Southend-on-Sea, London's seaside

Southend-on-Sea is London's beach. In Essex, where the Thames estuary widens towards the North Sea, about sixty kilometres from the capital, it has for more than two centuries been the seaside day out for generations of East Enders, who came by train for a day of sunshine, ice cream and rides. It has about 180,000 inhabitants and officially became a city in 2022. Its symbol is the longest pleasure pier in the world: more than two kilometres over the water, with its own little railway. But Southend is not just funfairs and amusement arcades: there is the fishing village of Old Leigh, the ruins of Hadleigh Castle painted by Constable and the grave of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon prince, discovered in 2003 under a roadside verge.

Trains from London take less than an hour from Fenchurch Street or Liverpool Street, and London Southend Airport is a few minutes from the centre.

From the end of a village to London's seaside

The name itself tells its origin: Southend was the "south end" of the village of Prittlewell, a group of oyster fishermen's huts on the shore of the estuary. At the end of the 18th century doctors began recommending sea bathing, and Southend became an elegant resort: Princess Caroline of Brunswick, wife of the future King George IV, stayed here in 1804, and Royal Terrace, with its Georgian houses overlooking the estuary, takes its name from that visit.

The real transformation came in 1856 with the railway, which brought thousands of London day-trippers to Southend. The journey was short and cheap, and Southend became the seaside of East End workers, with hotels, dance halls, theatres, beer halls, oysters and mussels sold from stalls, and long walks along the seafront. The name on-Sea is in fact a small deception: the city does not face the open sea but the Thames estuary, where at low tide the water retreats for more than a kilometre, leaving expanses of mud and sand.

The longest pier in the world

Southend Pier stretches about 2.16 kilometres into the Thames estuary and is considered the longest pleasure pier in the world. The first wooden pier, of 1830, was extended several times so that ships could moor even at low tide, and in 1889 it was replaced by the present iron structure. Since 1890 it has been served by an electric railway, one of the first in the country, which takes visitors to the end in a few minutes. You can also walk: it takes about half an hour each way, with the wind and the gulls, and offers a unique view of the estuary, the ships heading up to London and the coast of Kent.

The pier has had an eventful life: it has been hit by ships and damaged by storms and several fires, the last serious one in 2005. During the Second World War it was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and used as an assembly point for convoys. At the far end today are the modern Royal Pavilion, a venue for concerts, exhibitions and shows with large windows over the water, a café and the lifeboat station. At the pier's base, the small Pier Museum tells its story with photographs, old railway carriages and vintage slot machines.

The seafront and amusements

On either side of the pier runs the seafront, known as the Golden Mile, with amusement arcades, fish and chip shops, ice-cream parlours and the Adventure Island amusement park, with roller coasters and rides for all ages and free entry. A little further east, the domed Kursaal opened in 1901 as one of the first amusement parks in the United Kingdom: its German name means "cure hall". West of the pier, the Cliff Gardens run down towards the water among flower beds and paths, and a small cliff railway of 1912 links the upper town with the seafront.

There are many beaches, of sand and shingle: the quietest and cleanest are at Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness, to the east, with rows of colourful beach huts. When the tide goes out you can walk on the wet sand for hundreds of metres, but check the times, because the water comes back quickly.

What to see in Southend

Southend Central Museum and the Prittlewell Prince

In 2003, during preliminary digging for a road widening at Prittlewell, archaeologists found a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon burial chamber that had remained intact for almost 1,400 years. It contained more than forty precious objects: a lyre, an iron standard, coloured glass beakers, a bronze flagon from the eastern Mediterranean, gold coins, buckles and small gold crosses placed over the eyes of the dead man. He was probably a prince of the kingdom of the East Saxons and one of the first Christians in England; scholars think he may have been Sæxa, brother of King Sæberht. The British press nicknamed him the "King of Bling". Since 2019 the objects have been displayed at Southend Central Museum, which also has a planetarium and natural and local history galleries.

Prittlewell Priory

In a park north of the centre, Prittlewell Priory is what remains of a Cluniac priory founded around 1110: the medieval refectory and rooms added in later centuries house a small museum on monastic life. The gardens, with a pond and a rose garden, are a peaceful corner a few minutes from the seafront.

Old Leigh

To the west, Leigh-on-Sea is an elegant district with independent shops, cafés and galleries, but its gem is Old Leigh, the old fishing village on the estuary. Here, along a single cobbled street between the railway and the water, are the sheds where cockles from the estuary are cooked and sold, together with shrimps, whelks and other seafood to eat with vinegar on an outdoor bench. Old Thames sailing barges, with their reddish sails, are still moored in the little bay. At sunset, with the tide out and the boats resting on the mud, Old Leigh is one of the most photogenic places in Essex.

