retiredmartin

I should have took bets on which town I’d feature next. You’d never have guessed Rochford, or “Sophisticated Southend” as its TIC would style it, if it had one.

Mrs RM has been here recently before catching the plane to Aberdeen. Will we ever again take such exotic flights?

Three trips to Rochford since I started the blog, and NOT ONE OF THEM A MICRO!

The 8,471 souls cling on to their trad pubs like the good Essex folk they are.

And to their traditional dispense methods.

Elsewhere you’ll find a seafood van, Del Shannon LPs and enough weatherboarding to ensure the town a bye to the finals of Best Small South Essex Town 2021.

The Rose & Crown (top) was a corker.

Bay windows, bikers and BBB.

The beer wasn’t quite as stellar in the Miley back in 2017, its name changed to honour the Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball album,

but the venerable Golden Lion looks as wonderful for ever, a bastion of beer drinking.

Buy your chips from Fish 4 U and take the dead end road leads a few miles out to Pagglesham.

It’ll be worth it when you realise the Plough & Sail has a 2 hour waiting time for food.

Few better places to eat chips than with the smell of the Essex marshes in your nostrils.

And you know I mean that.

Lovely beer in the Plough & Sail,

and a chance to tick the lesser-spotted “Shoebury man in braces“.

Almost Dickensian. And still some folk insist on going to Maldon for their Essex holidays.