London is such a huge metropolis that it easily makes you forget that the UK is in fact an island! With the past summer we’ve had and the intolerable heat we’ve suffered through, I think a refresher of where are the best beaches from London is in order.
So, let’s get into which are my top 5 favourite beaches, just a few hours away from London and easily accessible by train!
In just under 1hr30 from Liverpool Street, you can find yourself on a lesser known Essex beach. Don’t worry, this is no Clacton-on-Sea, this is clean and relaxing.
Frinton-on-Sea is very wide at low tides and a beautiful sandy beach with colourful huts scattered across the whole length of the beach. There’s also great hikes to do all the way to the Naze, like this one.
This huge sand dune is one of my favourite to visit. Also just under 1hr30 to get to from St Pancras, and a huge wide length that lets you find a nice spot even on the busiest of days. If you want to stay the night, there’s many caravans to rent.
If you happen to stay there a bit longer, don’t forget about the area. Rye and Camber Castle are not far and a beautiful day out if you enjoy English medieval cobbled streets and quirky little stores.
This is the furthest away from London on this list, but I’d say West Wittering is very deserving on being on this top 5.
It’s a bit over 2hrs if you’re taking publlic transport, with a nice stopover in Chichester, which is another beautiful medieval market town to visit.
Beautiful sand dunes, wide and long enough to walk for hours, with a National Trust site, East Head, at the end of the beach.
Botany Bay is one of the easiest beach to get to from London. Just over 1hr30 from Euston, with trains every hour.
Arriving in Margate, which is now a nice resort town with cute cafés and great brunch spots, you can then start on what is maybe England’s nicest coastal walk.
Whether you decide to walk on the sandy beach, or up on the white cliffs, it makes for a great day out from London. Even the train prices are still reasonable, so this one remains my favourite for accessibility.
Now for the poshest of the beaches, we have Whitstable. Just over 1hr from London, this is your spot if you like oysters and white wine. This is also the only pebbled beach of the lot, but it still makes a great relaxing day out with the beautifully arranged beach front houses.
There’s a lot to see around Whitstable too, if you continue on that coastal walk and obviously you have to indulge in the juicy, flavourful red fruits of Kent.
Have you visited any of these beaches before? If so, would they make your top 5? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll see you there!
