About Clacton on Sea - Essex
Accessible Attractions in Clacton on Sea - Essex Area
- Hasty’s Adventure Farm
Activities in Clacton-on-Sea
Enjoy all the best entertainment in Clacton-on-Sea thanks to live shows at the Princes Theatre.
There's plenty of things to do in Clacton throughout your stay - families can enjoy top attractions like Clacton Pier and its child-friendly activities at Clacton Pavilion, while couples can indulge in Clacton's nightlife and top cultural experiences. It's easy to get around Clacton, too, and you won't have any trouble finding delicious restaurants and places to eat near Clacton.
Why not finish your trip with some shopping in Clacton and take home a souvenir or two? Plus, our super comfy beds will be waiting to help you drift off after busy days out exploring the coast.
Discover our properties in Clacton-on-Sea and book your next getaway today.
Clacton Beaches
Stretching for over a mile next to the pier, Clacton-on-Sea Beach is considered one of the best slices of coastline in Essex. A largely sandy beach with a few areas of pebbles, it’s lifeguard-protected during the summer months and tends to get busy as soon as the sun threatens to burst through the clouds. Plus, with the Victorian pier close by and plenty of cafés, shops and amusements, you’re never far from your next ice cream or go on the dodgems.
Heading down the coast towards Colne Point is Jaywick Beach, a relatively quiet and secluded stretch of coastline. The facilities are pretty bare – a public car park and set of toilets – but the real attraction is the wilderness and gentle sand dunes, where you’ll also find several well-preserved Martello towers, round forts built in the 19th Century to defend the coastline from French attacks.
Location : Clacton on Sea Beach- Essex
Said to be the driest place in the UK with just over 50 centimetres of rain each year, St Osyth Beach is already off to a good start. Located five miles west of Clacton, the beach backs onto a large caravan park, which can make it busy during the summer months, and part of the beach is reserved for nude sunbathers. But at nearly two miles long, there’s plenty of room and privacy and low tide reveals plenty of rock pools, perfect for kids both big and small to explore.
SeaQuarium
Part of the Clacton Pier complex, the SeaQuarium covers a wide range of aquatic life, including freshwater and tropical fish, and explores the natural sea life found around the pier.
A small but action-packed aquarium that’s good value for money, star attractions include the school of red-bellied piranhas and their array of lobsters, stingrays and their very own ‘Nemo.’
Location : Clacton on Sea Pier - Essex
Clacton Pier
At the heart of the seaside action and directly opposite our Clacton-on-Sea Seafront hotel, Clacton Pier offers everything from arcade games, rollercoasters and fairground rides to a 10-pin bowling centre, an aquarium and plenty of food and drink outlets.
Opened in 1871, the latest addition to the 350-metre pier is the 50-metre Helter Skelter tower, which looks out towards the Offshore Wind Farm.
The pier and attractions are open daily and, if you head down during the summer, you’ll also get to check out their special Circus Fantasia shows that run twice daily. As well as hosting the fireworks display for the Clacton Airshow, the pier has seven other free fireworks displays during the year – they can get popular so get down early to bag the best viewing points.
There are seven food and drink outlets on the pier spanning everything from candy floss and fast-food burgers to the Sunshine Terrace, the perfect place for a sundowner cocktail or two.
Garden of Remembrance
Positioned at the entrance to Clacton Pier, the Garden of Remembrance is a compact but colourful garden and war memorial in honour of those who died in World Wars I and II. Erected in 1924, the garden features over 30,000 bedding plants, which come alive during the spring and summer. With plenty of seating and benches, the small park is a wonderfully peaceful and tranquil space and is open into the evening thanks to a series of floodlights.
The Pavilion
The latest addition to Clacton’s entertainment scene is The Pavilion, a multimillion-pound centre spread over three floors housing a wide range of activities situated next to the pier. Kids and thrill-seekers will love the Fun Park with a wide range of rides to suit all ages, adventure golf and a 5D cinema loaded with special effects. Elsewhere, there’s a ten-pin bowling centre, an arcade, a high-rope course and several bars, restaurants and cafés.
Accessible Attraction
Hasty’s Adventure Farm
Aimed at children aged 3 to 11, Hasty’s Adventure Farm packs a lot into their converted farm space, including ride-on tractors, a giant sandpit, a covered wooden climbing frame, pedal go-karts and a large animal contact area where you can pet goats, pigs, sheep and cows. The farm is open daily from March to November and there’s a small on-site food and drink kiosk if you get hungry, as well as plenty of picnic benches for your own food and drinks.
