Beaches near London: the closest, the sandiest, and the ones you can reach by train

London is further from the sea than people assume and closer than they fear. The nearest salt water is about fifty minutes away on a train from Fenchurch Street; the nearest beach most people would call a beach is nearer two hours.

The two questions that decide your day are whether you want sand or shingle, and whether you are going by train. Both are answered below, with times from central London.

The closest, if closest is the point

Southend-on-Sea, Essex. About 55 minutes from Fenchurch Street or Liverpool Street, which makes it the nearest seaside to London by a clear margin. Sandy in patches, muddy at low tide because it is the Thames estuary rather than open sea, and it has the longest pleasure pier in the world. Go for the pier and the arcades rather than for swimming.

Leigh-on-Sea, one stop before Southend, is the better half of the same journey: cockle sheds, a working fishing village and pubs on the water. Not a swimming beach at all, and a much nicer afternoon.

The sandy ones, which are in Kent

Botany Bay, Broadstairs. The best-looking beach within reach of London: proper sand, white chalk stacks, and low tide opens up a long stretch you can walk. Train to Broadstairs, roughly 1 hour 20 minutes on the high-speed service from St Pancras, then a bus or a half-hour walk. Worth the extra leg.

Margate Main Sands. About 1 hour 30 on the high-speed line from St Pancras, and the beach is directly in front of the station, which is unusual and very convenient. Sandy, tidal, with the free Turner Contemporary gallery on the harbour and Dreamland behind it.

Folkestone. The fastest of the lot, around 55 minutes from St Pancras on the high-speed service. Sunny Sands is the sandy beach; the Harbour Arm is a converted railway pier with bars and food, and the town has become genuinely good in the last decade.

The shingle ones, which are closer and quicker

Brighton, about an hour from Victoria, London Bridge or Blackfriars. Pebbles, not sand, which people forget and regret. Everything else about it is excellent and it is the easiest coastal day out from London.

Whitstable, roughly 1 hour 20 from Victoria or St Pancras. Shingle, oysters, beach huts and a harbour. The best food of any of these.

The one worth the effort

Camber Sands is the real sand-dune beach, miles of it, and the only one on this list that looks like a proper English seaside postcard. It is also awkward: train to Rye, about 1 hour 10 from St Pancras, then a bus. Doable without a car, but plan the return bus before you go rather than after.

Practical things that ruin these days out

Check the tide. Half the beaches here are tidal to the point of transformation. Botany Bay at high tide is a fraction of Botany Bay at low tide, and the estuary beaches turn to mud.

Book the train ahead. Advance singles on the high-speed Kent services are a fraction of the walk-up fare, and a summer Saturday walk-up to Margate is expensive.

Check for engineering work, especially on a bank holiday weekend, which is when it happens and when you most want to go.

Go on a weekday if you can. Every one of these is transformed by it. A Tuesday in June at Botany Bay is close to empty.

If you would rather stay in town

London has open-air swimming that beats a mediocre beach day: the Hampstead Heath ponds, open all year, and the lidos. Our August guide covers the swimming season, and everything else on this site is inside the M25.