Cobbled streets, cockle sheds, art galleries and craft shops define atmospheric Old Leigh. It's a long stroll west along Southend's seafront, or a short hop on the local train.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
26.02 MILES
A rich repository of more than 1400 years of Christian history, Canterbury Cathedral is the Church of England’s mother ship, and a truly extraordinary…
20.2 MILES
Leeds Castle, an immense moated pile just east of Maidstone, is often considered the world’s most romantic castle. It's certainly one of the most visited…
28.27 MILES
Greenwich Park is one of London’s loveliest expanses of green, with a rose garden, impressive playground, a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon burial ground and…
29.64 MILES
Down House, on the edge of the quaint Kent village of Downe, was Charles Darwin's home from 1842 until his death in 1882. It was here that he developed…
26.71 MILES
This gorgeous 1930s art-deco mansion was built by Stephen Courtauld, whose family made a fortune in the rayon (artificial silk) industry, and his wife…
28.42 MILES
Rising like a beacon of time atop Greenwich Park, the Royal Observatory is home to the prime meridian (longitude 0° 0' 0''). Tickets include access to the…
28.53 MILES
Designed as a dining room for retired and disabled sailors and completed in 1726, the Painted Hall is an over-the-top banqueting space that's covered…
28.54 MILES
Narrating the long, briny and eventful history of seafaring Britain, this excellent museum has three floors of engrossing exhibits. Highlights include JMW…
Nearby East Anglia attractions
2.91 MILES
Southend's seaside heyday springs to life in this charming museum, where a Victorian toast-rack pier tram sits beside sepia photos and a functioning…
2.92 MILES
Welcome to the world's longest pier – a staggering 1.341 miles long, to be precise – built in 1830 and a magnet for boat crashes, storms and fires, the…
11.14 MILES
On the riverfront in Chatham, this historic dockyard, a candidate for Unesco heritage status, occupies a third of what was once the Royal Navy’s main dock…
20.2 MILES
Leeds Castle, an immense moated pile just east of Maidstone, is often considered the world’s most romantic castle. It's certainly one of the most visited…
5. Whitstable Museum & Gallery
20.61 MILES
This modest community museum has glass cases examining Whitstable’s oyster industry, the Crab & Winkle Railway which once ran from Canterbury, and the…
23.14 MILES
From the outside, Red House is reminiscent of a gingerbread house wrought in stone. It was built in 1859 by Victorian designer William Morris – of Morris…
23.62 MILES
This Palladian villa was built by John Boyd, an East India Company director, in 1766. Saved from demolition in 1995, the house was painstakingly renovated…
25.72 MILES
The city’s only remaining medieval gateway (1380) houses a museum that focuses on the building’s use as a prison. The views from the top are pretty good,…