Benfleet Circular via Canvey Island Walk

A flat walk, that starts and finishes with a busy road stretch, features a fair amount of hard surface paths and some A-road noise near the end, and passes - in succession - a golf course, a static caravan park, an ex-landfill site, housing estates, another caravan park, a sewage plant, an LNG terminal, an oil product terminal, an oil refinery, the site of a never-finished oil refinery, another oil terminal and another - larger - landfill site?????? And yet, and yet...

This is one not just for the Industrial Romantic, or for fans of the Pub Rock legends Dr. Feelgood, or for students of the lives of the ex-East End White Working Classes.

Without navigational challenges (as all you do is: walk to the seawall and follow it) you experience an ever-changing scenery of tidal creeks and mud flats, river marshes, salt marshes, flood barriers, sluices and sandbanks, get views of the Benfleet Downs, of Hadleigh Castle & Country Park, the Essex cliffs, Southend with its Pier, the North Sea and the busy river traffic, of ships big and small, boatyards, yacht clubs and marinas, pass sandy beaches and enclosed pools on the foreshore, jetties, extensive seawall murals telling Canvey Island stories and - post lunch - long tranquil stretches past grassy marshes with abundant birdlife.

The recommended lunch options are the iconic Labworth Beach Bistro in its modernist building with panoramic views of the Thames estuary, or the legendary smugglers' inn the Lobster Smack.

A walk like no other? Most certainly.

The Labworth Restaurant and Beach Bistro Furtherwick Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 7DW (01268 683 209). The Labworth is located 9.7 km (6.0 mi) into the walk. Restaurant (evenings only) and Beach Bistro offer a wide variety of dishes at realistic prices.
The Lobster Smack Haven Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 0NR (01268 514 297). Open 11.30-23.00 Sun-Thu and 11.30-24.00 Fri-Sat. Food served all day, every day. The Lobster Smack is located 13.2 km (8.2 mi) into the walk. Recently refurbished, this is the oldest surviving building on Canvey and a classic pub which has so much history it even features in the Dickens novel ‘Great Expectations’. It (and therefore the smugglers) was so out of the way behind the seawall that the inn in the 18th century was known as ‘The World’s End’. For the same reason, in the 19th century it became a favourite meeting place for bare-knuckle fights. On a sunny day enjoy the outside area near the sea, in winter settle down by the fireplace inside. The upstairs ‘Drifter’s Bar’, where pool and darts can be played, serves just drinks, while the downstairs restaurant area caters for everyone.

For all other options please consult page 2 of the pdf.