Seaside postcard: Canvey Island Who'd have thought Canvey was worth two days of blogging? I didn't, until I went. Even more surprising, I think I want to go back some day. Some warm day when the tide's out, the museums are open and the Labworth's serving pie and chips. All topped off with a long stroll round the remote reaches of the western marshes. But just the once.
Holehaven: As names go, it's perfect. What else would you call a muddy creek on the border between Thurrock and Essex blighted by oil refineries and giant tankers? It's a hole alright. But oddly alluring all the same. You reach the river's edge by turning right at the King Canute pub in Canvey Village and heading shoreward for three quarters of a mile. The road passes slowly from suburban estates to industrial emptiness, with 100 giant petroleum tanks looming large behind secure metal fencing. Ugly as hell... unless you capture the light right, which I think I did [photo]. Continue to the end of the road and you reach the LobsterSmack, a 17th century inn in the middle of nowhere, now squashedup against Canvey's mighty sea wall [photo]. Notorious as a haunt of smugglers and bare knuckle fighters, it was also immortalised by Dickens in Great Expectations. The pub's far less scary these days, and I have yet to read a bad review of the place.
Only by climbing up past the lounge bar to the top of the concrete wall do you get a true sense of the pub's estuarine location. It's big out there, and very flat, and very grey. Most striking are the metal piers snaking out into the Thames, one of thema mile long - the longest jetty in Europe. The Occidental Jetty was built in the 1970s to download crude for aviation fuel, but the money ran out before its pipeline could be connected and it continues to rot in the middle of Holehaven Creek. Beyond lies the vast Corytonoil refinery, its massive fuel tanks rising from the shoreline as a mere hint of the industrial maelstrom beyond. Closer to shore is a blue hut on wooden stilts, from which Port of London staff keep tabs on passing tankers [photo]. I got the best view by walking down a wooden jetty used by lesser maritime folk, and stood mid-Thames soaking in the post-Dickensian landscape [photo]. It's only 30 miles upriver to urban Embankment-side Westminster, but it feels like a million.
Museums: It may surprise you to hear that there are three different museums on Canvey Island. It won't surprise you to hear that they're all free to enter, because nobody would bother coming otherwise. It didn't surprise me to discover that, being midwinter, they were all closed. 1) Dutch Cottage Museum: Being experts in sub-sea-level drainage, it was the Dutch who tamed and drained Canvey from the sea. Two of their 17th century octagonal cottages remain - one still a private residence and the other now a museum [photo]. They're most unusual looking residences, like thatched pepperpots from a fairy tale, and perfect jigsaw-puzzle fodder. What I didn't see: "A variety of exhibits that illustrate the history of Canvey Island, including models of sailing craft and a fine collection of corn dollies." Opening times: From Spring Bank Holiday to September on Wednesday afternoons, Sunday afternoons and Bank Holidays. 2) Canvey Heritage Centre: Formerly St Katherines church in Canvey Village, but deconsecrated, whitewashed and turned into a splendidly amateur museum. What I didn't see: "Art, Hobbies, Militaria and Photographic Exhibitions. There is a Lifeboat Week as well as the Museum Week, Slide shows and Tabletop Sales." Desperately vague opening times: "Most weekends during the summer months" 3) Castle Point Transport Museum: Right at the far end of the island, in deepest Leigh Beck, is the former Canvey & District bus depot. This is where people who like buses, transport and especially buses hang out, and they occasionally open their doors to allow fellow enthusiasts inside. What I didn't see: "Over thirty old and rare buses and coaches alongside vintage commercials, military and emergency vehicles." "A wide selection of ticket machines, tickets, poster, photographs and uniforms providing plenty for the visitors to enjoy." Opening times: 1st and 3rd Sundays from April to October, culminating in a big annual OpenDay (Oct 11th).
