Basildon, a "new town" in the heart of Essex. Famous on election night because Basildon votes count, whichever way Basildon votes you find the country follows and that party wins the election. In the run-up to every general election you find the town busy with camera crews and opinion pollsters trying to gauge the Basildon vote. Oh and we always get visited by top politicians from each party. But we didn't get Johnny Two Jags starting a fight though. Generally Basildon is an ordinary town with a few misconceptions which I hope to lay to rest here.
~~~ History ~~~ Basildon is situated just 30 miles outside London and is a "New Town", like Milton Keynes. Although the Basildon area has been populated for a long time, I can't tell you a lot about the towns history, except what I remember reading on the walls of one of the pubs! The town was originally populated by "Plotlanders" that is people who bought plots of land then farmed/built upon them. Also the band Depeche Mode came from Basildon. Now please don't think I didn't try and find out more information, I did but my searches proved fruitless. I guess to find out more a trip to the library would be in order.
~~~~ Image ~~~~ Here Basildon has to do some making up. The statue in the town centre is of a mother and child, thought by many to symbolise the amount of teenage pregnancies the town has. This has changed a lot in recent years and a new statue has being erected which is supposed to give a more traditional family image. Like a lot of "modern art" the new statue looks a bit poor – it seems to be made out of old scaffolding. One thing which never really occured to me is that Basildon has a lot of green spaces, there are plenty of parks and playing fields wherever you go. A couple of people who live elsewhere have commented on how "green" Basildon seems.
Many people remember Basildon as having a high number of council estates which were used to house the East End overflow. Well that was 30 years ago and since then most of the houses have been sold and you will find many young professional people living here. The estate where I live is an ex-council estate but is now 90% privately owned, there are facilities for the children, schools close by and as many new cars as you are likely to see anywhere else parked outside the houses.
~~~~ Town Centre ~~~~ The town centre holds a shopping centre of great renown. As a child growing up in Romford I was often taken on a trip to Basildon's Eastgate centre to shop. Although not as extensive as the new "malls" like Lakeside and Bluewater, the Eastgate boasts a wealth of shops with Allders at one end and Sava Centre at the other. The food court in the Eastgate is also excellent and cheaper than those found in the bigger shopping centres. Outside the Eastgate centre Basildon hosts a good selection of all the major shops including a Toys R Us (very popular store!).
There is also a market which opens four days a week and a variety of pubs to choose from should your shopping make you thirsty. Newly opened is the Westgate Park retail park which is near the market again boasting top name shops including HobbyCraft, a craft superstore which is a must to visit if you have craft-y inclinations. At the same end of town you will find the town hall and council offices. Near here you will see a large glass bell tower, this was erected for the millennium and opened by the Queen. It could be worth having a look at as the builders are threatening to pull it down as they haven't been paid. Not the council's fault this, the church!
~~~~ Attractions ~~~~ The Towngate theatre is unfortunately closed for financial reasons but don't let this stop you visiting Basildon. The shopping in the Town Centre is excellent. Basildon also boasts a Zoo, which although not large has a good selection of animals and is loved by kids. Also the "National Motorboat museum" is in Basildon, I'm not sure where but its mentioned on the council website. If you aren't all shopped out after visiting the town centre, drive down the road to Pitsea where you will find the biggest Tesco in the country, an interesting first visit is guaranteed, just be careful of the staff on roller skates!
~~~~ Evenings Out ~~~~ For an evening out in Basildon, visit the Festival Leisure park. Located on the outskirts of town and well signposted this boasts a variety of pubs, clubs, restaurants, hotels, a bowling alley and a large UCI cinema. People travel from all over Essex to visit the park which also has ample parking and good security. I can thoroughly recommend a meal here as there are a great variety of restaurants to choose from. Be careful about getting home though as taxis don't like to pick up here when the clubs shut. If you are having trouble getting a taxi and you have a mobile, call one to pick you up at the Post House hotel, they seem to turn up there without a problem.
~~~ The Bottom Line ~~~ Don't be fooled into thinking Basildon is the low-income high trouble town that you heard of thirty years ago. Visit now and see what the town has to offer. The town is easy to get to, just a 15 minute drive from the M25 and also serviced by British Rail. You won't be disappointed. If you let me know you are coming I might even come and have a coffee with you!
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