Alison

~ Enjoying Essex – Canvey Island Esplanade ~

The last time I visited Canvey Island was around 40 years ago, and then that was only at night to a nightclub or disco as it was called then, The Goldmine! It was a regular haunt for many years, such fun nights were had.

I have recently downloaded an app called Go Jauntly, which gives you different walks in whatever location you are in.

The walk I am taking you along in this post is along the Esplanade on Canvey Island to take a look at the murals on the sea wall. The Esplanade is lined with benches and each one is dedicated to a loved one with an engraved plaque. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and maybe you will have a favourite.

The three murals below depict the changes on Canvey Island over the decades. The sun was out therefore so was my shadow!

The murals are all about the things in life for whom the mural was painted for.

A beautiful carefree life shown in the above mural.
  • My favourite

All of these murals are so intricately drawn and beautifully painted, and have stood the test of time. Unlike many murals I have seen there is no graffiti anywhere to be seen.

My favourite is the ship with the elegant dancers in the foreground, did you have one?

It was a lovely sunny day and I also took the opportunity to snap some photos of the views from the Esplanade. They are interesting more than picturesque! Mud flats and rocks as far as the eye can see with an oil tanker in the far distance.

  • Multi coloured rowing boats

Click to enlarge above photos

Canvey Island

It is separated from the mainland of south Essex by a network of creeks. Lying only just above sea level, it is prone to flooding at exceptional tides and has been inhabited since the Roman conquest of Britain. A flood in 1953 from the North Sea devastated the island, killing 58 islanders and leading to the temporary evacuation of the 13,000 residents. It is now protected by modern sea defences comprising 2 miles (3.2 km) of concrete sea walls. Between 1911 and 1951 it was a popular seaside resort.

As much as it is residential here there are large oil tanks on the island and it is noted for the relationship with the petrochemical industry. Source – Wikipedia

As is our habit on these outings we always end up at a pub, and today was no exception! My dear husband stopped a lady walking her dog and asked her for a recommendation. She suggested The Lobster Smack.

Such a wonderfully old pub to end our walk with lunch, a pint and a cold white wine.

It is said that there has been a pub on this site since the 1580’s and was believed to have been a model for Dickens’ Sluice Farm in Great Expectations. I found a very interesting history of this pub in this link – The Lobster Smack.

Cheerio from the Essex Wanderers

I hope you enjoyed this walk along the Esplanade with me. I’ve been very cheeky and linked it to a few challenges below.

Marsha’s Photographing Public Art
Xingfu Mama’s Pull-Up-A-Seat
Jez’s Water-Water-Everywhere
Hammad’s Weekend Sky

48 comments

  6. Wonderful murals, Ali! I love your favourite, and the poppies too. I had some good friends in the UK who came from Canvey Island but I never made it down there, so it was good to see it on a sunny day.

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  9. What a lovely trip Alison. I’ve long been curious about Canvey Island and indeed it looks so quaint, especially with those blue skies. The murals are so charming and a bit of lobster seems like a fitting way to toast a trip to Canvey Island.

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  10. Wonderful murals and I think I like your choice the best. Very 1930’s to my way of looking. I went to Canvey island, it must be, 60 years ago? so my memories of it are vague, being in the days when being young meant living in the moment and not much being aware of one’s surroundings!

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    • Thanks for your comments Mari. It was also many years for me. It was just never a place people visited then but it’s certainly changed now

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  11. The only thing I know about Canvey Island is that it’s where the band Dr Feelgood came from. There was a film about them, maybe 10 years ago or more, called Oil City Confidential and Wilko Johnson was interviewed on that promenade. No murals then! It looks much nicer now.

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  12. Loving these posts of country so close to home…in fact on a sunny day we can see Canvey Island from the seafront here. Anabel is right about Dr Feelgood…I wonder if you also remember (from longer ago) a Canvey Island/Southend band called The Kursaal Flyers. Really enjoying following you through this journey “home”.

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  18. It’s hard to pick a favorite, Ali, but I love the carefree bike rider. I also liked the first two out to sea. Were those wind machines in the ocean? That would be a bit odd, I think. They are all perfect for PPAC. Your shadows make them interactive, LOL!

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  24. oh my goodness…..my mum lived in canvey for almost 10 years at Kings Park. I never once visited the esplanade….I didn’t even know that it was worth visiting….my loss, I guess.

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