Thorney Bay Beach parkrun

Last parkrunday, I drove a bit further out and visited Thorney Bay Beach parkrun for the first time.

I was there for the 22nd event, on the day of parkrun’s 22nd birthday. It happened by chance, but it offers a nice symmetry. And obviously, plenty of tutus running and walking around the route.

I did come here to grab event 22 for my (Golden) Wilson Index. I could have driven even further out and get 18, which remains an intermediate event number I am missing, but I really could not do that this weekend, after a painful work week abroad. So 18 will come in a few weeks and I took my chance to visit one more coastal event while the weather is still unseasonably nice.

It’s been a nice streak, with Highcliffe Beach parkrun as UK highlight and Bay East Garden parkrun obviously from my trip to Singapore. I think Thorney Bay Beach does not quite reach the levels of scenery and atmosphere of those two events, but it definitely beats your standard seaside promenade event. Or a urban inland route, of course.

This visit also progresses my coverage of Essex slightly, but I am still very far from conquering the whole region. At 5 events out of (currently) 27 in total, I would be tempted to say I will never complete it, considering distance. However, at the beginning of my journey I also thought I would never visit all London events, and now I am proudly LonDone. So who knows…

Anyway, enough with my rumblings. It’s time to dive into some more info about Thorney Bay Beach parkrun.

Trip to Thorney Bay Beach parkrun and parking

Thorney Bay Beach Is on the South side of Canvey Island. It is a partially reclaimed land area in the Thames Estuary, part of the Castle Point district of Essex. Given its exposure to tidal flooding and the fact a lot of land here actually is below sea level, a prominent seawall surrounds a lot of its coast. And the seawall will feature throughout this event.

According to the official event site, the closest station is Banfleet station. The station is managed by C2C and if offers connections to Southend, Tilbury and London Fenchurch Street. However, when you get there, you are still 3 miles away from Thorney Bay Beach parkrun meeting point. The site recommends hopping onto bus 22 at the station, to get very close to your final destination.

If you want to drive, the Thorney Bay Beach car park is the target destination you should set on your car park. The postcode provided above is roughly correct, but it might not lead exactly to the right place. Once you get there, you will have the event meeting point in full sight, so no risk of confusion.

The car park is not huge and the team themselves warn late arrivals might have to use local alternatives. I arrived at 8:30 and got the last available spot in the main car park, but there was still room in the overflow car park. The car park is not free and I don’t think they offered payment via any of the usual apps. However, machines accept contactless payments, so it was not too hard. And cost was not absurd.

Thorney Bay Beach parkrun: start and briefings

I forgot to take a picture of the start line this week, shame on me.

Once you are in the carpark, you can see a cafe on top of a hill and the seawall immediately behind it. On lower ground, a well appointed children play area and some moderately sized playing fields. Climb up the hill for some sea views and to reach the toilets at the back of the cafe.

Volunteers congregate on lower ground and when time comes, the First Timers briefing was given was given from the slopes of the little hill. It was mostly focused on welcoming tourists and newcomers and on making clears a few quirks of the route. However, this is not a difficult course to navigate, unless you get swept away by aggressive waves in the middle of winter. If so, depending on the tides, you might end up in France or at the finish line of Greenwich Peninsula parkrun. Luck of the draw.

Afterwards, everybody walks to the start line, about 20/30m towards the centre of the fields, just at the edge of the children play area. A nice Main Briefing was delivered calling out major milestones and then it was time for the final check with the time keepers.

Here it was. 3, 2, 1.

Time to go!

Thorney Bay Beach parkrun parkrun course review – star ratings

Thorney Bay Beach parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 276 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Thorney Bay Beach parkrun. This is roughly in line with recent average fields ranging from 200 to 300 per week, but significantly more than the last couple of weeks. I wonder if the fact the 22nd event feel on the same day of parkrun’s 22nd birthday brought a few people back. Parkrunners tend to like these quirky facts. Most people also seemed to arrive at the last minute, I was actually surprised by the small field until the briefings started. The course can easily accomodate this field size and, parking aside, it could also be a fun event at much higher numbers.

