Southend on Sea, like Westcliff on Sea are two deceptive place names. Southend is not a coastal
town, it forms the mouth of the Thames estuary. The sea bed is an area of mud flats, consequently, it's ideal for shell fish and sea birds. Southend's pier is the longest wooden pleasure pier in the world. It's over one and a quarter miles long. Along the front there are amusement arcades. It also has a theme park with joy rides for children. Westcliff is in fact a steep mud bank which forms the east end of the promenade. The promenade extends from Southend to
Westcliff, through which runs a winding path, rockeries and gardens with hundreds of flowers. On
top of the steep hill at Westcliff there is the Cliffs Pavilion theatre. On the first floor of the
pavilion there is a bar and a large long window, with a panoramic view over the Thames. A sight not to be missed. After so much rain during 2003, part of the promenade's bank suffered a land slide. The slide took Westcliff's band stand with it. The promenade may never regain it former glory because of the massive amount of money needed to reinstate the bank.
