I was thinking about going to Stonehenge again for the Winter Solstice but couldn't be bothered with the two and a half hour drive either way and the risk of not being able to park. So I decided to watch the Winter Solstice sun rise over the sea at Southend in Essex.
I arrived far too early and sat in the car for a while watching the sea. I eventually decided to get out and have a walk along the seafront in the dark.
I passed the Kursaal lit up in the misty darkness.
The Kursaal is a Grade II listed building, which opened in 1901 as part of one of the world's first purpose-built amusement parks. The venue is noted for the main building with distinctive dome, designed by George Campbell Sherrin, which has featured on a Royal Mail special edition stamp.
What had been a place of gigs for rock legends, fun family days' out, and historical significance now sits entirely empty inside.
1901 - The iconic building is built by a father and son, along with acres of land used as gardens with occasional fairgrounds. The central building contains a ballroom, circus, arcade and dining room. It's named the Kursaal Palace, and opens as the first purpose built amusement park in the world.
1910 - The company running the Kursaal go out of business. The land is bought by a new company - who rename it Luna Park and heavily invest in the fairground aspect of the park. They build roller coasters, a miniture railway and a cinema. Luna Park regularly gets 100,000 visitors a week and is the star of Southend.
1915 - The new company goes out of business, and an American businessman buys the park - renaming it the Kursaal. The circus is turned into an ice rink, and the gardens begin hosting sporting events. A zoo is opened in 1916.
1919 - Southend United begin playing their home matches at a ground built in the Kursaal's gardens.
1927 - Greyhound racing begins at the Kursaal. Crowds of 5,000 turn up for the first race. The races stop in 1929.
1934 - Southend United move to the Southend Stadium.
1939 - The Kursaal closed for the length of World War Two.
1948 - The Kursaal reopens, installing new rides and attractions.
1970s - The ballroom hosts musical acts like Deep Purple, Queen and AC/DC.
1973 - Business takes a downturn and the outdoor attractions close.
1977 - The ballroom closes.
1986 - The entire building closes. The outdoor land is sold off for housing.
1998 - After more than a decade of inactivity, the building is reopened by a private company. A bowling alley, arcades, a McDonald's, a casino a multiple other businesses move in. The regeneration of the building costs millions of pounds.
2008 - The McDonald's shuts and moves into a second location on Southend high street.
2019 - MFA Bowl collapse into administation closing the bowling alley and arcade. It looks as though a nightclub company may step in to save the business but the deal falls through.
2020 - The Rendevous Casino closes down - citing COVID-19 as an factor. Only the Tesco Express remains open.
2020 - Concrete Culture form and draw up plans to turn The Kursaal into a multi-use community space, launching a public consultation in December.
I continue along the seafront in the darkness and mist, listening to a bell chime out at sea. Such an eerie feel compared to daytime when it is full of people and noise.
After walking under the pier and back on myself pass Adventure Island, I pass the pier again and take a photo of the inside and its trains through the glass. Still not open at this time of day.
Southend Pier is 2.16 kilometres (1.34 mi) long extending into the Thames Estuary, It is the longest pleasure pier in the world. The bill to build the new pier, to replace a previous timber jetty, received Royal Assent in May 1829 with construction starting in July 1829. The timber pier was replaced by an iron pier that opened to the public in August 1889. The Southend Pier Railway, opened in the early 1890s, was the first pier railway in the country.
I walk along the beach towards Thorpe Bay, hoping to see the sun rise in about half hour at 0804 hours.
It's starting to get light now and I am concerned I won't see the sun actually rise as its still so misty.
The earth rotates on a tilted axis. When this axis leans towards the sun, it’s summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south. This is reversed as the earth continues on its orbit until the axis becomes tilted away from the sun.
During the solstice, the earth’s axis is tilted at its furthest point from the sun. This means that, for us in the northern hemisphere, the sun is at its lowest point in the sky. It’s also the shortest day of the year - and the longest night.
The longest night is over and I look forward to longer days ahead.
Since ancient times, people all over the world have recognized this important astronomical occurrence and celebrated the subsequent “return” of the Sun in a variety of different ways. Old solstice traditions have influenced holidays we celebrate now, such as Christmas and Hanukkah.
Then the magic happens, I can see the Winter Solstice sun beginning to rise up out of the sea and turning the sea a mellow orange colour.
Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.
Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.
Happy to have seen the sun rise, I walk back to the car for the drive home.
