Beaches in Colchester & the Surrounding Area | Essex

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If you’re looking for beaches in Colchester, this guide is for you! I share the best beaches near Colchester and some tips for visiting, including the best way to get there and things to do.

Beaches in Colchester

West Mersea Beach | Brightlingsea Beach | Clacton | Walton

*Listed closest to furthest away from Colchester

There isn’t actually a beach IN the city of Colchester, however, the Borough of Colchester does extend to the Essex coast! The borough includes Mersea Island, so this is the best place to head for beaches in Colchester.

West Mersea Beach

⭐️Beach IN the borough of Colchester

🚙Distance from the city of Colchester: approximately 9 miles/25 minutes

Mersea Island is accessed by a tidal causeway. For a week every month, the island gets cut off from the mainland, twice a day at high tide. One of the main beaches on Mersea Island is West Mersea Beach. 

On hot days, Victoria Esplanade car park gets VERY busy, so it’s best to arrive early. You can pay for parking online with MIPermit by downloading the app. (It’s worth noting though, that during my visit, I could only JUST get a phone signal on the EE network).

An alternative option to driving is to catch bus 67 or 68 from Colchester to West Mersea, which is operated by First Bus.

The water is very shallow and great for paddling, kayakers, and stand-up paddle boarders. The beach itself is a mix of sand, stones, and shells. Directly in front of the car park is always the busiest. This is where you’ll find the public toilet block, a small beach shop, and a couple of cafes.

If you walk a little further down the beach, you can find quieter spots. West Mersea Beach is also lined with colourful beach huts. Several of these are available for day rentals, great if you want a space with a private area to relax. You can find some of the rental huts in my post here: Beach Hut Hire Essex | 11 Beach Hut Rentals For The Ultimate Beach Day!

West Mersea Beach also has a couple of holiday parks if you want to go camping in Essex: Waldegraves Holiday Park and Coopers Beach Holiday Park (Parkdean Resort).

Brightlingsea Beach

🚙Distance from the city of Colchester: approximately 11 miles/25 minutes

JUST outside of the Borough of Colchester, in the neighbouring Tendering District (although it still comes under the post town of Colchester) is Brightlingsea Beach. This is the next nearest beach to Colchester.

Brightlingsea Beach is one of 10 beaches in Essex to have been awarded as a ‘Blue Flag Beach’. This means that it meets a specialised set of criteria covering water quality and environmental education programmes.

The beach isn’t very big but great for those with small children. The main part is made up of a tidal pool with just a very small section of sand. It’s also surrounded by beach huts! There are a couple of takeaway cafes nearby.

For those who want some ‘deeper’ water to swim in, the Brightlingsea Lido is an open-air swimming pool. It’s just a short walk from the beach but they can reach capacity very quickly on warm days.

The West Prom car park is a large grass pay and display parking area with space for 300+ cars. The car park is locked in the evenings. Alternatively, the First Bus 62 service goes from Colchester to Brightlingsea.

There is also a foot ferry that runs between Brightlingsea and Point Clear (3-minute journey) and East Mersea (9-minute journey).

Clacton Beach

🚙Distance from the city of Colchester: approximately 16-19 miles/30-40 minutes

🚆30 minutes by train

Clacton is the largest beach town that’s closest to Colchester. It has a similar drive time to West Mersea Beach and Brightlingsea, but there are a lot more attractions and things to do. Wellesley Road and the High Street car parks are some of the bigger parking areas in the town.

You can also reach it via train if you don’t want to worry about parking, with a journey time from Colchester of around 30 minutes. The train station is just a short walk from the beach.

The beach is a mix of sand and shingle. This part of the Essex coast has one of the largest stretches of beach that goes past Jaywick in one direction and along to Walton in the other. If you walk in either direction you’ll come to a quieter bit of beach.

Clacton Pier is a fun stop with fairground rides, mini golf and arcades. Public toilets are just in front of the pier and you’ll find takeaways, cafes and restaurants all within a short distance.

Walton

🚆Bucket and Spade Train

Walton is a little bit further away. But it’s worth mentioning because most summers Greater Anglia will run the ‘Bucket and Spade Trains’. On select weekdays in the August summer holiday train tickets between Colchester and Walton are £5 for adults and £3 for children (correct in 2023).

Albion Beach in Walton is another of the Essex Blue Flag beaches. It is mostly sand, however, keep in mind that if visiting during high tide, sometimes the water can come up completely to the sea wall, covering the beach. I think it’s the nicest of the beaches near Colchester.

Just like West Mersea, several beach huts are available for rentals. They are set back in the sea wall, so at least if the tide is in, you’ll have somewhere dry to sit!

The area around Walton Pier has the most facilities, with rides, arcades, toilets, and places to eat. It’s also a short walk from the train station. I personally like ‘the Naze’ end, but cafes and toilets are a bit further away in places.

There are other beaches in Essex, but they are a little further away from Colchester. These are the best beaches in Colchester and the surrounding area under 40 minutes by car or train!