Length: 23.2 km (14.5 mi) [much shorter walk possible,
see below]
Ascent/Descent: 40m
Net Walking Time: 4 ¾ hours
Toughness: 2/10
Take the 09.30 Shoeburyness train from Fenchurch Street (09.34
Limehouse, 09.39 West Ham, 09.44 Barking), arrives Benfleet
10.13.
(Fast) Return trains : xx.01, xx.17, xx.31
and xx.47, half of them to Fenchurch St, the others to Liverpool St.
A flat walk, that starts and finishes with a busy road stretch, features
a fair amount of hard surface paths and some A-road noise near the end, and
passes – in succession – a golf course, a static caravan park, an ex-landfill
site, housing estates, another caravan park, a sewage plant, an LNG terminal,
an oil product terminal, an oil refinery, the site of a never-finished oil
refinery, another oil terminal and another – larger – landfill site?????? And
yet, and yet…
This is one not just for the Industrial Romantic,
or for fans of the Pub Rock legends Dr. Feelgood, or for students of the lives
of the ex-East End White Working Classes. Without navigational challenges (as
all you do is: walk to the seawall and follow it) you experience an
ever-changing scenery of tidal creeks and mud flats, river marshes, salt
marshes, flood barriers, sluices and sandbanks, get views of the Benfleet Downs,
of Hadleigh Castle & Country Park, the Essex cliffs, Southend with its
Pier, the North Sea and the busy river traffic, of ships big and small,
boatyards, yacht clubs and marinas, pass sandy beaches and enclosed pools on
the foreshore, jetties, extensive seawall murals telling Canvey Island stories
and – post lunch – long tranquil stretches past grassy marshes with abundant
birdlife.
Still a walk like no other .
Shorter Walk: Canvey
Island is linked to Benfleet station by many regular buses, enabling you to
start or finish the walk at almost any point along the way (in the first half
of the walk), as bus stops are often just a short distance from the walk route.
For a route map of the bus network, you should check here: http://www.plusbus.info/benfleet.
The most logical shortcut to a bus stop, right after the
late lunch stop, is described in the directions. It results in a 14.6 km/9.1
mi walk (rated 1/10).
Lunch : The Labworth Beach Café (9.7 km/6.0
mi, food to 15.00), in its modernist building with panoramic views of the
Thames estuary; The Lobster
Smack (13.2 km/8.2 mi, food all day) is the oldest surviving
building on Canvey and a classic pub which has so much history it even features
in the Dickens novel ‘Great Expectations’. Tea: Three pubs and two sub-continental restaurants on
High Street, just past the station (see pdf for details).
For summary, map, height profile, photos, walk
directions pdf and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.258
1 comment:
As reported to me:
Walk Report:
Four off the posted train in Benfleet. Weather was cloudy with a fresh breeze and no rain. After crossing the island’s bridge we turned left to walk in a clockwise direction. The north of the island has some well to do houses (some 3 storey and others straight from the Mediterranean) but as we turned west towards London matters changed. One walker regaled with his story of his suffering from a ‘Croque Monsieur’ had at one of the cafes! After a 1.5 mile diversion detour owing to extensive sea wall maintenance works we ended up in Canvey Town itself where we had lunch in a real Canvey Island Cafe (!) or sandwiches.
After lunch we carried on past the Lobster Smack Pub. A Liquid Gas Tanker was offloading at the pier nearby. We had one stiff shower just before the end. Arrived at Benfleet at 17.01
N=4 w=dry-with-one-late-shower
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