Southend seafront walks

One of my favourite things about the Southend coastline is that you do not have to decide between a tiny stroll and an all-day epic. Start at Shoebury East Beach, point yourself west and choose how far you fancy going. The sea stays on the same side, the landmarks do most of the navigating and there are plenty of opportunities to change your mind along the way.

The walk that started this article was East Beach to Adventure Island and back. My Apple Watch recorded 8.38 miles, which felt long enough to be satisfying without requiring a recovery plan and a small support crew. But it made me realise that the same stretch of coast can give you several completely different walks, so this guide is now built around three simple one-way distances: roughly 4, 8 and 12 miles.

Walk back to the car and you double the distance. If you have done enough for one day, use the train or bus instead. The figures are deliberately approximate because your exact parking space, path, detours and watch will all have an opinion.

Why I start at Shoebury East Beach

My favourite place to park is Shoebury East Beach Car Park on George Street, Shoeburyness, SS3 9AD. It is usually cheaper than parking along the central and western seafront, particularly once you get towards Leigh, and you begin beside the beach rather than spending the first part of the walk escaping a town-centre car park.

The council lists 250 spaces, including accessible bays. Charges and opening arrangements can change, so check the live parking charges before setting off rather than relying on what I paid the last time I was there.

Choose your distance

These distances are one way from East Beach. Walk back to your car and the total doubles; finish at a station or catch a bus and you keep it as the shorter version.

Around 4 miles (6.4 km) – Adventure Island and Southend Pier

Follow the promenade past Shoebury Common, the beach huts, the Roslin Beach Hotel, Ocean Beach, the Camelia Hotel and Sea Life Adventure. Adventure Island and the entrance to Southend Pier make an obvious finish point at roughly four miles.

Walk back along the same route for an eight-mile (12.9 km) return – this is the version I did – or make it a one-way walk. From the central seafront you can head to Southend Central for a c2c train to Shoeburyness, followed by a short walk back to East Beach. Buses also run between central Southend and Shoeburyness, but check the live timetable because routes and seasonal services change.

Around 8 miles (12.9 km) – Old Leigh and Leigh-on-Sea station

Carry on beyond the Pier through Westcliff, past the cliffs and the steps up towards Cliffs Pavilion, then through Chalkwell towards Old Leigh. It is a lovely change of scene when the bright lights and arcades give way to boats, pubs and the old fishing village.

If you have had enough at around eight miles, Leigh-on-Sea and Shoeburyness are on the same c2c line, so you can take a direct train back and walk from Shoeburyness station to the car. If you retrace the whole route instead, you are looking at roughly 16 miles (25.7 km) in total – comfortably beyond half-marathon distance.

Around 12 miles (19.3 km) – Benfleet station

For a bigger day, continue beyond Old Leigh across the estuary landscape towards Benfleet. A published Ramblers route from Shoeburyness to Benfleet puts this at about 11.5 miles, so I would call it roughly 12 and allow for whatever your own route adds. This section is less like the simple paved promenade, so plot it properly and download the route before you go.

Benfleet is also on the same c2c line as Shoeburyness, which makes the train the sensible return option for most people. Walking all the way back would give you roughly 24 miles (38.6 km). That is a brilliant challenge and very close to a marathon, but a full marathon is 26.2 miles (42.2 km), so you would need to add another 2.2 miles (3.6 km) if that is your target.

Stopping along the way

If you are going for a power walk with no stop, ignore this section and stride past looking purposeful. If you would rather break it up, there are several places I can genuinely recommend on the earlier part of the route.

© Tina Wing Photography

ATTIC is a relaxed but yummy choice for coffee, breakfast or lunch. The Roslin Beach Hotel is lovely for estuary views and a proper sit-down meal or drink – fun fact, I used to do all its marketing and quite a few of my designs still exist today. I have eaten at Ocean Beach and would happily recommend it for anything from coffee and breakfast to a full meal or cocktails. The Camelia Hotel is another favourite: we hold our Big Purple Pants trustee meetings there, and the food, drinks and service are always fab.

Once you reach the central seafront there are plenty of quick stops, and Old Leigh gives you pubs, cafés and seafood at the eight-mile end. Check opening times before building an entire walk around lunch – I fully support food-led route planning, but only when the kitchen is open.

Toilets and practical stops

Southend-on-Sea City Council has a live public-toilet guide covering East Beach and the wider seafront. The main East Beach toilets have seasonal opening dates, with other facilities near the George Street entrance and along the route.

For a one-way walk, check your return before leaving the car. Southend Central, Leigh-on-Sea and Benfleet all have direct c2c services towards Shoeburyness, but East Beach is not beside Shoeburyness station, so remember that final short walk. For the four-mile route, a bus may suit you better; use the live journey planner rather than assuming a summer service is running all year.

My mini survival kit

Whenever I am walking – whether it is a few miles or something much longer – I try to carry the essentials. My friends know me for my mini survival kits. If somebody needs a plaster, hair tie, tweezers or a nail file, there is a very good chance I have one in my bag, along with spare contact lenses and my own medication, which obviously is not for sharing.

I also take water, a charged phone, a small power bank, blister plasters, a light waterproof and something to eat. My homemade protein bars are ideal because they travel well and do not take up half the bag.

Put together a kit containing things you might actually use. There is no point carrying an emergency sewing set if your needle skills have not been tested since Year 3 at school. If I am walking alone, I tell somebody where I am going and keep Life360 on so my family can see where I am if anything goes wrong. That is about as dramatic as it needs to be.

How I track my walks

I record my walks on my Apple Watch and have recently started using Strava too. My stepdaughter runs and told me I should download it, so I did – and I have become far more invested than I expected.

I like seeing the route, distance and time, then adding photographs so each activity becomes a small record of the day. Friends can give you kudos and leave comments, and that little bit of encouragement does help with accountability. If people are noticing that you have been out regularly, it gives you a nudge to go again rather than quietly becoming one with the sofa.

You can share Apple Watch activity with other Apple users too, although I have never done it. Strava suits me because the tracking, photos and community sit together. I just make sure my privacy settings are how I want them before sharing a route.

One coastline, plenty of walks

That is what I like most about starting at East Beach: the route does not have to be one fixed walk. Adventure Island gives you a straightforward four-mile destination, Old Leigh turns it into a proper eight-mile coastal walk, and Benfleet gives you a roughly 12-mile challenge with a train back at the end.

You can walk one way, double any of them by returning on foot, stop for lunch or keep moving. My own eight-mile return to Adventure Island is still a favourite because it is flat, easy to follow and long enough to feel as though I have properly done something. But now I have the other turnaround points in my head, I suspect it will not remain my longest for very long.