Essex By The Sea

The cliffs at the Naze near Walton are erroding at an alarming rate! But locals are trying to slow the process by installing new sea defenses.

David Eagle has been leading this work and showed Owen what they have been doing to try and save the Naze.

He'd also like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email ⁠[email protected]⁠

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Quirky and colourful beach huts line the Tendring coastline for as far as the eye can see between Clacton and Walton-on-the-Naze.

It's estimated that there's over 3,000 along this stretch of the Essex coast alone.

Each little hut, has many stories to tell, memories to recount and experiences to share.

Nancy Stevenson has written a book called "Beach Hut People" telling those stories of those who use beach huts along the Frinton and Walton coasts.

Owen met Nancy, on Frinton Greensward over looking the beach huts to find out more of Nancy's research.

He'd also like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email ⁠[email protected]⁠

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Located off the coast of West Mersea and long black timber building with small windows hoovers above the water line. The Packing Shed is actually resting on Packing Marsh Island, where a for decades Mersea Island's oysters were procressed and packed before being sent to London for sale.

Now fully restored, the Packing Shed is an education centre, which is open to the public on certain days, telling the story of Mersea's oyster industry.

Alan and Bry Mogridge took Owen out on a small boat to vist the small island and to show him around the Packing Shed.

The Packing Shed Trust is a charitable organisation with more information on their website: www.packing-shed.org.uk

Owen would also like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

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On June 22nd 1948, passengers aboard the HMT Empire Windrush began disembarking in Tilbury.

Most were from Caribbean countries seeking a new life here in the UK.

2023 marked the 75th anniversary of that voyage and the arrival of who have become known as the Windrush Generation.

The Port of Tilbury marked the anniversary with a special commuinty day at the old railway terminal where Owen spoke to Lucy Harris from Forth Ports.

Owen would also like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

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Each year in Brightlingsea, a unique ceromony takes place which dates back centuries.

The Blessing of the Waters is a historic event that happens in the early summer before town folk and invited guests reclaim Brightlingsea Creek by performing the "din".

The event was held for the first time during the reign of King Charles III on Sunday 4 June 2023 when the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports' Brightlingsea Driot-gatherer, Roger Tabor explained to Owen why this unusal event takes place.

He would also like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

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In a bid to make the River Thames even more cleaner, the Port of London Authority is trialing a new passive debris collector off the Essex coast.

Sited close to the DP World's London Gateway port, the collector is the largest of it's kind and is hoped to reduce the amount of rubbish that collects on certain parts of the river.

At the time of recording it had only been operational for a few weeks, but had already had positive effects on the river environment.

Emily McLean is a Water Quality advisor at the Port of London Authority and kindly arranged for Owen to visit the collector out in the River Thames before explaining back on dry land how it works and what it is hoped to achieve.

He would also like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

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There's a part of the Essex coast that used to be deep below London.

When the Elizabeth Line was dug out, the soil removed to create the tunnels was shipped to Wallasea Island where the RSPB enhanced the landscape to create a haven for wildlife.

Owen went along to the island to find out more from RSPB Site Manager Rachel Fancy.

He would also like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

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It turns out that the waters off the Essex coast in the outer Thames Esturary are one of the perfect places to site an offshore wind farm.

There's a number of them already, with plans for more in the coming years.

The Galloper Wind Farm has a state of the art control room and maintanance depot in Harwich, which is where Owen spoke with the General Manager; Sean Chenery.

Owen would like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

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The Essex Wildlife Trust are working with the local community in Tendring to help get small local projects up and running to improve habitats for wildlife.

With funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Nextdoor Nature will provide people with the advice and support they need to help nature on their doorstep, and leave a lasting natural legacy to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

In Jaywick, volunteers in the local community are improving a small park area with a pond by clearing litter, reducing algy in the water and making better habitats for the wildlife on this part of the Essex coast.

Adam Nixon from the Essex Wildlife Trust and Bradley Thompson who is the Chair of the Jaywick Sands Community Forum joined Owen on the sea wall near in Jaywick to explain more about the work they are doing as part of the Nextdoor Nature initative.

More information can be found on the Essex Wildlife Trust's website: www.essexwt.org.uk/nextdoor-nature

Owen would like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

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There are 58 Ships listed on a board at the Navyard Wharf in Harwich. They were all built in historic dockyard between 1660 and 1827 but very little is actually known about them.

Volunteers from the town's International Shanty Festival took it upon themselves to set up a project and find out more about these forgotten ships.

The project is a huge task, and still in its early days and so more volunteers are needed to help find out as much information as is possible.

Owen met two keen volunteers, Paul Turvey and Mick Verrier, from the 58 Ships Project at the Navyard Wharf to find out more.

If you'd like to get involved with the project, details can be found on their website: www.58ships.org.uk

And Owen would like to hear from you if you've got a story to tell! Email [email protected]

Join him on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Support with a small donation via ko-fi.com/essexbythesea