Guy - London on Sea

Rediscover the magic of a day out at the beach.

This illustrated guide offers inspiration for 50 coastal days out, all within easy reach of London

Explore the best walking routes, find out where to see breath-taking views, and enjoy the architectural quirks and unusual sites that make each seaside town unique.

So what are you waiting for? It's time to swap your oyster card for oysters fresh from the sea, and trade in city parks for the wide, open spaces of sand dunes and beach promenades.

Sarah Guy has written about London for many years, covering everything from restaurants and shops to architecture and walks. While working at Time Out she commissioned and edited hundreds of books, from travel guides to photography collections; for a long time she was the Editor of the Time Out Guide to Eating & Drinking in London.

Who doesnt love a day beside the sea? A chance to blow away the cobwebs, turn your face to the sun and breathe in the salty air; to hurtle down the helter-skelter or eat chips at the end of the pier; to go crabbing or shell-collecting; to walk along towering cliffs or through briny, bird-filled marshlands; and, most of all, to gaze at the endlessly fascinating and constantly changing sea.

Day tripping is such an established pastime that its strange to think that the seaside jaunt only really took hold in the nineteenth century. Bathing cures kick-started the idea of a restorative holiday by the sea in the eighteenth century, fashionable types popularised the notion, and the arrival of the railways democratised it. Our idea of the quintessential resort includes a pier, a promenade, illuminations, ice-creams, crazy golf and amusement arcades, but the seaside archetype also encompasses everything from old smuggling villages to modern kitesurfing spots. Resorts change with the seasons, too, as beaches packed with sunbathers are reclaimed by solitary dog walkers and surfers in wetsuits.

Lucky Londoners have all kinds of coastal escapes within easy reach. As well as star beaches such as Camber and West Wittering, the choice includes traditional (Felixstowe, Herne Bay, Worthing), arty (Folkestone, Hastings, Margate), one-off (Leigh-on-Sea, Dungeness, Thorpeness), chi-chi (Deal, Southwold, Whitstable) and urbane (Brighton, Bournemouth). Go for a special event (Broadstairs Folk Festival, Eastbourne Air Show), an architectural treat (De La Warr Pavilion, historic Harwich) or an unfamiliar landscape (Canvey Island, Dunwich). Whatever your preference, take a trip and make the most of the seaside on your doorstep.

Well-heeled Southwold is an Instagrammers dream, with a cute pier, pastel beach huts, a working lighthouse and a picturesque ferry. South Green, a collection of gracious houses set around a green sward near the seafront, is a classic Southwold spot, but the whole town looks a treat, winter or summer.

The wooden pier is at the northern edge of the town, and along it are cafs, a small amusement arcade and Tim Hunkins delightfully bonkers Under the Pier Show, a collection of automata and games. This end of Southwold is also home to a seasonal funfair, a nine-hole crazy-golf course and a model-yacht pond. The Boating Lake Tearoom offers good coffee and cake, plus more substantial snacks; children will want to feed the ducks.

The town centre is equally picture-perfect, and independent shops still outnumber the chains. Most shops and cafs are found on the High Street and Queen Street. Dont miss Harris & James coffee roasters, and chocolate, cake and ice-cream makers. Flavours change, but they run from key lime pie to blackberry sorbet; even the wafers are own-made. The Black Olive delis tempting stock includes Ginger Pig sausage rolls, while the Two Magpies Bakery has sourdough bread and baked doughnuts.

Adnams brewery is based in the town (tours are available), and many of the pubs and hotels are Adnamsowned the Crown and the Swan Hotel are the big hitters.

The Sailors Reading Room is a unique spot, filled with ships figureheads, memorabilia and model ships settle down with a newspaper and soak up the atmosphere. Make time to take in a film at the charming Electric Picture Palace, too.

Half a mile south of town, where the River Blythe separates Southwold from Walberswick, is Blackshore Quay. Its an easy walk just head south along the Suffolk Coast Path, by the sand and shingle beach and alongside fields. The reward is a portion of Mrs Ts fish and chips or a meal at the Sole Bay Fish Company (who also have a smokehouse and sell fresh fish). Further along, theres the Harbour Caf and an Adnams pub, the Harbour Inn, plus a working boatyard. The views of black wooden huts and little jetties are a tonic, and there are plenty of crabbing spots. The foot ferry to Walberswick a rowing boat operates from here; the ferry company also runs trips along the River Blythe. If the water doesnt appeal, in summer there are horse-driven tours of Southwold on offer.

Walberswick is lovely. A little too tasteful for some, perhaps, with each hollyhock just so and every cottage neater than the next. Crabbing from one of the many river inlets is about as exciting as it gets, but this slow pace suits visitors eager to escape the big city for a seaside idyll. The village is set back from the sea, separated by a line of dunes and black-painted beach huts (no jolly colours here). The unspoilt sand and shingle beach, reached by a boardwalk, is wonderfully moody in bad weather, and captivating when the sun shines. A little wooden hut near the River Blythe sells drinks and beach gear; in the smaller car park near the beach, an ice-cream van offers local ices and crabbing kits (buckets, bait and line). Otherwise, commerce is limited to a few shops, notably the Parish Lantern gift shop and tea room, which has a sheltered garden and serves Alder Tree Suffolk ice-cream. There are two decent pubs, the Bell Inn and the Anchor. The pretty village green has a childrens play area.

There are lots of walks in and around Walberswick, with raised paths crossing any marshy patches: the South Coast Path runs along the beach from Dunwich; another long-distance footpath, the Sandlings Walk, cuts across the edge of the village.

Walberswick is divided from Southwold by the River Blythe; in summer, the rowing-boat ferry takes passengers across in a matter of minutes, so its easy to pop across to Southwolds Blackshore Quay for quality fish and chips at Mrs Ts and back again.