Southend Pier walk
Gentle stroll out into the Thames Estuary along the world's longest pleasure pier
Where | Start and Finish: Southend station |
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Length |
3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the station. 2.6 miles (4.3 km) if you park next to it. |
Time | 1 hour 30 minutes. |
Travel |
Southend has 2 stations, a few minutes walk apart. Trains to Southend Central go from Fenchurch Street (2 per hour, 50 mins) and to Southend Victoria from Liverpool Street (1 hour 5 mins, 4 per hour). Make sure it's not a stopping train! £14.70 super off peak return at weekends. C2C (trains from Fenchurch Street) have serveral obfuscated discounts.
By car: Pay and Display on-street parking along the seafront road, about £1.50/hour. Free after 6pm. Free on inland roads a miles or so either side of the 'pier' area. |
Walk Notes |
This is a lovely stroll along Southend Pier, the world's longest pleasure pier (1.34 miles / 2.16 km long, in each direction!) [Wikipedia] out into the Thames Estuary. It may be a bracing walk in winter! As an alternative to walking, there's a pier railway. 2 trains (diesel) per hour. At the end of the pier is a glass fronted cafe (think coffee and panini rather than egg and chips) or you could take a picnic, and a lifeboat station with a sun terrace. It a nice spot with a breeze and for looking out over the estuary and shipping lanes. The Cafe may be closed off season. Cost. Walk: £2 (£1 Nov-Mar). Train £5.35 return. Opening Times: Closes: Aug-Sep: 9pm, Oct & Apr: 6pm, Nov-Mar: 6pm (Closed Xmas Day and Mon-Tue except school holidays). Last admission 1 hour before. NB: Google maps has different opening times from the pier's page on the council website. Train times: out xx:00 and xx:30, back xx:15, xx:45 The small cafe building at the end of the pier used for Jammie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast is only a film set, it isn't actually a cafe in real life, just a kiosk for selling ice cream in high season. |
Nearby | If driving, do stop off at Hadleigh Castle (SS7 2AP, English Heritage, free), a ruined castle with a lovely views over the river. Leigh on Sea and Canvey Island seafront is worth a visit too. By train, Leigh is a station on the Fenchurch Street - Southend line. |
C2C |
C2C, who runs trains on the London Fenchurch Street - Benfleet - Leigh-on-Sea - Southend-on-Sea - Shoeburyness line, have serveral obfuscated discounts.
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Profile | |
Help Us! |
After the walk, we would love to get your feedback You can upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:
swcwalks
short45
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By Train |
Out (not a train station) Back (not a train station) |
By Car |
Start SS1 1AB Map Directions |
Amazon | |
Help |
National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Travelline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234 |
Version |
Apr-20 Andrew |
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