Stationmaster Alex Nelson has been suggesting places to go by train every month for ten years. This month, he’s headed to Clacton-on-Sea…
As we enter the depths of winter, I always like to look back over great experiences in the warmer summer weather.
One day in July, I had 22 hours free in London, and instead of staying in an expensive City hotel, I decided to have a trip out of the capital to visit somewhere I’d never been before. I settled on a train trip from Liverpool Street to Clacton-on-Sea in Essex.
Although I stay in all sorts of places on a regular basis, I have a particular fondness for Premier Inns, and there was one on the front at Clacton for £77. London Premier Inns now often top £200 a night, so imagine my happy surprise!
I arrived by train in the late afternoon, and after a walk on the pier I took a First Essex bus out to Jaywick Sands. Jaywick is the most deprived ward in England, where unemployment and crime are high, but there is a strong sense of community spirit. The houses in Brooklands are named after famous British racing marques, but the quality of the houses is highly variable, all private holiday cottages in various states of repair, which have become permanent residences.
I decided to walk the length of Jaywick along the coast, past the golf course and back into Clacton, and I met various people along the way. I wish I could have shared a beer with some lads in one of the houses behind the flood barrier, but although they were friendly, they didn’t invite me to join them.
Local MP Douglas Carswell (the only UKIP MP in the House of Commons) is campaigning for a coherent plan to improve conditions in the area, primarily through the proposed Jaywick Coastal Community Team. I followed the coastal path past Martello Towers and the Golf Course, and ended up in Clacton centre for a pleasant Mexican meal alongside the award-winning golden sands.
The Pirate Radio Museum near the Pier would have been worth a visit, but sadly it was closed during my visit. It tells the story of Radio Caroline and the other late ’60s pirate radio stations, playing music that the BBC Light, Home and Third programmes declined to play. Many operated from ships anchored off the Essex shore or in abandoned wartime forts off the coast. The pirates led to the foundation of Radio 1 in 1967, and set the scene for commercial broadcasting to compete with the BBC. That was in the heyday of Clacton, when it was a daytrip resort for Londoners, which lasted from the 50s to the 70s. Billy Butlin had a holiday camp in the town from 1936 to 1983, which is now covered by housing, but with a few interesting information boards by the site.
I’m not suggesting that all of you should plan a trip to Clacton this summer. Mine was effectively a trip from London, not the North East. However, you might consider a short trip by train somewhere you’ve have never been before for a micro-break away from home. Some suggestions? How about Knaresborough, Berwick, Saltburn, Whitehaven, Hartlepool and Girvan… just for starters.
