There is a place you can go if you're a tourist to London, if you had a bad day and need a quick day trip to the coast or if it's your birthday and you want to take a short break for a few days. It's the little quirky city of Essex county, 'Southend on Sea'. I go there for a short break some times. If I got a ticket to the blues and feel a bit down or If it's my birthday.
I live north-west of London; I look at London as a clock face to simplify it in my mind. The number 12 is 'High Barnet', 10 o clock is 'Uxbridge', 6 o clock is 'Croydon', the tram district. 9 O clock is Acton and Stains, the bit next to Heathrow Airport. The Nearest Part of London to me is Uxbridge at 10 o clock. Barking and Upminister is 3 o clock.
I take a bus to Uxbridge Train station so I can get to Barking station, I change at kings cross but the Hammersmith train to Barking stops on the same platform. From Barking station I take a 40 minute train ride to Southend on Sea. The c2c train ticket costs about £8 but it's not subsidised like the London trains so I'm not complaining. The same 50 km distance from Barking to Southend on Sea would cost less than £4 in London, you would literally get change from a fiver.
I walk out the sea front and breathe in the fresh sea air and look out at the Kent peninsula on the distant horizon. If you look to your left you can see the open ocean. At night the place is lit up like Las Vegas and the sea is dark but there are always ships passing with lights on them. It's not the best place to go, but it is good for a day trip or short break.
I imagine some of the tourists that visit London live very far from the sea so it could be a chance to enjoy the coast without spending much time and money.
