Southend-on-Sea is a very large Essex town at the north of the Thames estuary. I live in a smaller town about 10 miles away.
While checking that my facts, especially prices, were as up to date as possible, I found that Southend is now the largest Essex town, according to its Council.
I have used the seafront attractions I have listed, as well as the parks, the shopping centre, the theatres and planetarium.
The social mix of people living in the area is wide, and the facilities (accommodation, food outlets, entertainment and shops), therefore, cater for most tastes and budgets.
I like visiting Southend, but would not want to live there, as it has the drawbacks of most large towns, eg traffic and crime problems are greater in the centre of the town than where I live. If you are thinking of coming to the area for more than a day trip, I would advise staying in Westcliff to the West of the town rather than the town centre, unless you want to roll back to the hotel drunk every night, then the centre would be ideal for you.
Prittlewell was the name of the original settlement here, and Southend grew from the south end of Prittlewell. (See Prittlewell Park and Priory below.)
FOOD
For meals you can get a reasonably priced take away, go to a high-class restaurant, or go to something in between. I can’t think of any big chain of food outlets that isn’t here. If you are self-catering the big name supermarkets are here too.
Some people don’t feel like they have had a day out here unless they have had fish and chips on the sea front.
ENTERTAINMENT
Beach ===== The beach is sandy near the sea wall from Westcliff, then east past the pier and along the Golden Mile, but there is also a lot of mud. Because of the large difference between high and low tide, a mile long pier was built for boats and as a tourist attraction.
Due to major subsidence on the edge of the cliffs the Never Never Land tableaux, which were lit in the evenings are gone. The cliff top gardens are beautiful.
A local “secret” is that the best beach in the area is East Beach, Shoeburyness. It won the EU blue Flag award in 2004. It is a comparatively small sandy beach with its own car park, café and toilets. There are zoned areas for water sports.
Attractions On the Seafront ====================
* Lots of the usual seaside amusement arcades.
* The Sea Life Adventure, where you can discover marine life native to Southend, as well as more exotic species. They have launched a “See Life, Save Life” campaign to promote awareness of endangered marine life. In conservation corner they will keep us up to date with news of an adopted dolphin called “Sundance”. All day tickets (readmission allowed) cost Adults £5.50, Children aged 4-14 £4.00, but under 4 years get in free. No unaccompanied children under 14 will be admitted.
* Adventure Towers, in the same building as the Sea Life Adventure, is a place for young children to play while parents relax in the Waves Café. You can keep an eye on young children while they play through TV monitors. Prices: Children under 4 years £2.95, over 4 years £3.25.
* Peter Pans Adventure Island, which is a major attraction, has over 40 rides, including a giant rollercoaster called Green Scream. NEW RIDES for 2004 are Sk8tboarda, Ramba Zamba, Jumping Jolly Rogers and Sky Drop. There are also rides suitable for young children. Admission to the grounds is free, and you can either buy an all-day wrist band for the rides, or pay for them individually. Wristbands cost £18 for adults, £12 for children under 1.2 m tall (who aren’t allowed on all the rides), and give unlimited access to the rides for a day.
>>SPECIAL OFFER running at the time of posting this review<< Buy a wristband for Adventure Island from any of the Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street train line stations to Southend after 10.30 am and get a FREE return train ticket for the day! Journey times from central London by train are between 40-55 mins. Last trains back to London will usually be 22.45 hrs or later, but check with the railways on day of travel.
* The Kursaal includes a ten pin bowling alley, amusements and a bar. Prices for bowling: Weekends, Bank Holidays and after 6pm every evening Adults £3.90, Juniors £2.90 Prices at other times: Adults £2.60, Juniors £2.10 Other price packages are available.
* The Pier can be used by those who want to have a, usually bracing, walk of just over a mile, or as an alternative way of getting to the end, you can use the pier train. I like the coolness at the end of the pier on hotter days.
* Crazy Golf – There are a few dotted along the seafront. The most interesting one is adjacent to Adventure Island, on the east side.
Special Events on Seafront ====================
The sea front illuminations are on in the evenings, from 24 July to 6 November 2004. They are insignificant compared to Blackpool standards, but still pretty.