There are no obvious bottlenecks around this course. The path is wide and well maintained on the way out, it gets a bit narrower and less smooth on the way back. There will also be staircases making it narrower in places, but not too much. The turnaround point is wider than most out and backs, since it is not only a 180 around a cone, but you have to turn right and run down a slope leading you to the seafront path.

Surface was pretty good throughout. With the exception of the short segment on grass at the beginning and at the very end, followed by a short straight on gravel, you will mostly be running on paved tracks. Road shoes should be fine all year around, unless the fields turn into quicksands.

Elevation-wise, at 41m elevation gain over one out and back lap, this course is quite flat. There is a small hill getting you on the seaside path from the fields and then the long straight is on a slight downhill on the way out and on a slight uphill on the way back, but it’s not a gradient you will feel much. We might call it mildly undulating just to respect the stats, but it does feel flat.

In terms of scenic value, Thorney Bay Bridge parkrun is not stunning, but it has a very specific, interesting charm. The rocky beach with rotting keep is distinctive rather than gorgeous, but it is a very welcome presence. What got me on the day I visited was the beautiful sun over the Estuary, just high enough on the horizon not to be a sunrise anymore. It is definitely an event worthy of a visit.

This course design is very easy. One short loop around the fields, then a long out segment on the inner side of the seawall. Then you turn around and go down to the seaside path and come back. When you reach the start area again, the unwelcome discovery that you need one last lap around the fields.

A quick Relive route plot is on my YouTube Channel, with longer video highlights embedded below.

You start with the cafe behind you and the children playing area on your right, facing the fields. And when it is time, you start going, on a relatively comfortable wide start line on grass. It’s not a big loop, The first straight is probably 100m, before you turn right, run a much shorter segment and turn right again to come back. Roughly half way through this straight, the group converges on a gravel path. Keep going on it until it’s time to turn half right and head straight for the left side of the cafe.

Climb the short hill and, on top, light slightly left onto the path on the land side of the seawall. And this starts the long ‘out’ section along the seaside. At the beginning, there are a couple of shorter segments interrupted by a slight left turn each time. Then, you cross through a small paved square, with bollards at both ends. Marshalls are sitting on both, to avoid anyone hitting them. After that, it is pretty much all straight, on a slight downward slope. The only feature interrupting the long straight is a cafe/restaurant overlooking the sea. When you reach it, you just turn around it and keep going.

The straight is long, but the sun reflecting in the sea on your right is beautiful and keeps things quite enjoyable. Eventually you reach the turnaround point. Here, it is not a switchback around a cone, it is a tight turn to your right, to get on a descent leading you onto the seafront side of the seawall. As you settle on the outer path, you will have the seawall on your right and a stony seafront with a lot of kelp on your left. The path is wide enough, with some points a bit narrower because of staircases. While paved and smooth, some gravel washed on from the shore and I suppose it could get wet in winter. Road shoes were totally fine for my visit though.

You keep going back along the path that you had just run on the way out, closer to the sea and passing by a couple of paddling pools that reflected the light of the sun nicely. As you reach the cafe again, climb back up to its level and then immediately go down towards the field on a gravel trail. Do the short loop around the fields once more, in the opposite direction and the finish funnel will be there waiting for you.

Congratulations on completing Thorney Bay Beach parkrun!

Facilities at Thorney Bay Beach parkrun

Facilities available for parkrunners based around the Street & Co Coffee Shop. It’s a nice cafe using part of the new Pavillion built in 2025. The broader sea front offers a few more cafes and entertainment areas, but I am not sure how many will be open early on Saturday mornings or out of tourist season.

Thorney Bay Beach parkrun: Video Highlights

As usual, I’ve taken a few video snippets during the run to give an idea of the course. If you like it, please subscribe, it’s a fun past time for me 🙂

The other parkrun videos on my YouTube channel are all linked on the course review and video highlights summary page.

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Achievements and performance

Conclusions

Thorney Bay Beach parkrun is a nice addition to the Essex roster. I really enjoyed the course and it can definitely be fast, especially if you are visiting during a nice day. Elevation numbers are probably misleading, you do feel a slight gradient as you go, but all in all this does feel like a flat, potentially fast course.

The cafe is also quite nice, with great opportunities to sit outside if the weather allows it.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Thorney Bay Beach parkrun team for your hospitality!