UK Travel Guide - Basildon Tourist Information & Travel Guide

12th March 2009 - by Norest Chari

Basildon Tourist Information & Travel Guide

Basildon is considered as residing amongst the eight newly built towns in the South East of England following the Second World War. In 1949, Basildon was built on the basis of creating new housing structures due to the damage caused within inner London in that time period.

Prior to this, Basildon would have been best known as a rather small village however, 1951 was a year of change which saw the entrance of new residents that evidently had a tremendous effect on population figures. In present day, Basildon has well over 120, 000 local residents.

Now, Basildon is a thriving city where you can find the Eastgate Shopping Centre, which consists of many top end retailers such as Debenhams and HMV, and has more than 100 stores that cater to all demographics. A more current shopping attraction would be the Westgate Shopping Park which has been completed in construction recently.

Many of Basildon’s local residents commute to London which is why trains are a convenient method of transport. The area has three Railway Stations, Pitsea Railway Station, Laindon Railway Station and centrally based, Basildon Railway Station which was built in the early seventies.

For a more cultural experience of Basildon, the newly built Basildon Arts Trust Gallery is home to Modern Art Exhibitions which had it its opening in 2004. It is easy to find as it is based in the town centre and is seen as increasingly relevant to schools, families and just the overall community, as guest artists can feature in the Exhibition.

There are also two major Museums based in Pitsea & Laindon known as The Motorboat Museum (Pitsea) and the Plotlands Museum (Laindon). Created in 1986, The Motorboat Museum is United Kingdoms most trusted authority in relation to motor boats and sporting. There are many authentic & notorious pieces of sporting memorabilia and boats.

Architectural designs in Basildon include St Martin’s Bell Tower in St Martin’s Square and the Mother and Child Statue based in Basildon Town Square. The St Martins Bell Tower is a tower made from steel and glass. Its opening took place in 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II in order to mark the millennium. Standing 85 ft tall, holding 10 bells, its design and outlay could be described as neo gothic and innovative.

Small nature reserves are also apparent in Basildon, the dominant one being the Noak Bridge Nature Reserve which has a mixed grass land of up to 20 acres alongside scrub and small ponds. The huge variety of grass and flowers causes butterflies and dragonflies to emerge around the seven ponds creating a beautiful landscape.

Moving on to the business district of Basildon, here we find the centre of business and employment which lies through the Thames Gateway. An astounding 25 percent of Essex’s overall manufacturing output is accomplished in this Industrial Estate. Regardless of the fact that close to one third of its workforce travels to London and back daily, it actually has the same amount of workers coming in and is renowned for being one of the most important business centres due to its alliance with major conglomerates including Abbey National, Fords, First Data, International Financial Data Services, York International, Konica UK and many more commercial employers.