Hadleigh Castle

On a hill above the estuary, between Leigh and Benfleet, stand the ruins of Hadleigh Castle, built around 1230 and enlarged by Edward III in the 14th century to guard the approach to London. Two slender, crumbling towers remain of its walls, made famous by a painting by John Constable of 1829, now in the United States. The castle is managed by English Heritage and entry is free. At nearby Hadleigh Farm the mountain bike events of the London 2012 Olympics were held, and the course is now open to the public.

A day in Southend

A possible itinerary: start early with a walk or a train ride to the end of the pier, then head down to the seafront among the arcades, rides and ice creams. Before lunch, visit the Central Museum for the Prittlewell Prince. After lunch take the train, or walk along the coast for about an hour, to Old Leigh for a plate of seafood at the fishermen's sheds. In the afternoon climb to Hadleigh Castle for the view over the estuary at sunset. In the evening go back to Leigh to dine in one of its pubs or restaurants.

Nature on the estuary

The Thames estuary, with its mudflats and salt marshes, is a precious habitat for birds. The Two Tree Island reserve at Leigh hosts thousands of brent geese from Siberia in winter, along with avocets, curlews and plovers. Belfairs Woods, north of Leigh, is an ancient oak and chestnut woodland with walking paths. A path runs along the whole coast, letting you walk or cycle from Leigh to Shoeburyness.

Eating and drinking

Southend eats like a true English seaside resort: fish and chips wrapped in paper to enjoy on the seafront, seafood from the estuary, and colourful sticks of rock with the town's name running through them. There is a piece of Italy too: Rossi ice cream, made by a family of Italian origin that opened its first ice-cream parlour on the seafront in the 1930s, is a local institution, and generations of London day-trippers remember it as the taste of summer. Leigh-on-Sea and Westcliff have historic pubs, bistros and more refined restaurants, many with views over the estuary.

Events and festivals

Southend's calendar is busiest in summer. The carnival, held for more than a century, brings floats, bands and fireworks to the streets and seafront. In June the Leigh Folk Festival, one of the largest free folk festivals in England, fills the streets and pubs of Leigh-on-Sea and Old Leigh with music. During the year the Royal Pavilion at the end of the pier and the Cliffs Pavilion theatre, on the cliffs at Westcliff, host concerts, comedy and family shows.

Music and famous people

Southend has had a lively music scene: Procol Harum, the band behind A Whiter Shade of Pale, formed here, while nearby Canvey Island was the home of Dr. Feelgood, pioneers of pub rock. The actress Helen Mirren grew up between Westcliff and Leigh-on-Sea. The local football club, Southend United, is nicknamed The Shrimpers in honour of local tradition.

Around Southend

• Rochford and the Essex countryside, with small villages and ancient churches.
• Canvey Island, an island in the estuary protected by sea walls, with a museum on its history and floods.
• Colchester, England's oldest recorded town, with the Norman castle built on the ruins of a Roman temple, about an hour away; see our page on Colchester.
• Burnham-on-Crouch, a quiet sailing town on the River Crouch.
• London, less than an hour by train: Southend is also a cheaper base for visiting the capital.

Living in Southend

Southend is a commuter city, with many residents working in the City of London, but it also has an economy of its own based on tourism, services, the airport, the university and small businesses. Leigh-on-Sea, Westcliff and Thorpe Bay are popular residential districts, while some central areas have low incomes and social problems. City status was granted in 2022 in memory of the local MP David Amess, killed in 2021, who had long campaigned for it.

Getting there and getting around

• By train: on the c2c line from London Fenchurch Street, near the Tower of London, to Southend Central in about an hour; on Greater Anglia from London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria in about an hour. Leigh-on-Sea, Chalkwell, Westcliff and Thorpe Bay stations serve the other districts.
• By air: London Southend Airport has its own railway station and flights to some European destinations.
• By car: Southend is reached on the A127 and A13 roads, but on summer weekends traffic can be heavy.
• In the city: the centre, the pier and the seafront are walkable; trains and buses link Leigh and Shoeburyness.

For travel around the rest of the country see trains and transport, and for other cities British cities.

Tips for your visit

• How long: one day for the pier, the seafront and Old Leigh; another for Hadleigh, nature and the surroundings.
• When to go: May to September; on summer weekends the city fills with London day-trippers.
• Don't miss: the walk to the end of the pier and a plate of seafood in Old Leigh.
• A tip: check the tide times before you go, because the landscape changes completely between high and low tide.

Southend-on-Sea on the map

Nearby