Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a seaside resort about 40 miles (64 km) east of London at the mouth of the River Thames Estuary. It's famous for its Victorian pleasure pier, the longest in the world!

Understand
Around the late 1800s there were two main villages: Prittlewell (famous for its Priory which is still standing today in Priory Park) and Leigh-on-Sea (a mile or so along the coast, famous for its cockles and seafood). The city coat of arms for Southend contains the monk and fisherman from monks of the Prittlewell Priory and the fishermen of Leigh-on-Sea. Westcliff-on-Sea is primarily a seaside resort, the shingle and pebbles along the stretch of beach have been covered with imported sand. Owing to its large Jewish population, it is also known as 'Jerusalem On Sea'.

The modern city known today as Southend was built up as the south end of Prittlewell and expanded into a large resort with its most famous landmark of all - Southend Pier - constructed in 1890.

Popular with Victorian daytrippers from London, the resort expanded generously from the 1830s onwards. Steamer ships would bring hundreds of daytrippers every day down the Thames from London to alight at Southend Pier. It wasn't so much about the sunshine and the sand (well, pebbles) as the "bracing" sea air which was seen as healthy and a nice break from the heavily polluted London air.

Southend's ultimate heyday came in the 1950s and 60s. Daytrippers from the east-end of London would come down on the train to spend the day sitting on the pebble beach, visiting the famous Kursaal Amusement park, or playing the fruit machines in the seafront arcades.

South East Essex College, with the University of Essex, has an impressive new campus building directly adjacent to Southend Central Railway Station.

Local information

 * Southend-on-Sea Council website

By car
Southend is well served by roads, with two junctions off the London-Orbital motorway, the M25. The A127 (junction 29) and A13 (junction 30) both go direct to the town centre. The A127 is more free-flowing road however gets busy on summer weekends when many day-trippers head to the seaside.

There is lots of parking available in Southend, but most day-trippers head for Seaway car park (£1.60/hr or £12/day) which is expensive and often full. Save yourself the hassle and head for Tylers Avenue/York Road (£1.10/hr or £10/day) or the car park at the Royals (£1/hr or £15/day; £3/day Sunday) instead; they are equally close to the seafront and far less crowded.

A cheaper alternative on weekends is to park to the north of the High Street. The Victoria (£0.80/hr or £10/day) is a 20 minute walk from the beach, while the Civic Centre is a 40-minute walk and costs only £3/day on weekends.

By train
Southend is served by two railway lines, both about one hour from London. Tickets specifying one service are not valid on the other line, although it is possible to buy tickets valid on either service.

On foot
It does not take long to get from one end of the town to another by foot and the walk from Southend Victoria station (to the North) to the sea (to the South) will take at most 15 minutes. From the seafront it is possible to walk East towards Thorpe Bay or West towards Westcliff. Some walks will probably involve steep hills.

Cycling
There is an 8-km-long cycle track along the seafront between Westcliff and Garon's Park. There is also a cycle track from the Southend Victoria station to Priory Park. You cannot cycle along the High Street.

Both train lines allow cycles to be taken on trains without a reservation. Alternatively, Cycle hire is available from one of three Southend bikeshare automated docking locations along the seafront (£2/hour) or from Bike and Go at Southend Victoria station (£10+£3.80/day).

By car
It is possible to get around Southend by car and the roads are usually not busy. For most flexibility, this is the preferred method of transport for many people in the town and it is possible to get from one side to another with ease.

By bus
Southend has a reliable, frequent bus service run by Arriva Buses and First Buses. Buses run regularly during the day however tend to stop quite early in the evenings (there are no night bus services), so be sure to know the time of the last bus to save disappointment later in the evening. Minor services are operated by Stephensons of Essex.

Buses can be picked up at the modern travel centre located just away from the high-street. All buses in Southend stop here and there is a travel centre where information and timetables can be obtained.

An Octopus ticket is expensive (£4.50 per day) but is valid for all the bus companies. Tickets valid for one bus company only are slightly cheaper. Pay with cash or a contactless card when you board.

By taxi
Southend is well-served by Taxis; however, there are relatively few "black cabs", so taxis have to be picked up from designated taxi ranks or booked over the telephone ( or ). Taxis can be expensive for longer journeys and the prices go up after midnight.

See


Along the top of the cliffs, are spectacular views over the Thames Estuary towards the distant Kent coastline. Not far from the Royal Mews are the beautiful Prittlewell Square gardens and farther along is the Beecroft Art Gallery in Station Road.

Westcliff
Westcliff-on-Sea is home to the Thames Estuary Yacht Club and the Westcliff Casino, which is the largest provincial casino and the second largest in Great Britain.

In London Road is the Palace Theatre and a wide range of restaurants, while the New Empire Theatre is in Alexandra Street.

Cliffs Pavilion, on Station Road, has a variety of acts



Do

 * Watch football at
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 * Watch football at
 * Watch football at
 * Watch football at

Eat
Along the London Road at Westcliff is a wide range of restaurants from Thai to Italian, Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese.. too many to mention.

In Leigh-on-Sea, visit the restaurants along Leigh Road, Leigh Broadway and Rectory Grove, where you will be spoilt for choice.

Pubs, bars, etc
Despite the introduction of 24-hour alcohol licenses in the UK, there are relatively few pubs open beyond 11PM in Southend, due mainly to the local police force fighting all applications for extensions of licences. The normal night out in Southend therefore beings in a pub until around 9:30PM when people visit one of the many nightclubs to continue drinking and dancing until 5AM in the morning.



Stay safe
Southend is relatively safe for tourists, but you should avoid wandering off the beaten track. As with anywhere, walking alone at night should be done with great caution. Although the suburb Shoeburyness is mainly a small residential area, it does contain housing estates, many are run down and look nearly derelict. Avoid these in the evening, the most well known housing estate is at The Renown in Shoeburyness and is very dodgy at night. However, it is away from the tourist areas and there should be no need for a tourist to visit these areas. Like housing estates in Shoeburyness, parks can be a hotspot for crime due to their isolation, especially Sweyne Park in Rayleigh, so avoid these at night if possible. In Southend, Lucy Road is the location of nightclubs and partygoers can spill out into the High Street at 1-2AM.

Connect
As of Feb 2023, Southend and its approach roads have 4G from EE and Vodafone, and 5G from O2 and Three.

Go next

 * Rochford - A 10-minute car ride from Southend will bring you to Rochford, a small but historic market town famous for Rochford Hall (by the golf course) where Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII met on a few occasions!
 * Leigh-on-Sea
 * London - via London Liverpool Street