjoying your UK trip, have fun in Essex.

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  12. I love a cosy country pub in the winter and that one looks perfect, and in a pretty setting too 🙂 Well done on making it to the end of the pier on such a cold day! I’m pleased to see you were rewarded with a seal 🙂

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  13. Enjoyed pics of Ole Blighty and the walk to the end of Southend Pier. It’s hot and windy here today and, as someone at the beach said: ‘They switched on the fans in Kalgoorlie today’ (an expression not understood by anyone except those who live in Perth).

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