John & Sarah's Coast Path Walk

Canvey Island Loop

(Our overall day number 78 - Part of The KC3 ECP Leg 32b - Canvey Island Loop)

Canvey Island Loop

20th April 2025 | Miles 14.9 | Elevation gain 123ft

A 14.9 mile loop anti-clockwise around Canvey Island. Never far away from the main road, the west side of the Island nevertheless feels quite remote, and there are some uneven and overgrown bits before reaching some industrial areas on the south coast. It's a couple of miles walk though Canvey's not-so-glamorous seafront, before turning north past the marina and then back along the north coast to complete the loop.

View this day's route on OS Maps

Getting there and back

We parked at Benfleet Station and walked a loop. Benfleet is around 45 minutes on the C2C train from Fenchurch Street in London.

Weather conditions

Partly cloudy, with some sunny spells, and a bit of a chilly easterly wind, bring feels-like temperature down to around 10 C

Walking difficulty

Completely flat, but with some uneven and overgrown sections on the west side of the island. At the time of our walk, it had been dry for a couple of weeks and before too much early summer growth, so the path was not so bad, however we had heard reports along the lines that this path isn't often frequented and that by June, it's very overgrown. Could be particularly tricky in wet conditions.

The story of our day in photos

Crossing the bridge onto the island - near Benfleet

Does what it says on the sign!

Heading towards the western side of the island, that's the A130 in the distance

Ducking under the A130

It's overgrown in places, any later in the season, or had it been wet, then this section on the west wide of the island would've been much more annoying!

Canvey Island is mostly below sea level so walking on flood banks seems to be a common theme

Hmm

This old inn has a rich history of the smuggling kind, could've been a good place to stop for a refreshment - but we decided to crack on towards Canvey's seafront (a mistake as it turned out)