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.
The recommended lunch options are the iconic Labworth Beach Bistro in its
modernist building with panoramic views of the Thames estuary, or the legendary
smugglers' inn the Lobster Smack.
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).
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Another day, another misleading weather forecast: there was supposedly a high risk of precipitation around Canvey up until midday, but when the grey skies over SE1 were replaced by blue with fast drifting clouds while I was still having my breakfast, and with the wind blowing fast from the west/downstream, that seemed unlikely. And so it was.
Before I got to Benfleet though, some confusion emerged at Fenchurch Street, where no 09.48 train was on the board and the 09.49 via the Shoeburyness Direct line terminated at Laindon, as did subsequent trains on that line. So, the next best option was the 09.53 Shoeburyness via the Long-Way-Round line (i.e. via Grays) train, which got to Benfleet 25 minutes after the posted time.
The sky was indeed somewhat blue with fast clouds moving east (were they the same clouds I had seen from my flat's window, perchance?) and I set off on my own, text-checking as I went.
It seemed to be ultra-low tide as the historical stepping stones in the ford across the creek to the side of the modern road bridge onto Canvey were all exposed. The sun broke through once I had passed the golf course and out it stayed: w=sunny-with-passing-clouds .
The sea defences outside the seawall itself have been reworked since I last walked this: there seems to be a more solid hardcore/concrete foundation, there are more steps down the the water level etc. This, or maybe the recent turbulent winds and high tides meant though that plenty of stretches of the concrete path were covered in deep layers of seashells, easy enough to negotiate with my walking boots but what do the plentiful local pensioners with their Zimmer frames make of it, I ask? A noisy Xmas fair was going near the row of shops and amusements arcades near the Labworth Beach Cafe and I walked past the latter as it was full, with some punters even queuing outside.
Onwards then in an environment reminiscent of an XS version of my hometown (i.e. a much smaller river, far fewer ships and those smaller than in a proper port town), and I got to the Lobster Smack (under new Mgmt and with much better food than previously) for 13.45.
Halfway through my grilled Sole, 2 SWCees disturbed the peace and suddenly we were n=3. They had joined the train at West Ham and couldn't find the posted train on the boards, so took the next other one, which happened to be the one 30 minutes ahead of mine. They had been in the Labworth when I walked past...
After getting a drink while I finished my meal, we marched on together, eventually with the sunset in our back and some mildly pinky cloudscapes developing.
Arriving at Benfleet Station at 16.40, there were still no trains via the Direct line (but some were showing for 17.19 onwards), so ours was the 17.01 the Long-Way-Round (i.e. via Grays).
Spotted or heard during the day: herons, egrets, oystercatchers, wagtails, sandpipers, cormorants, Cetti's warblers (so said the app, so it must be true).
A very fine day out in good company (when it eventually turned up).
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