Inland: Enough of the coast, because the real Canvey's to be found inland amidst tightly packed residential streets. This could be any Essex town (except one of the pretty ones). You can get a fairly good idea of the mix of island residents by walking alongside the Long Road traffic jam and peering through the car windscreens. Hassled mum with kids, middle-aged blond wife with beer-bloated husband, shaggy mates on the look out, that sort of thing. Check out the numberplates for additional personal info - there's GAV, that's PAT, and this is R88CE. On a Saturday afternoon the place to be is Canvey's main shopping centre on FurtherwickRoad. There's a semi-decent selection of shops running north-south from "Deckcraft 'N Wools Too" to the Bingo Hall (including a large defunct Woolies and lots of charity shops). I was sorely tempted by cheap delicacies from Grout's, the island bakery, which is presumably responsible for ballooning several thousand residents up a waist size or two. The Knightswick Shopping Mall proved just as downbeat as its drab exterior suggested, but perfectly safe so long as I kept away from the boisterous larking hoodies. Don't get completely the wrong idea. There are some charming spots just a short walk away, including the unexpected mile-long curve of CanveyLake. Formerly a Roman salt-pan, it's now a waterfowl-filled nature reserve and fishing lake [photo]. Estates hem this reedy oasis on either side, with the most fortunate houses directly fronting the waterfront. If this were a London suburb, the lakeside aspect would add at least £100K to the price of your property. As things stand, however, three bouquets of wilted flowers tucked into a nearby fence hint that Canvey's rather more affordable than that.
Only by climbing up past the lounge bar to the top of the concrete wall do you get a true sense of the pub's estuarine location. It's big out there, and very flat, and very grey. Most striking are the metal piers snaking out into the Thames, one of them a mile long - the longest jetty in Europe. The Occidental Jetty was built in the 1970s to download crude for aviation fuel, but the money ran out before its pipeline could be connected and it continues to rot in the middle of Holehaven Creek. Beyond lies the vast Coryton oil refinery, its massive fuel tanks rising from the shoreline as a mere hint of the industrial maelstrom beyond. Closer to shore is a blue hut on wooden stilts, from which Port of London staff keep tabs on passing tankers [photo]. I got the best view by walking down a wooden jetty used by lesser maritime folk, and stood mid-Thames soaking in the post-Dickensian landscape [photo]. It's only 30 miles upriver to urban Embankment-side Westminster, but it feels like a million.
1) Dutch Cottage Museum: Being experts in sub-sea-level drainage, it was the Dutch who tamed and drained Canvey from the sea. Two of their 17th century octagonal cottages remain - one still a private residence and the other now a museum [photo]. They're most unusual looking residences, like thatched pepperpots from a fairy tale, and perfect jigsaw-puzzle fodder.
Inland: Enough of the coast, because the real Canvey's to be found inland amidst tightly packed residential streets. This could be any Essex town (except one of the pretty ones). You can get a fairly good idea of the mix of island residents by walking alongside the Long Road traffic jam and peering through the car windscreens. Hassled mum with kids, middle-aged blond wife with beer-bloated husband, shaggy mates on the look out, that sort of thing. Check out the numberplates for additional personal info - there's GAV, that's PAT, and this is R88CE. On a Saturday afternoon the place to be is Canvey's main shopping centre on Furtherwick Road. There's a semi-decent selection of shops running north-south from "Deckcraft 'N Wools Too" to the Bingo Hall (including a large defunct Woolies and lots of charity shops). I was sorely tempted by cheap delicacies from Grout's, the island bakery, which is presumably responsible for ballooning several thousand residents up a waist size or two. The Knightswick Shopping Mall proved just as downbeat as its drab exterior suggested, but perfectly safe so long as I kept away from the boisterous larking hoodies. Don't get completely the wrong idea. There are some charming spots just a short walk away, including the unexpected mile-long curve of Canvey Lake. Formerly a Roman salt-pan, it's now a waterfowl-filled nature reserve and fishing lake [photo]. Estates hem this reedy oasis on either side, with the most fortunate houses directly fronting the waterfront. If this were a London suburb, the lakeside aspect would add at least £100K to the price of your property. As things stand, however, three bouquets of wilted flowers tucked into a nearby fence hint that Canvey's rather more affordable than that.
