Essex – Travels with Ali

“The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men”

After much planning and anticipation we flew to London last week. Our itinerary included a month in America, visiting friends and relatives. A visit to my mum was also long overdue.

My mum was overjoyed to see us on the first day, but sadly on the second had to be reminded of who I was. That is the cruelness of dementia.

Things were going swimmingly, flights and hotels were all booked for the US. Unfortunately a few days ago my poor husband had to visit the emergency department. There were problems with his bladder. He is now awaiting further tests.

Health always comes first obviously, but that still doesn’t mean there isn’t profound disappointment over a long awaited trip. We have both received quite a scare and a wake up call. As soon as he is fit to fly we will be making our way home.

We did have a few lovely days before this catastrophe. A walk along the River Crouch, along from where my brother lives. Staying at my brother and sister-in-law’s has been a blessing. We also had a fun day in London catching up with some cousins. Although Anthony did nearly fall down the stairs from the top of a double decker bus! He just about managed to hold on, this is where things started to go wrong. Who knows, a coincidence perhaps?

London Gallery

These are photos of the Guild Church of St. Katherine Cree and with the Gherkin in the background. I love walking around the streets of London, admiring the old and new. Although I think they could spend a few pounds on cleaning up this lovely old church! It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, with the present building dating back to 1628.

Overlooking Regent’s Canal

The best laid plans of Mice and Men is from a poem by Robert Burns. It highlights the idea that even the most carefully planned things can be disrupted. The best way forward is to accept all things with equanimity and not to rail against events that cannot be changed. This is my mantra for the moment.

🎉 Enjoy VE Celebrations 🎉

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~ Perth to London with Qatar Airlines ~

The day finally arrived when we flew to London to visit my dear mum and enjoy some side trips during our stay in Essex.

We flew Qatar as I believe they are the best airline for long haul flights, and it is indeed a long journey from Perth. I wanted to sit upstairs and Anthony wanted to be on the lower deck, so we comprised and did one leg on each. The way to travel such long distances is to research the best pillow, I took my trusty Turtl again and it worked a treat. We had around two hours in Doha and I was amazed as to what had been constructed since last year.

There is a place now called The Orchard and is a 6,000 square metre indoor tropical garden. There is a huge water feature plus over 300 trees and 25,000 plants. It was a treat to walk around and immerse ourselves in nature while in a busy airport.

Finally arriving in Heathrow after 11 hour and 7 hour flights, we decided to stay one night at an airport hotel to recoup our strength.

After dropping our cases at my nephew’s we went straight to the home, sadly my mum did not recognise me at first but then just couldn’t believe I was really there. We sat and chatted for a while but her memory obviously has got that much worse. We promised to be back the next day.

The next morning brought clear sunny weather to my amazement as I was expecting cold and rain. I had a short walk down the lane and across the fields.

After this walk we drove to the home again and borrowed a wheelchair to take my mum for a stroll up the high street. She was over the moon to be wheeled out into the sunny day and kept asking me if I wanted a turn.

We stopped for lunch in an olde tea shop after buying her new shoes and clothes. There is a lovely old church in the high street so we had a wander around.

I couldn’t find out much about this church except that it dates back to the 15th century. I believe there was a church here during Saxon times and the building has a Norman chancel. I thought it looked very grand in the sunshine and the stone and brick work were beautiful.

My mum said she had a lovely time with us and couldn’t believe how wonderful it was to be out. It does make me sad to hear this but such is life and I’m glad we are able to do such a small service for her.

We have a fairly full itinerary planned for the next four or five weeks and I’ll be sharing all of this very soon.

~ Enjoying Essex – Hullbridge and Fambridge ~

Hullbridge

A change of place for me this time in the UK, staying Hullbridge, Essex with my nephew who very kindly agreed to host me. My childhood home is now on the market as my dad passed away earlier this year and my mum is in a care home.

There is a country lane behind my nephew’s house which leads down to the River Crouch, a walk I took a few times.

