johnr's Southend & Estuary photos

Southend & Estuary photos

see copyright notice. Page created 26-Nov-2019. Use the button groups above to navigate quickly around the site.

There's a good reason why I have more photos of the Thames estuary than of anywhere else; a convenient and [usually] reliable train service runs between Upminster and Southend-on-sea. On this page, I've tried to illustrate the range of scenery to be seen along this stretch of the river.

Seascapes

In truth, they're more often mudscapes - but the south-facing aspect makes for some nice back-lighting effects. The first 5 are between Westcliff and Leigh-on-sea, the last 2 at Thorpe Bay.

Southend Pier

At over 2km, it's the longest pleasure pier in the world, and even has its own train service. The structural ironwork lends itself to geometric photos. The first of these was adopted for the back cover of an [excellent] album by "The Legendary" Len Liggins. In the last one, the pier is barely visible in the background - but I rather like the silhouetted figures at play on the groynes!

In May 2004, I took a camera and tripod out along a causeway and took 7 telephoto shots of the pier, which I later merged into this panoramic image.

Inland

On 22 April 2019 Southend was awash with bikers, enjoying a resurrection of the "Shakedown". Compare and contrast the tranquil scene of flowering cherry trees on the cliff top! The panoramic image of Jubilee Gardens was another of my stitch-ups, in this case from 5 separate images. The rooftops of Chalkwell were photographed from a railway bridge in Westcliff, while the last two pics, of the "London Gateway" port and Hadleigh Castle, were taken between Benfleet and Leigh.