Another
in the series Travels with my architect
A
semi-sunny day, Trevor and I travelled through the yellow rape fields of east
Essex to the coast, to Jaywick.
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| down the Broadway Jaywick |
Jaywick,
planned in the 1930’s as a holiday village for Londoners and now on record as
one of the most deprived places in England.
We
had a jolly time.
Parking
easily we headed down the Broadway, the main street and into the arms of
Phrills Diner. We chatted with Mr and Mrs Phrills, their excellent
establishment is open all year round “for
our regulars” said Mrs P.
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| . . .and into the arms of Phrills Diner |
After
a sausage sandwich (me) and egg and bacon sandwich (Trevor) we strolled down
the Broadway, admiring the architecture, T taking many photographs.
Eventually
out onto the sands, clouds scudding across the sky, a multitude telegraph wires
and sand blown across the roads and walkways.
A wide clean sandy beach and quite unspoilt.
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| A wide beach quite unspoilt |
Friendly
locals responded to greetings from two odd strangers, one bearing a Moleskine
the other a huge camera. However Jaywick has become a bit of a mecca for
writers and filmmakers because of isolation and despair (and strange)
disposition.
Back
along a narrow promenade, towards our car, we stopped coffee and bourbon
biscuits at LJ’s Beach Bar. Another good chinwag, with the LJ’s, Mrs was
polishing the already spotless counter and Mr was perfecting his cheese toastie
for intended for Mrs LJ.
We
headed to the south-western outskirts to the Martello Holiday Park, acres and
acres of trailer homes with shops and laundrette and key-pad gates; a complete
city-state.
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| Inside Mr LJ was making cheese toasties |
Jaywick’s
very own Martello Tower, thoughtfully refurbished in 2005, afforded fine views
out to sea, I suppose in the direction of Belgium, inland we gazed out over the
roof tops of trailer homes and mused it would be a great place for a spy to
hole up.
The
sun was now out and the ice cream van had kindly parked right next to us so we
were really obliged to relish a Ninety-nine Flake before heading home not
before buying some lovely free-range eggs on the way out.
Wikipedia:
The village of Jaywick was planned by Frank Stedman as a cheap holiday retreat
for Londoners in the 1930s. Many of the original houses became permanent
residences, and the population now includes large numbers of retired and
working people. A 2009 report found that four out of Eastern England's ten
cheapest streets in which to buy property are in Jaywick, with property on
Tamarisk Way selling for an average of £44,050
and spices
her Posey’s with flowers from her garden.
