The pretty seaside ‘town’ with world’s longest pier and 7 miles of beach that’s an hour from London

Heading to a seaside town during a heatwave is about the most British thing you can do. And lucky for us Londoners, we’ve got some stunning ones on our doorstep.

Southend-on-Sea only became a city in 2022. It’s home to some brilliant attractions; among them, the world’s longest pleasure pier.

Southend Pier stretches into the Thames Estuary for 1.33 miles. It’s been around since 1889, and was extended in 1898 to place it in the record books.

READ MORE: The unbelievably pretty seaside village 3 hours from London that’s literally falling into the sea

The pier has crazy golf, a museum, an RNLI gift shop, fishing spots, a railway, and perfect spots to watch the estuary’s wildlife. One reviewer said: “Excellent value. Train to the end with plenty of cafes. Large ship to explore and a train ride back. Can be walked but on a cool and windy day, the train is a must.”

Adventure Island is another must-see in Southend. The free admission fun park has over 40 rides and attractions, including a ferris wheel and several gravity-defying rides.

One person wrote: “Great rides and great value with the yearly ticket for the kids, I must say in a day and age where the phones and laptops seem to be attached to the kids’ vital organs this is just perfect to reclaim the children and see them natural and beautiful smiles come out again.”

There are several beaches in Southend too: Shoebury Common, Bell Wharf Beach, Chalkwell Beach, Jubilee Beach, Thorpe Bay Beach, Three Shells Beach and Lagoon, Westcliff Beach, and Shoebury East Beach. Five of those have a Blue Flag award and all of them have a Seaside Award by Keep Britain Tidy.

Southend also has plenty of incredible food. Gold Coast Chinese Restaurant is the best rated, and they serve all the classics like Peking Duck, spring rolls, stir fries, and Chop Suey.

One person wrote: “Lovely staff and owner, I came all the way back from Korea and I made sure to try this restaurant before going back again because not only is the food great, the atmosphere is great too.”

Sarah’s Creative Chocolate Kitchen also has high ratings. They run chocolate classes and a cafe, and there’s not a single review below five stars on Tripadvisor.

One person said: “Me and my boys had a cookie, ice cream sandwich, waffles and milkshakes. The cookies and ice cream sandwich was amazing, the creme egg ice cream just topped the beautiful cookies off.

“I also took some chunks of rocky road home and a Wispa gold ultimate brownie. I’ve been buying Ultimates from Sarah’s for years now. They are absolutely unreal!!! Highly recommend, never had a bad experience and Sarah and her staff are absolutely amazing.”

How to get there

The easiest way to get to Southend is by train. Greater Anglia’s service takes one hour and runs from Liverpool Street and Stratford, while a c2c service runs from Fenchurch Street. You can book UK trains on Trainline.

You can drive there too. A car journey from central London takes just over two hours on average. If you want to make a weekend of it you can search and book accommodation at booking.com.

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