This is home (Grays)…
Grays, situated in the South East of England, is not too far from London (about 35 to 40 minutes on the train) and also not too far from the coast (Southend is also about half an hour on the train). According to TownPages “Grays is the commercial centre of this southernmost area of Essex covered by Thurrock Council: large residential areas but mainly modern riverside industries including Tilbury docks and oil refineries. The new Queen Elizabeth II bridge enters Essex here and a familiar and popular attraction is the Lakeside Regional Shopping Centre. An attraction not to be missed is the superbly restored Tilbury Fort, the best example of 17th century military engineering in England.”
Places of interest in my home area, not that there’s much to see really, what with London being so close … but here are a few:
- Lakeside shopping centre, a very popular place for visitors and residents to go and built in an old chalk quarry.
- It was at West Tilbury (see map below) that Queen Elizabeth made her famous speech to her troops as the Spanish Armada sailed up the English Channel in 1588. She said: “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman: but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too.”
- Grays Beach Riverside Park, a large sand playarea made from an old boating lake close to the riverfront.
- Grangewaters Country Park, I’ve been canoeing here so many times, as well as other water sports. I actually had the chance to camp here last summer and it is a lovely place.
- Belhus Woods Country Park, also another very nice park, I had an unfortunate experience of falling in the pond here while pond dipping on a school trip as a child, but still a nice place.
- Coalhouse Fort, not far from me, in East Tilbury is this wonderful fort built in 1874 as well as the old Bata Shoe factory and the old box stle houses that were built for the workers.
- Tilbury Fort, also not far from me is this fort built in 1692.
More can be found on the mini guide of Grays n the Thurrock Council webpage: www.thurrock.gov.uk/touristinfo/content.php?page=aboutthurrock
Here are a few of my photographs of Grays, the next few are of the Riverfront:
The river surrounding my estate:
Here’s a view of the train station … from the bus station:
The Rookery, a park near to me:
Southend beach on a cloudy day …
The gorgeous State Cinema:
My street … after a little bit of snow:
