An easy escape from London and within easy reach of some great beaches.
Brightlingsea Beach - is a sandy beach backed by a promenade lined with colourful beach huts. Formerly an important fishing and shipbuilding area, Brightlingsea is now a haven for yachting. A popular resort with plenty of amenities.
Clacton Beach - considered by many as the jewel in the crown of the Essex coast, Clacton-on-Sea beach certainly provides a taste of the classic British seaside holiday. Along with a fine Victorian pier as a centrepiece, there are all the seaside amusements, cafes and entertainment you could wish for.
Frinton-on-Sea Beach - with its wide sandy beach, has gone out of its way to remain as uncommercialised as possible and maintain its reputation as a quiet family resort.
The gently shelving beach is divided up by a series of timber groynes. Frinton's sand is of the type that is perfect for making sandcastles.
Martello Beach - a sandy beach named after a small defensive fort known as a 'Martello Tower', which dates back to the nineteenth century. Plenty of facilities including beach huts and a campsite. Popular clifftop gardens overlooking the beach.
Dovercourt Bay - is a tranquil seaside resort, with sand and shingle beaches, near the historic town of Harwich. Plenty of facilities on the promenade, including a skate park and a boating lake.
Chalkwell Beach – close to the seaside town of Southend at the mouth of the River Thames. It is home to the world’s longest pleasure pier, a Sealife Centre, an amusement park, a theme park, and all the facilities and entertainments that one would expect of an established seaside resort. The beach is sandy, and at low tide a wide area of mud, sand and shingle is revealed.
Mersea Stone Beach – a sand and shell beach on the easternmost tip of Mersea Island. You will find on the eastern shore of the beach are the remains of a World War II pillbox. The beach is the landing point for the foot ferry to St Osyth and Brightlighsea so is easily reached from either of these.
Walton-on-the-Naze Beach - a fine sandy beach, and also home to the second longest pier in Great Britain. A great family beach with a good sized stretch of sand dived up by various wooden groynes and a couple of breakwaters. This beach is well serviced by from classic seaside amusements to a number of beachside cafés.