Thursday 16 August 2007

Southend Pier

Our Friday walk while we were at Leigh was along Southend Pier. Southend is Essex’s largest town and is a couple of miles along the coast from Leigh.



The pier is the longest leisure pier in the world – 1.33 miles.
It was first opened in 1890 and has survived 2 world wars, boat crashes and a number of fires. The last fire was in October 2005. You will see some of the effects of this in the following photos.

There is a train running along the pier and the fire took out the station and amusement areas and cafes. The council installed a temporary station and fixed a temporary walkway to connect the undamaged parts.
Some years ago there was a theatre at the end of the pier (as on many British seaside piers) and on this particular one, Helen Mirren had her first taste of acting as Southend was her home town.
We are not taking the train, preferring the sun on our faces and the wind in our hair. You are welcome to join us on this walk.


Looking down the length of the Pier





We are now on our way





Here comes the train - it will get there before we do - it will take us about 25 minutes to the very end


Almost there but look at this fire damage


And this is where the train station used to be



We have arrived and are looking at the Lifeboat Station



We are now at the very end, on the upper deck, above the Lifeboat station


We will take a break and have some refreshment while watching the ships go by



This Turnstone came and shared our Flapjack




Looking out now to the North Sea


See the ships at anchor waiting for the tide


You can just faintly see the Wind Farm in the top left hand corner



We are looking back towards London, and facing the sun, which gives this interesting picture




We are now about to descend the steps back onto the main deck of the pier and retrace our steps back to the Promenade




Hope you are not too tired!


Well if you are then you can get the train


We'll see you there





15 comments:

Willow said...

Such a long pier! It makes our SoCal piers look like sticks in the water. I enjoyed the walk and am invigorated by the exercise and the beautiful views.
I checked google maps so I would know exactly where I was walking.

Anita said...

Wow Barbara, what a long pier! We have been to Brighton a couple of years ago and I very much enjoyed walking on the piers they have over there.

Best wishes from Germany,
Anita

P.S.: You got mail! ;-)

Unknown said...

What a lovely stroll. Thanks for taking me along!

Betty said...

Barbara,

I am a little winded after that walk....but it is beautiful...

I made the correction on my blog...sorry about that...I'm preparing for a friend's wedding reception on Saturday, getting ready for a church service tonight and cooking dessert for a lady who had a foot amputated....

Anonymous said...

Wonderful views, Barbara! I feel like I can almost taste that fresh air.

Susie said...

What an enjoyable and interesting walk. That pier certainly has quite a history
:)

Linda said...

It looks like you had a really beautiful day to enjoy the pier-fianlly, after all of that rain.

Jeanne said...

Thanks for all of your fabulous photographs.......
It is a joy to come to visit each day.
Blessings my friend.
Love Jeanne ^j^

Anonymous said...

I am doing my daily blog travel and find so many travel tales out here today. Those are always my favorites.

lorenzothellama said...

Barbara, those photos certainly take me back to my childhood. We used to love walking to the end of the pier, and when we were little my parents used to let us catch the train back!
They are brilliant pictures and I loved the Turnstone!
Lorenzo.

Merisi said...

What a beautiful pier, would love to walk along it! The image taken against the sun, towards London, and the sail boat, is sure worth a frame. Simply priceless. :-)

Sandy McTier Designs said...

Hi Barbara,
I just found your blog and love your pictures. I lived in England for 6 years and miss it so much.
Your blog is lovely and I know I'll be back!

Blessings,
Sandy :)

Anonymous said...

Fantastic photos, thanks so much for sharing them I really enjoyed joining you on your day out.

lorenzothellama said...

Hi Barbara,
One of the perks of looking after June's hens is keeping the eggs! We had an omlette with mushrooms and jacket potatoes, and very nice it was too!
Lorenzo.

Maalie said...

Nice piccie of the Turnstone Barbara, it must have been migrating. I was an Canvey a couple of weeks ago!