I may be biased but I have known this beach all my life and waited a long time for a hut to come up in this coveted row so I can confidently say that this is the perfect beach hut in the perfect location! On Thorpe Esplanade (the second most expensive street in Southend!) between the Thorpe Bay yacht club and Maplin Way this is a large hut in the best stretch of beach huts on the whole coast. The hut is on stilts so that the tide comes up under the hut... It's like being on a boat (good job there's a back door) and you can walk into the sea from the steps for a refreshing dip. The hut is furnished with an original 1950s kitchen and retro Southend prints on the walls and has everything you would need for a day at the beach. Gas cooker for that all-important cup of tea, lots of vintage deck chairs, classic retro windbreaks, picnic table, colourful funky crockery and plastic glassware, buckets, spades, shrimping nets, boogie board... Located opposite the car park at Maplin Way you can park literally 2 mins from the hut but then walk down the steps onto the beach and you're suddenly in another world. This is the posh end but you can walk a couple of minutes to Shoebury beach with its facilities including loos, showers, beach shop, cafe and ice-cream kiosk. If you are coming by train it's about a quarter of an hour walk from Thorpe Bay station (an hour from London Fenchurch St on C2C line with many special offers) or you can get a taxi for about 4 pounds. This photo was taken on a sunny Sunday in July and you can see that this end of the beach does not get that crowded. In the summer holidays there are more people, obviously, but generally they avoid the beach huts when you are in residence. You will often have the beach to yourself when they go home and it's a lovely place to spend the early evening sitting on the balcony watching the sun set over the pier. If the tide is on its way out you can walk over the mud to the "wreck"- the Mulberry Harbour - and swim in the pool surrounding it - always warm! Our rates are £50 per day/£200 per five consecutive days in high season (June - Aug and school holidays); £25 per day/£100 per five consecutive days at all other times. Everyone who has rented the hut has loved it and wants to come back and I'm sure you'll feel the same! Happy Hutting!

beach hut for rent from May 2011 onwards. 07837397286 or 01621779888