🌏 PHOTO DIARY — SOUTHEND-ON-SEA

It's January and in the UK that means it's dark, cold and wet. At this time of year it can be en effort to try and peel yourself from the sofa and make yourself do something actually constructive. On Sunday, after having a week that felt like we had done nothing more than work, sleep and then work some more we decided that instead of slouching around the house all day we would get up and get out and go explore somewhere in our own country we had never seen before.

Southend is one of those far off places we've always hear about mentioned by market sellers in EastEnders but it seems as though nobody has actually been. When we mentioned we were heading there for the day to people we know, the response was often, 'oh I haven't been there in years' or 'oh your Grandad used to go there!'

We arrived mid-afternoon after an emotional hungover drive which was fulled by coffee and a multi-pack of croissants and a few tense moments of trying to get into the right lane for the Dartmouth tunnel, but we were so glad we had made the effort. The sun was shining making the the sea and the sky perpetually reflect each other in shades of blue. We paid £1 to walk along the longest pleasure pier in the world (what a claim!) all 1⅓ mile of it. We did the British thing: drank tea and ate cake at the cafe on the end of the pier while we watched the sun sink into the horizon and turn the water a lighter spectrum of metallic colours.

On the way home we took a detour and explored a bit of Canvey Island, one of the many islands in the Thames estuary. This one has been in the spotlight recently after a BBC documentary followed the community of Charedim (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) that have moved from Stamford Hill, London, to the island. It felt like a strange place with a classically broken down and rusty feel to its seafront, perfect for taking pictures.

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REBECCA ALICE SAUNDERS
@yesnotravel