Located on the Essex coast east of London and in the Thames estuary is the town (designated 'city' at the time of the publication of this post) of Southend-on-Sea. I visited Southend-on-Sea over the summer in order to see the hare sculptures placed around the city (Hares About Town Hops into Southend-on-Sea) and to explore somewhere new. This was my first visit to Southend-on-Sea.
While I was off searching for the hare sculptures, I was able to explore the the area. I did know that Southend-on-Sea is famous for its beach, though I did not expect it to be nearly as big and filled with attractions as it was.
The centre of the town from the train stations feels a little derelict, in my view. Everything comes to life down along the coast. Actually, I did walk north of Southend's Victoria Station, and there are quite a lot of nice areas and parks in this direction, such as Prittlewell Priory and the beautiful gardens (A Visit to Prittlewell Priory, Southend-on-Sea: Lockdown Edition).
Of course, there's all the large rides and amusements along the seafront at Southend. There are so many rides for all ages, and as it was a warm and dry summer day during the summer break, it was pretty busy. I walked up the coast, and I spotted a funicular lift to the top of the cliffs. It did not look like it was running on the day, but I am not sure.
The tops of the cliffs are beautiful with gardens and a Victorian promenade style. I stayed at the bottom of the cliffs and doubled at the top of them on my walk back to the pier.
I stopped for an ice cream, which was delicious. I will not name the place because I went back into the cafe to have another lemon sorbet and witnessed (along with another two customers) as one of the women staff took the partially-eaten sorbet and emptied it back into the ice cream machine. Now, I'd contacted the company about this on a couple of different platforms, but it has not been responded to. I will also note that others have complained about the same exact hygiene issues at the cafe with the description of the same staff member. So, I will not be recommending it because hygiene should be taken as a priority - particularly in today's world with the pandemic.
From here, I climbed stairs to the tops of the cliffs and walked back toward the pier. The views are lovely from here, and I could see the pier and lovely gardens and buildings.
There are so many green areas to sit around to enjoy the views.
The war monument at the top of the cliffs is impressive with beautiful flowers.
A statue of Queen Victoria overlooks the sea from the clifftops.
I headed back down the stairs so that I could go to the pier. I am not sure what these little castles are for in the gardens, but I liked them.
I wanted to do the pier train ride as I had never been on a train ride on a pier before. I wanted to get across to post a postcard because posting a postcard from the end of the pier will be postmarked with a special stamp. Visitors have the option of the return journey with the train or can walk one way. I actually had no idea that the pier was as long as it was. I did not know a thing about Southend-on-Sea pier, and I am glad that I did not walk back. The pier is so long (1.3 miles long apparently) and a little "scary" because you can see through the wooden boards to the sea below. I had to wait awhile for the train to return to take me back.
The end of the pier has some food and games.
At the very end, there is a sign that tells you that the pier is 1.33 miles long.
You can even play crazy golf on the pier! I wondered how many golf balls ended up in the sea.
The other attraction that visitors can see is the lifeboats at the station at the end of the pier. This is a little shop where visitors can buy gifts or make donations.
I only had the day in Southend-on-Sea and did not leave too late, but it was a good introduction trip and left me with some thoughts for places to visit and things to do if I were to ever visit again.
Further posts about Southend-on-Sea on this blog can be seen below:
A Visit to Prittlewell Priory, Southend-on-Sea: Lockdown Edition
Hares About Town Hops into Southend-on-Sea
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