The Caravan community at Canvey Common, Essex.
Discover the wilderness of Canvey Common with The Caravan Club, and enjoy the freedom of touring even more. May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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CONTENTS 03
Members give their views
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Explore Canvey Wilderness
06
Discover Historic Canvey
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Canvey Common West
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Towing to the Common
12
Pitching on the Common
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Thorney Bay Town Centre
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Events on the Common
WELCOME TO CANVEY COMMON Over the next few pages we will let you know about our newest caravan site at Canvey Common, Essex. The site has recently had a new Town Centre built at Thorney Bay, providing services for visitors to the Common but also a new Caravan Club Headquarters that showcases and celebrates the Club and the life of Caravanners. In the wilderness that takes up the rest of the island there are remnants of historical Canvey Island to be discovered including the abandoned oil refinery sites, the manmade sea wall, and the natural salt marshes and grasslands of the common.
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Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
MEMBERS GIVE THEIR VIEWS Who better to tell you about the Caravan Club at Canvey Common than the members themselves. All the comments on this page have come from Club Together—our online forum.
My wife and I never realised there could be so much beauty on Canvey Island. The Caravan Club has opened our eyes to it!
Canvey Common wilderness is a joy to roam around. Every time you discover something new!
Canvey Common gives you a real sense of freedom and glorious isolation.
It is not hard to see why caravan holidays are so popular. They offer complete flexibility and freedom, allowing you to go wherever you choose, whenever you choose.
We had such fun meeting other caravanners at Thorney Bay, swapping stories and advice. The Caravan Club Headquarters is great too, with lots for the kids and the adults to do.
You don't have to be a member of The Club to access Club Together, so feel free to log on and see for yourself what tourers are saying about the Club, and about Canvey Common.
May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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EXPLORE
CANVEY WILDERNESS
Canvey Island has a rich history as a tourist seaside destination with a number of caravan parks along the coastline over the years. After its heyday in the 1960s and with the introduction and subsequent abandonment of the Oil Refinery sites in the late 1970s, Canvey Island became less and less a desirable place to live and work. Its reputation as a ‘council island’ in the early 21st century led to its gradual decline and neglect. Over the last 30 years as the final people left the island, it became a wilderness, reverted back to its natural state of grassland and salt marshes. Now, in the year 2050, Canvey Island boasts some of the most beautiful natural landscapes and most bio-diverse habitats in western Europe.
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Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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DISCOVER
H I STO RI C
CANVEY First delivery of liquefied natural gas in the world. 1959.
Haven for over 1,300 species of wildlife. Highest level of bio-diversity in western Europe.
Tourist heyday (1910-1960) h reputation of sordid weekend drinking as it became the hol of choice for London’s East E
Lobster Smack pub, featured in novels by Charles Dickens. Built in 18th century.
Occidental Petroleum Site was abandoned in 1975 after it was deemed to be of ‘unacceptable risk’ to the residents of the island.
2 miles of sea walls surround the island, artificially keeping it from being consumed by the sea.
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Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
Birthpla gigs of band D 1970s.
[1]
had a ds and heavy liday destination End.
The ‘Great North Sea Flood’ of 1953 claimed the lives of 50 islanders. Thousands evacuated.
ace and first the Punk Dr Feelgood.
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[1] Lobster Smack [2] Postcard [3] Great North Sea Flood [4] Industrial Jetty [5] Dr Feelgood [6] Labworth Cafe
May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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C A N V E Y COMMON
WEST
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Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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TOWING TO
THE
COMMON
For a caravan that can be towed on UK roads by a normal sized car (3500kg or less) are 2300mm width x 7000mm length height is 3000mm as an accepted guideline. Larger vehicles on UK roads can tow a maximum of 2550mm x 12000mm.
Caravans have maximum sizes in order to be legally towed on UK roads. This is to ensure safety for the caravanner but also for other road users. Canvey Common is set up to accommodate this, and any caravans over this size should contact our call centre to check whether they will be able to navigate the Common. 10
Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
The Main Road, Thorney Bay Road, Refinery Circle Rd and Coastal Road comply with Highway Guidelines, being 6750mm wide, and solely for caravans with footpaths either side. The other roads are proposed to be Footpaths and Dirt Tracks into the wilderness. These area much narrower, and are shared between pedestrians and caravans. Caravanners should be careful to drive slowly on these roads and watch out for walkers.
May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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PITCHING ON
THE
COMMON As a general caravan club guideline each caravan pitch is a minimum of 9m long to accommodate the caravan and a car. The width varies from site to site. Caravans are also always set apart for fire safety, with an accepted guideline of 6m clear distance apart.
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Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
On Canvey Common people can choose where they pitch throughout the wilderness, without keeping to traditional fixed pitches. Caravans are free to inhabit whatever space they can navigate their way to. In Thorney Bay Town Centre, however, there are more defined parking and pitching areas. The main car parking area comprises the outdoor cinema behind the Caravan Club Headquarters. Here people are free to pitch up in spaces that form arcs, to allow viewing of the outdoor screen. There are also spaces along Thorney Creek, and along the Main Road, and Thorney Bay Road. In these areas there will be electricity and water points available for each caravan.
May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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THORNEY BAY TOWN
CENTRE Canvey Common is a self-sufficient community, where energy is generated on site by way of tidal power, biomass and piezoelectric roads. Water is collected through ground-water sourcing and rainwater storage and waste is recycled with composting and graywater harvesting. Each caravan on the site is expected to adhere to this ethos.
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Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
Thorney Bay Town Centre comprises two main buildings around a public square that spills out into a public plaza along the sea wall. The remaining corner of this Town Centre includes Temporary Accommodation for caravanners. The first building, the Caravan Club HQ, provides spaces for social interaction and learning about and celebrating caravans. The second is a services building, also known as the Post-Office, which provides most of the necessary amenities as well as forming a public frontage to the beach. It has facilities for toilets, showers, laundry and washing up, housing the main water supply. Waste disposal and storage is provided at the rear. The Post-Office, the outdoor cinema and caravan exhibition / parking area, have opportunities for people to ‘plug-in’ for electricity. There will also be points for this along the main roads.
Power supply Water supply Waste disposal
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Canvey Common Essex
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EVENTS ON
T H E
COMMON Canvey has had a Carnival every Summer since 1926. With its heyday in the 1970s and 80s, Carnival week comprised baby shows, mud football, talent contests, dances and much more. 16
Canvey Common, Essex
May 2050
Today, Canvey Carnival sees the best and most bizarre of our Caravans take to the roads of Canvey Common in a celebration parade of all things Caravan Club. We invite you to join us this July on Canvey Common, to enter your caravan into this years competitions to win a place on the parade, or simply to come and join in the fun of watching and celebrating with other Club Members. The Carnival runs from Saturday 12th July to Sun-day 13th July with markets, games, live music and other events as well as the famous Canvey Carnival Parade.
May 2050
Canvey Common Essex
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MORE THAN S I M P L Y
SITES <- SITES DIRECTORY, HANDBOOK AND MAPS Essential for any tourer we provide maps, site information and details of events for all our sites, such as this one at Canvey Common, worldwide.
INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE -> We provide free practical advice and technical information for all our members, from caravan use and maintenance to insurance and road safety.
<- FREE MONTHLY MAGAZINE Sent out free every month the magazine is packed full of news, reviews and expert advice.