Closest beach to London (and the best)

Southend-on-Sea is usually cited as the closest beach to London, but spend an extra 30 minutes on the train and you can reach one of the best rated beaches in the UK. 

Ignoring the small tidal beaches of the Thames and Thorney Bay on Canvey Island (because it takes longer to reach by public transport), the closest beach to London for most residents is Southend-on-Sea, in Essex.

There are frequent and fast connections to London, with trains from London Liverpool Street to Southend taking just over an hour.

Southend's long stretches of beach are mostly a mix of shingle and sand, although you can find sandier stretches. Unfortunately, the town was rated poorly by visitors in our survey of the UK’s best and worst seaside towns. Of more than 100 destinations rated, Southend finished fifth from bottom with an overall destination score of 56%. Visitors rated the beach and seafront just two stars.

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The best beach near London

Luckily, it’s not much harder to get to the best beach near London. Frinton-on-Sea, also in Essex, was ranked in the top ten seaside destinations in the UK with a score of 78% and, crucially, visitors gave its beach five stars.

Developed as an elegant resort by Sir Richard Powell Cooper to attract ‘a better sort’ of resident, ‘vulgar’ attractions such as arcades and piers were banned in Frinton. Thanks to by-laws dating from the 1890s, nothing much goes on here. This has been flouted more recently with the opening of a fish and chip shop (1996) and pub (2000), but the town keeps a restrained air. Visitors awarded it five stars for peace and quiet, so it’s the perfect break from the city.

You can reach Frinton-on-Sea in about 90 minutes from Liverpool Street, including a change of trains in Thorpe-le-Soken

See the full rankings of the UK’s best and worst seaside towns

Other top-rated beaches and seaside towns near London

Broadstairs in Kent 

The Kent coastline is within easy reach of London. The best rated beach town in our survey was Broadstairs. Charles Dickens' favourite holiday spot got four stars for its sandy beach. Walk along the coast and you’ll find lots of smaller, secluded bays that you can have to yourself.

Rye, East Sussex

Few places can be two miles from the sea and still feel so connected to it. One of Britain’s grandest seafaring towns, Rye’s history with the navy (and pirates) is told in the city walls, watchtowers and medieval pubs on its cobbled streets. Camber Sands, two miles down the road, is arguably the grandest sweep of beach in England.