The illuminated Carnival Procession and Fireworks are on 21 August 2004. The fireworks are set off from a barge near the pier.
Free Fireworks Spectacular ever Saturday night from 18 September to 6 November 2004. First two Saturdays start at 7pm and after that 8pm starts.
The Air Show is held on the end of May Bank Holiday and can be best seen from the sea front.
PARKS
I like Prittlewell Park. Near the main car park, which is free, but can become crowed at peak times, there is a large grassed area where people picnic and the children play. There are tennis courts, and a bowling green near to the café, for the more than casual player. There is a main lake, which is used by fishermen as well as families who like to feed the ducks and other wild fowl. Near the lake is a fenced in playground for children. The flower beds are lovely, especially near the remains of the old priory. The gardens to Prittlewell Priory are well maintained throughout the changing of the seasons, and contain a decorative pond.
The remains of the 12 century Cluniac Priory were later converted into a house. It is now a museum with displays of its history and local wildlife.
I don’t bother going to Southchurch Park at the east side of the town any more, as the once good facilities have declined. If council funding allowed it could become good again, but unless this happens, I will stay away.
PLANETARIUM
This is in Southend’s Central Museum, Victoria Avenue (near the north end of the shopping centre). Three times a day from Weds-Sat a Guide Lecturer will explore the night sky with visitors in the darkened planetarium. The Guide is likely to change the talk according to the age and/or knowledge of the visitors for that session. This lasts about 40 minutes.
CINEMA
The Odeon near the Victoria Circus Shopping Centre
THEATRES
The Cliffs Pavilion – Shows here include Ken Dodd, Kenny Ball & Jazzmen, Blondie, Joe Pasquale, Chris de Burgh, Gene Pitney, Mike Reid, travelling versions of West End shows and Christmas pantomime.
The Palace Theatre – Example of shows here are Bananas in Pyjamas (for kids), Agatha Christie plays, the musicals Half a Sixpence and Tommy, Lenny Henry and a different pantomime to The Cliffs.
NIGHT CLUBS
As I don’t like noisy night clubs, I haven’t used these, but it is hard not to be aware of them, if you live in the area.
Talk & Chameleon, Lucy Road, near the seafront. Storm, Elmer Approach, near the seafront. Club Ego, Aviation Way, near the airport, away from the seafront.
SHOPPING
The original road full of high street shops, running from the seafront into the centre of the town has now been turned into a mostly traffic free zone, with two new multi-storey shopping complexes at either end of it. The one to the north is called Victoria Circus, and the one to the south, The Royals, is the newest.
Most major retailers are here as well as lot of little shops.
HOW TO GET THERE
By train: There are rail links from London’s Liverpool Street, and Fenchurch Street Stations.
By road: From the M25 take the turn off for the A13 (Junction 30) or A 127 (Junction 29) depending on what direction you are coming from or advice given my motoring organisations. Both roads go right into Southend. There are car parks on the sea front and in the town centre for various prices (short and long stay), but you may not get the one you most want at peak times. The seafront places go early in good weather, and many visitors stay all day.
MORE INFORMATION is available from:
Southend Visitor Information Centre The Pier Entrance Southend Pier Eastern Esplanade Southend-on-Sea SS1 1EE Tel. 01702 215620 or 01702 215120
Other useful information can be found at http://www.southendontheweb.com.
It is not easy to judge how much information the majority of users on this site would want from a review on a town as large as Southend. I could make it longer if that’s what most of you want, but I didn’t want it to become boring. I await your comments!
THE TIME OF YEAR WENT I had to put in a specific time because Ciao says it is compulsory! *** I have been in all months of the year, and have mentioned what takes place in different seasons. ***
ESTIMATED DAILY BUDGET will vary widely depending on what you want to do. If you want a quiet day on the sandy beach at Shoeburyness, or in one of Southend’s parks, it will cost under £5 a head. If you want to experience the facilities at the upper end of the price range, it will be expensive. I have put a lot of prices in the review, and an indication of what you could expect, if it is not possible to be specific.
SCENERY again varies widely. Great views can be had from the beautiful cliff tops gardens out to sea, where sometimes historic boats and barges can be seen, but all very large towns are going to have ugly parts!
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