A wander around the Essex coastline (part 3 of 3) - Burnham on Crouch

The final part of our brief jaunt around the Essex coastline took us to Burnham on Crouch, on the windiest day of the year, although fortunately not quite comparable to the storms of 1987 as many had feared. First and foremost in our minds was breakfast, as it was already mid morning and we had not eaten. We found a basic but excellent cafe on the coastal promenade, and arrived with minutes to spare before they called last orders for breakfast. Feeling pleasantly full and warm we set off to explore the town and its immediate area. The coastline was spectacular in a way that I had not expected it to be. I'm not sure these two photos I selected form the tens I took quite do it justice.

Burnham on Crouch, Essex

Burnham on Crouch, Essex

After not thinking I'd see any ghost signs here, I stumbled across three as we made our way back to the car to start our long journey back home to West Berkshire. The first ghost sign is for  

SWEETING'S DIRECT FISH SUPPLIES

The sign looks very well preserved, or perhaps restored, but the pristine doorway suggests that this is now a residential dwelling. Maybe I'm wrong (and in fact I hope I am) but it seemed hard to believe that fish would now be sold from this particular location.

Ghost sign in Burnham on Crouch, Essex

These next two ghost signs were on adjacent shops. The first is for

CROUCH BAKERY

which now seems to be a travel agent of some sort.

Ghost sign in Burnham on Crouch, Essex

The second has the words

STANDARD TEA WAREHOUSE

nearing the apex of the roof. I did have a quick walk down the alleyway between these two buildings but couldn't find anything more.

Ghost sign in Burnham on Crouch, Essex

So, my first real visit to Essex finally came to an end. We shall definitely be returning.

If you missed the first two instalments then you can catch these at part one (Maldon) and part two (Mersea).

Tune in next time for a more rural wander around Goring and Streatley.

A wander around the Essex coastline (part 2 of 3) - Mersea

The second post in my series of three from the Essex coastline features Mersea. This day started out very grey and wet, but was livened up by a fantastic breakfast of drop pancakes and bacon, washed down with fresh orange juice and extra strong coffee, in the Art Café in West Mersea, after which the sun came out, allowing us to embark on a dry but windy walk.

Boat off West Mersea, Essex

Beautiful colours on this small boat, tied up on the beach as we continued our wander around the coast.

Painted boat on Mersea, Essex

As we walked around the coast we saw boats of all shapes and sizes, with some appearing marooned in the grasslands but all with elevated gangways, suggesting that at high tide they are actually in the water and only accessible by means of these walkways.

House boats on Mersea, Essex

Despite being low tide, these boats are most definitely in the water.

Jetty on Mersea, Essex

As if the houses in this next picture were not perfect enough, the name of the road, City Road, grabbed my attention too as I couldn't really think of anywhere less city like.

City Road, West Mersea, Essex

A wander around the essex coastline (part 1 of 3) - Maldon

As mentioned in my previous Urban Wandering blog post, I was planning to spend the following weekend in Essex. Apart from perhaps venturing out to its nearer reaches on the ends of the District and Central tube lines, I can't really say I've ever been to Essex before, so I was very much looking forward to visiting. Following some guidance from a former local, and trying to keep away from the main towns and tourist attractions, we spent the weekend in pleasant coastal towns and villages. I have quite a few pictures to share so will break the post up into three, one for each day of our visit. Parts two and three will cover Mersea and Burnham on Crouch respectively.

Our first stop was Maldon, where after filling ourselves up with an excellent pub lunch overlooking the Blackwater estuary, we set off to explore the town. The weather wasn't great which meant it wasn't ideal for taking photographs, but at least it wasn't raining.

Old (disused?) building on the Blackwater Estuary, Maldon, Essex

Now some sort of gym and sports centre, the old sign on the Maldon Iron Works Company Limited building can still be seen.

Old sign on the Maldon Iron Works Company building

I can never resist walking along any road called Station Road. Often the walk is in vain and there is sometimes little or no evidence that there was ever a railway in the vicinity. Here however, the Maldon East railway station, closed in 1964 and now serving another purpose, is clearly visible. I couldn't see any evidence of the line itself although suspect it must have run close to the Iron Works building in the previous picture.

Maldon East railway station, Essex

The sun came out briefly while we were wandering around Maldon, and as we headed back to the car park I came across this ghost sign for R.L.ORTH & SONS LTD. An unusual name which took some deciphering as initially I thought the surname was LORTH.

Ghost sign in Maldon, Essex

Hopefully I'll manage to get the next instalment, Mersea, posted later this week.