As I walked past the first house I came upon this cute display opposite. Not technically their property but apparently if no-one contests this after nine years they can claim it, good to know but not sure if I would want the hassle!

The lane is surrounded by fields on either side and is used for horse riders, so I made sure to step aside when I heard the canter of hooves.

I came upon this black cat every time I walked down this lane, he seemed to be lying in wait for me and stretched himself out for a stroke.

I thought I might see a few cows in the fields but imagine my surprise when I came across alpacas!

It’s not a long walk, around 25 minutes to the river, but the flies, bees and wasps are a nuisance so I was happy to get to the end of the lane.

River Crouch

The owner might be waiting a while to sail this boat.

I met an old friend for dinner one night at a pub called The Anchor, situated on the edge of the River Crouch. Small pods had been erected during covid and made very cosy dining options.

Pods at The Anchor, Hullbridge

I did enjoy the late summer evenings in England, something we don’t have here in Perth. Daylight saving was introduced a few years ago but after a referendum was cancelled. Some of the reasons given, too much sun fades the curtains, the cows didn’t like it and people would rather wake up earlier and not stay up late. Different strokes for different folks!

Fambridge

There are two areas of Fambridge, North and South, divided by the River Crouch. We had dinner one evening at The Ferryboat Inn.

The Ferry Boat Inn dates back to 1591 and its timbers are steeped in history. The inn has seen many a colourful landlord with tales of treachery and horse snatching. There used to be a ferry boat operating between North and South Fambridge.

One thing England does well and that is a country pub. Even better if the pub is not part of a chain and has its own menu with locally sourced produce. Too many pubs have become part of a chain and have the same generic menu.

Linked to:

Jo’s Monday Walk
Water, Water, Everywhere

🌼 Enjoying Essex – Hyde Hall Gardens, Chelmsford 🌼

I had been meaning to visit Hyde Hall Gardens for some time but the weather was always against us or we had other plans. So on the first fine day we decided to drive over and have a look. My dear husband seemed aghast when we arrived and found out it wasn’t an old building we were visiting but a vast garden!

Hyde Hall Gardens is owned and managed by The Royal Horticultural Society and covers more than 365 acres of land. It is divided up into different types of gardens ranging from Mediterranean, Australian/New Zealand, Winter, Vegetable and Dry gardens. There is a large nursery from which to buy plants from. There are panoramic views of the rolling hills and the Essex countryside. We had an amazing morning here walking around and marvelling at all kinds of plants, trees and flowers.

Sculptures by David Watkinson

Coppiced Willows
“Allow yourself to bend like a willow in the wind, so that you will not break”

“Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty“
~ William Shakespeare ~

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope”
~ Lady Bird Johnson ~

As you can see it was a glorious day, bitterly cold but the sun was shining making the water glisten and the flowers look brighter.

Blooming magnolia tree

**Gabion Wall**
A gabion is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping. – Source: Wikipedia

Finally time for a rest!

We enjoyed our time at Hyde Hall Gardens, it’s a great place to visit to stretch your legs and get your daily exercise. A place of peace and tranquility with many places to sit and rest and enjoy the magnificent views.

This is the last post for the “Enjoying Essex” series as we are now back in our homeland of Perth, WA. I hope you have enjoyed travelling along with us in Essex.

I’ve linked this post with a few challenges that I’ve enjoyed over the years.

Flower of the Day – FOTD
Pull up a Seat
Photographing Public Art Challenge – PPAC
Restless Jo’s Monday Walks

~ 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.

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

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!

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!

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

**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.

Silent Sunday

CFFC – Bridges from around the World

My take on bridges for Cee’s challenge on CFFC for this week. They could also work for Dr. B’s Challenge your Camera for this week’s theme of architecture.

**Franjo Tudman Bridge, Dubrovnik, Croatia**

**Driving over the Queensferry Bridge, Essex, England**

Entertaining ourselves in Essex!

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!

Auntie Val eating a yummy plate of tapas!

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.