Today would be a simple affair by walking a complete circuit of Canvey Island along its sea wall.
Canvey Island is a rather unique place, bounded by the River Thames to the south it has a tidal creek running around its northern border, making it an island. The island is served by two roads which cross over the Benfleet and East Haven Creeks. The island has been occupied since Roman times and today has a population of some 38,000. However, the effects of flooding have been a constant danger, no more so in 1953, 5 days after I was born, there was a huge tidal surge in the North Sea. Some 307 people lost their lives along the east coast, 59 of them were on Canvey Island.
As I lay awake in my motel room on the final day of my three days in Essex, I heard the rain beating down outside. I checked the forecast and it said the rain would subside by 07:00. I left Basildon at 06:00 and drove to Canvey Island. It was still dark when I set off along the sea wall. I was using my head torch, mainly to avoid the large puddles which had accumulated with the overnight rain. I tried and failed to take some photos looking across to the bright lights of Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea. By the time I reached the Canvey Heights Country Park is light enough to turn my head torch off. After rounding Smalling’s Creek I was soon back on the shoreline of the Thames.
I passed a number of pumping stations, each proudly displaying an info board explaining how the drainage system worked. Additional construction to the sea defences took place after the devastation of 1953 and as recently as 2005. The residential part of the island accounts for about two-thirds of the land with the rest given over to pasture for livestock and horses. There is also a large and part redundant oil storage depot, with a series of jetties alongside the Thames.
I made excellent progress along the sea wall and was soon joined by the early morning joggers and dog walkers. As I passed around the large oil storage depot I left these behind. I passed the famous Lobster Smack Inn (formerly the Worlds End Inn) and mentioned in Dicken’s Great Expectations.
After passing the Lobster Smack Inn the sea wall passed into the rural part of Canvey Island. On the opposite bank of Holehaven Creek another large oil storage depot/refinery drew the eye until I finally turned eastwards along East Haven Creek. Near to a tidal barrier, the sea wall disappeared and I continued along a raised earthen sea bank. I passed under the busy A130 which was raised upon pillars to pass over the West Canvey Marsh. After crossing the B1014 road to Benfleet I emerged back on a proper concrete sea wall passing alongside the golf course and back to my car.
And that was it for Essex! I had been walking this coast for quite some time with its convoluted shorelines of estuaries, rivers, creeks and channels making it the county with the longest coastline in England. For the main it had been quite enjoyable and surprisingly quiet, particularly on the sea walls.
Distance today = 14 miles
Total distance = 5,801 miles
Walking the Coast of Great Britain 