Essex By The Sea

Siting high over crumbling cliffs in Walton-on-the-Naze, The Naze Tower has stood for centuries providing a vital visual aid to ships salling along the Essex coast. But will the tower continue to be there as coastal erosion creaps the cliff edge ever closer to the foundations of the tower? Michelle Nye-Brown is the owener of the tower and kindly took Owen on a tour right to the very top! If you've...

Some people call the Tendring coast, the sunshine coast of Essex. That was certainly true for the late May bank holiday weekend in 2021 as thousands flocked to the sea side. Keeping everyone safe while they enjoy themselves in Clacton is a small team Beach Patrol team.  Danny Ayling is part of the team and spoke to Owen about the work they do along the seafront at Clacton. If you've got a sto...

For this episode of Essex By The Sea, Owen is finding out about a large-scale arts festival called Estuary 2021. He visits Coalhouse Fort in East Tilbury, to meet up with author, journalist and semi finalist of Mastermind, Tom King who's taking part in the festival. Estuary Festival 2021 takes place in May and June 2021 with large and small scale art projects placed along the Thames Estuary. Find...

During 2021, artistic director of Beach of Dreams, Ali Pretty, is embarking on a 500 miles journey along the Essex and Suffolk coast. This isn't just a walk though, as she's asked the local community to join her along the way and to submit a photo of each mile of the route. These images are turned in silk flags which will be carried and planted along the way. I visited Ali at her studio in Purflee...

When visiting the Essex coast, you may be looking for things to do. How often have you put into an internet search "things to do in x place"? Well one Clacton man, has made a successful buisness out of doing just that. Paul Nash, used to run a petting zoo in Clacton and noticed a trend in how the visitors where finding out about the attraction. He speaks to Owen Ward about how he went from zoo own...

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Southend? Is it a walk down the world famous pier? Fish and chips along the seafront? Or a memory of a trip to the Kursaal? Concrete Culture is a group of local residents with a common goal of creating an arts and community space in Southend-on-Sea. Aiming big, the group have set their sights on the town's iconic Kursaal that currently stands e...

Do you know what to do if you were walking along the Essex coast and came across a wild animal in distress? Well Barry and Rachel Scott do, beacuse they volunteer with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. They spoke to Owen Ward about their volunteer roles and how they help the seals found along the Essex coast. If you would like to donate to the BDMLR visit www.justgiving.com/bdmlr If you've go...

"The Thames Estuary is the UK’s number one growth opportunity." Those are the words of the Thames Estuary Growth Board, who have recently submitted a bid to the Government for Freeport status. Kate Willard is the Thame Estuary Envoy and also is also the Chair of the Growth Board and explains to Owen Ward why a Freeport covering the Thames Estuary and including the Port of Tilbury and London Gatewa...

During the winter of 2021, two adventurous people will set sail across the Atlantic. John-Kenneth Habbershaw and Courtney Hollyoake are currently restoring a small boat on the Essex coast with the aim to sail across the atlantic in 2021.  They are raising money for charity in the process as well as trying out new technology on their voyage. The pair of sailors caught up with Owen Ward who ask...

Maldon has been one of the leading maritime towns for centuaries, suplying the barges that sailed across the lower Thames and up the river into London. David Patient has been a shipwright in Maldon for over 40 years and has written a book called "One of Howard's", which is all about the ship building industry in the town. If you'd like to buy a copy of David's book, listen to the episode to find o...

On new years day 1980, a brand new sitcom burst onto TV screens.  It was set in a holiday camp and location filming took place at the Warner Holiday camp in Dovercourt.  The TV show was of course Hi-De-Hi. Actor Jeffrey Holland, played the character Spike Dixon and he joins Owen Ward for a look back a life working on location on the Essex coast. If you've got a story, Owen would like to...

Located to west of the Dartford Crossing, the Thurrock town of Purfleet-on-Thames is about to be transformed by one billion pounds worth of redevelopment. Unusually, the local community have been involved right from the very start of the process. John Rowles and Trevor Batchelor, who are the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Purfleet-on-Thames Community Forum joined Owen Ward, to explain what transforma...

Shiver me timbers, we have an episode all about sea shanty singing me old ship mates! The Silver Darlings is an all female sea shanty signing crew from the Southend-on-Sea area. The group was formed in 2017 singing sea shanties, traditional nautical songs and ditties about coastal life. In 2020 they recorded their first ever album and have been invited to perform at international sea shanty festiv...

Garon Park is a recreational park donated to the people of Southend in the late 1800’s by the Garon family who were major retailers in Victorian times. Today, it hosts to a cricket pitch, leisure centre and athletics track and a charitable company called Wellbeing @ Garon Park. Owen caught up with the Site Development Manager, Lin Boulter, to find out more about their plans for a small corner of t...

Thousands of people will have flocked to the Tendring coast in the past to enjoy a summer holiday at one of the many holiday camps that used to grace the sea fronts. The Butlins holiday camp was situated near to the current lifeboat station to the south of Clacton and our location for this episode.  The rival camp run by Warners, was located in Dovercourt and was used as the setting for the 1...

The boat, the Pioneer has a very long history, having been originally built in Rowhedge on the River Colne in 1864. In 1889, she was lengthened and had a wet well fitted in Brightlingsea - which is where Owen met Felicity Lees and her team at from the Pioneer Sailing Trust yard. Today the trust supports young people through practical experience in boat building and restoration and out on the water...

Beneath the water in the Thames Estuary, lies a treasure trove of a shipwreck.  The London sunk in the 1600's on her way to London to collect her captain. Since then, she's been buried under the river bed.  That is until recently, as larger and larger container ships pass overhead, the remains of The London are being washed away at an alarming rate. Steve Ellis, trustee of the London Shi...

Situated to the east of Southend-on-Sea, the "village" of Southchurch has some big plans coming to the community. Rob McAvoy is the co-founder of Project Southchurch, a community interest set up that looks to improve life for residents and businesses to the east of Southend. In a recently published Blue Print , a number of projects are planned to bring the community together, improve the image of...

Essex By The Sea is exploring the coastline of Essex, but one person has already done that. Chris Howard has walked all 350 miles of the Essex coast as part of his mammoth charity challenge to walk the entire coast of the UK. Owen caught up with Chris as he stopped off in Brightlingsea to find out why he decided to attempt this challenge. You can find out how far Chris has got and make a donation...

Wow! A bonus episode already! Owen caught up with Julie Fosh, who's 840th High Sheriff of Essex. Julie is walking the coast of Essex between Harwich and Tilbury raising money for good causing in the county. I joined her for a short walk along Southend seafront to find out about her coastal challenge and more about the role of High Sheriff. If you would like to support her charitable causes, Julie...

Ever wondered how old the oyster on your dinner plate is?  Dr Alice Lown, Senior Research Officer at the University of Essex, is studying native oysters found off the coast of Essex and is hoping that the research being carried out will help increase the numbers of oysters in years to come. If you've got a story, Owen would like to hear from you! Email essexbytheseapodcast@gmail.com Join him...