I’m revisiting a previous post from a few years ago. It’s about #Southend on Sea on the Thames Estuary in Essex.
It’s a British seaside resort with an adventure playground, sandy beach, parks, gardens, shops, library and restaurants.
For me; Southends main attraction is the pier, which is the longest pleasure pier in the world, at 1.3 miles long.
The pier was opened to the public in 1830 and started out at 600 feet long. The pier was originally designed to allow tourist boats to disembark, from London.
As it was deemed too short for this purpose it was extended to 7000 feet by 1848. This distance ensured that it was the longest pier in Europe and would attract plenty of visitors.
A mini train track was laid on the pier and a service for passengers operates every day the pier is open, to and from the promenade.
The Kursaal was one of the worlds first amusement parks. It was opened in 1901 and is a Grade II listed building.
The building was designed by Campbell Sherrin and was constructed with a huge dome.
It started out as a huge fairground and then a zoo was added. Nowadays it’s been converted into a bowling alley, a casino and an amusement arcade.
We had a great day out in Southend and walked along the pier stopping for tea and biscuits in the cafe used to film Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, TV series.
The pier has been used in a number of films, adverts and TV programs including Minder in the ending credits.
