Thorney Bay Beach — Local services in Castle Point

Thorney Bay at Canvey Island is pleasant little sandy beach, not too crowded. It was described as an area 'remodelled to be accessible' for wheelchair users from the carpark, which has designated disabled bays blue badge parking. However access to the beach is up a gravel chip slope, which I found almost impossible to traverse, even with the help from a friend pushing the wheelchair & we had to abandon the slope to go on the grass, which was a little better as it was short & dry, but certainly not ideal. A smooth concrete slope with less of a gradient would been much easier & whoever decided to put gravel on the slope almost certainly didn't try using a wheelchair to propel themselves up to the beach. Once at the beach there were only a very limited number of trestle tables for wheelchair users & the rest of the tables were positioned in such a way (ie crossing the pathway) that it is impossible for wheelchair users such as myself to go to tables further along around the bay, thereby limiting access. The benches by the wall were too hot in the heatwave as there was no breeze which we found there was only if one sat at the tables facing the sea. There is an accessible toilet, but it doesn't have a Radar lock (why?) the toilet wasn't very clean either, there was no hand soap & the hand drier wasn't working. So I rate the beach only 3 stars, because it was sandy, because there was some (not much) disabled parking & because a little effort had been made to cater for those with...

Don't bother now that they have fenced everything off and literally plastered the beach over with rubber pebbles!!! Sadly this is not a joke. It was previously a nice widely accessible sandy beach that stretched for miles, much of it rimmed by natural largeish rocks. Well that looked way too much like nature and so it has now been paved over with rubber! I have no idea who came up with this concept but it has to be someone who does really hate the look of nature and can not see the point of it. I know some of you are going to say it all happened in the interest of suring up the beach in case of a flood - but they have literally replaced natural stone with rubber that has been melted into place and isn't going to adjust to sand transfer as stones and rocks would do. You just know that a couple of years from now the rubber walls will have the sand hollowed out from under them, and in the end this unsafe structure will make for a much greater flood risk than the natural stone would have. But who are we to complain!!... Just so long it looks nice and tidy and no nature is going to get in the way of a nice neat look, the...

From a tourist perspective, there are 2 beaches to choose from - Concord Beach and Thorney Bay Beach… There are 3 pay and display car parks. Check Google and if it’s high tide and being in the water is your thing, then Thorney Bay Beach is the perfect place 🏝️However, if it’s not high tide for several hours and you like lots going on, then head for Concord Beach. Both main beaches have ample paid car parking and surprisingly clean public toilets. Two of the Car Parks are either side of the historic Labworth Building. The Labworth Car Park is ideal for the Funfair and sightseers. The Canvey Island Seafront Car Park is ideal if you want paddling pools and refreshments. There is certainly more food and entertainment available at Concord Beach, but there are a few nice little snack places near Thorney Bay Beach. So, when you near the waterfront you choose - right for Thorney Bay Beach or left for Concord. Either way, enjoy Canvey Island 🏝️ ❤️and please take your litter...