beat the brochure

This is Ricky Durrance’s submission for the ’3 Things in the City’ I Love contest by Velvet Escape, Traveldudes and Wimdu.co.uk

What do you look for in a great city – or indeed a large provincial town which should really have city status but keeps failing with its applications? Well it would be nice for it to have buildings of worldwide significance, world class restaurants and access to golden beaches. But very few places in the world have all these things. The reality is that most cities and large towns have buildings which no one apart from locals are really interested in, visit or know about. But just because no one really knows about them does not mean that the place cannot be loved, and if there is one place that needs more love, it is merry old England’s Southend on Sea.

Loveable Reason 1: The World Record Holding Pier

Southend is home to the worlds longest pleasure pier, which stretches out a massive 2km into the lovely browny-blue North Sea. Despite the occasional fire which seems to rip through most English piers every decade or so, it has an illustrious history of which I know little. What I do know however is that you can take a train to the end of the pier where there are arcades, little fun rides and fantastic views of open sea. What more could you want whilst nibbling on a rock? Southend Pier doesn’t have it all but whilst you stand there you’ll find yourself thinking, often out loud, “No one else in the word on a pleasure pier is this far out into the sea as me at this exact moment in time.” If that doesn’t make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you are made of ice.

Loveable Reason 2: Fish and Chips

What is so special about Southend’s truly traditional English tucker? Absolutely nothing. You can get just as good fare from Brighton, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Blackpool – I could go on. But it is still very, very nice. It is excellent in fact. You can also get some jellied eels and other sea food from one of the little huts littered along the sea front and in nearby Leigh-on-Sea. If you are hungry and in Southend, you will not waste away. Which can not be said for other places such as Montreal, where getting a bite to eat to nearly impossible (I’ve never been and cannot back this accusation up with any shred of evidence).

Loveable Reason 3: The Faded Yellow Beach

Unless you live on a Caribbean island or in a hot country like Australia, golden beaches simply do not exist. The best you can hope for is a sort of yellowy tinge to the sand and Southend once again delivers on this front. If you get up early enough and venture to one of its six beaches, you’ll be able to see the sight of the North Sea lapping against the impregnable Sea Wall, which was restored to its former glories back in 2010 – hello another 100 years of successful sea defences. Once the tide goes out, you can frolic in the sticky mud which is left behind and go crabbing next to other youngsters and whippersnappers. Truly a magical part of this glorious town.

Southend may have slipped under your travelling radar thus far, especially if you are from exotic locations such as Belgium. But for it to do so for any longer would be a travesty. To myself and other Essex types, it is the jewel in our county’s crown and should be respected alongside the New York’s and Milan’s of this world.