Peaceful side of Essex on show in Southend-on-Sea

Deckchairs on the Southend seafront (britainonview.com)

YOU have to hand it to the people of Essex for their sense of humour.

From the jokes about its women in the early ’90s, through Birds of a Feather and Gavin & Stacey to Catherine Tate’s “What am I like?” storyteller, the county’s inhabitants often find themselves held up to ridicule.

But ITV2’s The Only Way Is Essex shows that at least some of them don’t mind playing along to the stereotype.

It’s all a long way away from Essex’s gentler past, one which is hinted at by the monk and fisherman that adorn the coat of arms of Southend-on-Sea.

And on a recent visit I found this peaceful side still exists for those prepared to look hard enough.

The monk on the badge signifies the 12th Century Priory situated in nearby Prittlewell.

The friars have long since vacated the building but its grounds – the picturesque Priory Park – are worth a visit.

Every Saturday in the summer, a free concert is held at the park’s bandstand.

If the weather is nice – and as Southend is the driest town in Britain, you have as good a chance as anywhere that it will be – it’s an ideal spot for a picnic.

If influential religious orders are hard to come by in modern-day Southend, links with fishing certainly are not.

Leigh-on-Sea, just along the coast from Southend, is famed for its cockle sheds and seafood restaurants.

It may only be a 10-minute train ride from the town centre but the cobbled main street of Old Leigh will take you back centuries (it’s recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as being a “small fishing hamlet”).

While the industry survives to this day, fishermen don’t have to sleep by their boats any more. So the cottages that once housed them on the dockside have been turned into craft shops and places to eat and drink.

I had a meal at The Boat Yard, converted from a boathouse and with a bar in the shape of a ship’s bow through the middle of it.

The prices meant you could be on choppy waters if you’re splitting the bill evenly with a friend (£29.95 for Dover sole against £9.95 for the catch of the day) but the presentation was first-class.

In the 19th Century, Southend began to use its proximity to the sea for more robust pursuits – although the body of water it sits on is actually the mouth of the River Thames rather than the sea, you can clearly see Kent on the other side.

Constructed in 1887, the 1.3 mile pleasure pier still proudly hold the record of the world’s longest.

Southend P10207672.jpg

Sadly, a fire in 2005 – one of many catastrophes to befall it that you can read about in the Pier Museum – means you can no longer take the tram ride all the way to the end.

Instead, it forms something of a centrepiece to the stretch of coastline known as the Golden Mile, which has recaptured some of the glean from its heyday thanks to a £7.6 million investment.

The Adventure Island Amusement Park, situated at the dry end of the pier, is a great place for a family day out.

It operates a wristband scheme (buy online before you go to save 30%) so for £12.60 a small child can go on unlimited rides from 11 in the morning to 10.30 at night while it won’t cost the adult left holding the coats and bags a penny.

The west end of the pier is a popular spot for lovers, who can stroll atop the cliffs from the Royal Mews or admire the view of the magnificent Prittlewell Square gardens.

While on the cliffs you may like to see which top name act is due to appear at The Cliffs Pavilion. Theatre-goers also have the Palace Theatre bill to choose from.

Little wonder, then, that the people of Essex are laughing.

Maybe the rest of us need to get in on the joke.

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