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 last of which ravaged its tip in 2005. Today, a peaceful if windy stroll to the restored Pier Head reveals a cafe, a sun deck, a gift shop, an exhibition space and an active lifeboat station. Hopping on the Pier Railway (one-way adult/child £4.50/2.25) saves the long slog back.
Southend Pier
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
23.63 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…
19.99 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…
29.4 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…
25.99 MILES
Built in 1076 on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius, England’s largest surviving Norman keep is bigger than that of the Tower of London. Over…
25.81 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…
26.31 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…
Beaney House of Art & Knowledge
23.53 MILES
This mock-Tudor edifice is the grandest on the main shopping thoroughfare, if not the most authentic. Formerly called the Royal Museum & Art Gallery, it…
23.65 MILES
This fascinating subterranean archaeological site gives an insight into Canterbury’s everyday life almost two millennia ago. Visitors can stroll a…
Nearby attractions
0.01 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
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…
12.28 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…
4. Whitstable Museum & Gallery
18.07 MILES
This modest community museum has glass cases examining Whitstable’s oyster industry, the Crab & Winkle Railway which once ran from Canterbury, and the…
19.99 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…
23.34 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,…
23.49 MILES
You’ll find Greyfriars Chapel in serene riverside gardens behind Eastbridge Hospital. The first monastery built in England by Franciscan monks in 1267,…
23.5 MILES
A ‘place of hospitality’ for pilgrims, soldiers and the elderly since 1180, Eastbridge Hospital of St Thomas the Martyr is the last of many such buildings…