Jaywick Sands, Essex - a very strange place...

[chilohm]

Jaywick Sands is a seaside resort on the coast of Essex, UK. It was populated by Londoners over the last 50 years who set up holiday homes and never left. It's full of Union Jacks, Full English Breakfasts, slightly odd looking elderly people and dereliction. There was never proper town planning, and roads are unpaved and full of puddles. It has fallen on hard times and there is now a sense of sadness about the place which is haunting.

I wanted to capture a sense of the emptiness of the place which is why I didn't shoot people (added to the fact that I was a bit frightened that they might shoot me!). I also added a couple of shots of Clacton on Sea which is a neighboring resort.

Click on the picture to see the collection. Criticism and comment are both much appreciated.

 

[zuikologist]

A good set, that captures the "back of beyond" atmosphere and emptiness of several places along that coast. Good work.

 

[chris000]

Nice work Jack.

British seaside resorts have a kind of charm when they are out of season and somewhat faded from what they once were. Try Bognor Regis on the south coast in winter (although be warned you might find it 'closed' 😀) *

I guess these places and images like those you have produced appeal to my natural English melancholy, like the poetry of Housman or the songs of Ivor Gurney.

* If anyone from Bognor is reading this, please don't send me hate mail ... you know it's true! 🙂

 

[brainwood]

very nice set Jack. I too like the melancholic feel of these seaside 'closed' images .I like your mix of Monochrome and colour as well it works well

Chris

 

[nickdando]

It's worth looking out for Roger Deakin's book Waterlog as he swam from the coast there and described it in loving detail. In tribute to Roger, who died back in 2006, Robert Macfarlane recently hosted a fantastic documentary on Essex, The Wild Places of Essex, which was screened on the BBC recently. It's still available on iPlayer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qsxy5

Robert also visited Jaywick. And incidentally paid tribute to Roger by visiting his house and paddling his kayak around the coast.

Nick

 

[OurManInTangier]

The UK's coast is a fabulous place for as many reasons as there are resorts, coves, marshes etc etc.

Its not just the land/seascape that is so photogenic but the people, those that have decided to live and work there, those that have decided to drive there for the day and those that cannot comprehend a life without the sea.

I've been undertaking a project on the UK's coast for two years now to see how we, as a so called ( by ourselves usually ) 'Seafaring Nation,' relate to the sea. Industry and economy on a large and small scale, leisure use, ecological management and erosion, Naval use and a number of other aspects. Its been a real eye-opener and a true pleasure...though bitingly cold at times!

There's nothing quite like a day on the coast with a camera

 

[iamzip]

Nice pics - just wanted to share a shot I took of our "Mermaid Inn" here in Philadelphia, during a recent snowstorm.

 

[paulfish4570]

much like the fish camps on the river here. i live in one ...