A Walk by the Sea ...

[SwanR]

... well more accurately it was the Thames Estuary! Given it was such a nice morning and we had the extra hour to use, hubby and I drove down to Chalkwell which is just outside Southend. There's a long flat promenade there and for once the tide was in which makes a huge difference to how it looks. There were a lot of people out jogging, out walking their dogs, and generally quite a bit of activity - something of a community feel to the place.

Thought I would post up a few photos. It wasn't the beauty of Norfolk but it was by the water and there were some boats.

 

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Jean,

Thank you for sharing the pictures, being by the water is what counts.

Regards

Alan

[Bound2Please]

Nice picture of the Crowe Stone Jean

Charlie

[SwanR]

Aha ... so now I know what the stone obelisk is - thank you Charlie. 

http://www.southendtimeline.com/crowstone.htm

We usually stay more along the Westcliff side and I'm not sure I've ever even noticed this before.

[Bound2Please]

No problems Jean thought everyone from Essex new what it was..........

Charlie

[SwanR]

Ah well in which case on this occasion I will use the fact that I was born in North London as my excuse! I've lived in Essex for longer than the years growing up as a Londoner but I will always claim not to be an Essex Girl. 

[ChrisB]

I think the creeks, swatchways and estuaries of Essex have a beauty all of their own. Certainly few areas can match their fascinating history.

[Gracie]

Spent many a day out with girl friends in Southend, thanks for posting Jean........ if you are an Essex girl, have you any photos in your white stilettos, dancing round your handbag lol?  No disrespect intended towards anyone from Essex, I love the place and the people

Grace 

[Boaters]

Chris must agree ,Love  the creeks around Walton ,one the best reads of this area is The Magic Of The Swatchways  by Maurice Griffiths.  We were in Cromer today very busy ,making the best of the sun.Jean that walk along the seafront we have done many times but some seafood and a drink in Leigh on sea and then an ice cream from Rossi's to  complete the day and maybe a walk up the Pier .Luverly !

Edited October 25, 2015 by Boaters

[SwanR]

Haven't been out along the pier for years. It's on my list and I remarked to hubby today that I'm waiting for spring now as you can get quite a chilly breeze along the front there.

Southend holds many fond memories for me as my dad used to take a day off every August just to take my mum, my sister and myself down to Southend from London on the train back in the late 60s / early 70s. We always ate in one of the little seafront places at Westcliff and then went into Peter Pan's Playground before catching the train home again.

Grace I have to admit that I can't wear high heels at all so stilettos ... not a chance. But I may have danced round my handbag a few times back in the discos of the late 70s. 

[Bound2Please]

Trouble is Leigh cockle sheds arnt the same these days, the cockles are now cooked in an unatural way, the brown shrimps are also not cooked in sea water any more. yes another case of EU regs killing off English Heritage.

Not sure how the old Leigh fishing families feel about it the Cotgroves, Gilsons etc etc

Charlie

[Boaters]

Isn't every thing different Charlie,I remember Osbourne's as a kid when the cockles were gathered by hand and they were bought ashore in wicker baskets along a plank,tipped in to the boiler and through the hole in the wall to be  served up  fresh at the outside tables.Diane loves her sea food and didn't complain when we visited earlier this year,ended up with a pile of empty dishes as usual Had nice walk up the pier as well but have to take the train back these days.Jean have a photo of my old Mums of me on the Tubs and by the Crooked house many years ago  in Peter Pans ,we have one taken of the Grandchildren a few years ago on the Tubs but would like to know if they are still there

[SwanR]

Peter Pan's has changed no end over the years. My sister and I always used to go on the same ride which was still there when I took my own children down there many years on. I'll see what I can do to check it out the next time we get down there.

[Mouldy]

Southend brings back many happy childhood memories for me, too.  I remember Never Neverland, Peter Pans Playground, the Kursaal, the Guiness clock that stood outside the entrance to Peter Pans Playground and the motor boats on the boating lake  on the seafront.  Obviously, the pier was there, but wasn't as exciting to me as the rides at Peter Pans.

I also remember being taken to see the illuminations, that were never as good as Blackpool's, but a lot closer in the 60's when we lived in North West London.

My mum and dad used to enjoy some cockles from one of the stalls under the end of the pier, whilst I had some prawns and my mum was never satisfied unless she had a Rossi's ice cream.

[MauriceMynah]

The shrimps aren't cooked in sea water any more.

There's a cute little irony there! When one considers the quality of the Thames Estuary water when the shrimps were cooked in it, to the quality of the estuary water now, while they are not!