West Rd, Clacton-on-Sea CO15 1AG
Curve Wake Park
Look no further than Curve Wake Park when it comes to water sports in the area. From an inflatable aqua park that runs through the summer to wakeboarding, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and swimming, it all takes place on Mill Dam Lake in St Oysth, a five-minute drive from our Clacton-on-Sea Colchester Road hotel. The park is closed during the winter months and open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during spring, before opening full time through the summer. And when you’re finished in the water, the Cafe by the Lake is open for breakfast, lunch, drinks and snacks.
Theatre and Cinema
Theatre and cinema-goers are spoilt for choice in Clacton-on-Sea, with several excellent venues to choose from. The largest playhouse in the area is Princes Theatre, an 820-capacity Grade II-listed building that hosts everything from family shows and live music to stand-up comedy and tribute events. The large proscenium arch venue was built in 1931 and has been updated over the years to include retractable seating and a licensed bar, and is just a five-minute walk from our Clacton-on-Sea Seafront hotel.
The other alternative in Clacton-on-Sea is the slightly smaller West Cliff Theatre on Freeland Road, a few blocks back from Marine Parade. The 600-capacity theatre has a diverse range of programming spanning musicals, live music, comedy, drama and dance, and also offers free parking at their Freeland Road car park. The oldest theatre in the region, dating back to 1894, it was owned by Will Hammer in the 1930s, who later went on to found Hammer Films, the noted horror movie company.
Staying on a cinematic theme, film fans will want to check out Century Cinema, a historic two-screen theatre that’s been at the heart of Clacton’s movie scene since the 1930s. Both screens were updated in 2013, adding air conditioning, Sony 4K projectors and Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound. As well as screening the latest blockbuster action across the 400-capacity and 76-capacity screens, the cinema hosts a variety of special theme and tribute events and also live-streams ballet and opera from West End shows.
Jaywick Martello Tower
Once a robust fort designed to defend the country from Napoleon, the Jaywick Martello Tower in Clacton has been brilliantly repurposed and is now a thriving arts centre encompassing an art gallery, heritage and workshop space. Open Wednesday to Sunday from April to September and on weekends during the winter, the tower is nestled on the coastline providing 360-degree views across the coastline and back over the Essex countryside. As well as the art on display and the regular workshops, the site has plenty of artefacts and historical exhibitions, including a rooftop cannon
Jaywick Martello Tower
Clacton-on-Sea Airshow
Attracting over a quarter-million flying fans each year, the Clacton Airshow is one of the biggest annual events in the region. A mainstay for nearly three decades, the two-day airshow takes place towards the end of August and brings together aerobatic displays, parachute shows, a large food and entertainment area and a spectacular firework show from Clacton Pier. The event is free to enter and you can bring your own food and drinks to beat the queues from the on-site vendors.
Another festival worth keeping an eye out for is Beside the Seaside, a family-orientated one-day festival held on Clacton Beach at the start of June.
Nightlife in Clacton-on-Sea
Enjoy all the best entertainment in Clacton-on-Sea thanks to live shows at the Princes Theatre. There's plenty of things to do in Clacton throughout your stay - families can enjoy top attractions like Clacton Pier and its child-friendly activities at Clacton Pavilion, while couples can indulge in Clacton's nightlife and top cultural experiences. It's easy to get around Clacton, too, and you won't have any trouble finding delicious restaurants and places to eat near Clacton. Why not finish your trip with some shopping in Clacton and take home a souvenir or two? Plus, our super comfy beds will be waiting to help you drift off after busy days out exploring the coast.
Discover our properties in Clacton-on-Sea and book your next getaway today.
Bars
With a large terrace overlooking the coastline, a decent range of typical pub grub and a better range of drinks, the Boardwalk Bar and Grill is a rock-solid all-rounder. Located at the foot of Clacton’s Pier, its location is its main selling point, especially if you can bag a seat on the terrace on a sunny day.
Another all-rounder that offers a lively bar and above-average food is Harry’s Bar and Restaurant. Located several miles north of the Clacton-on-Sea Colchester Road hotel, the restaurant serves up high-quality food at very decent prices, while the bar offers a wide range of cocktails best enjoyed on their heated terrace.
For a dedicated night of cocktails and tiki fun, we recommend Makai Tiki Bar overlooking Clacton Beach. A small, licensed beach bar and café, they serve food, coffee and ice cream during the day before turning into a buzzy cocktail joint after sunset, with indoor and outdoor seating options depending on the weather.
For a night out that involves little travelling and comes with a range of three options, head to Tom Peppers, The Loft and The Cellar Bar on Marine Parade. Tom Peppers is a cool sports bar that screens all the big-screen action, while The Loft and The Cellar Bar open every Friday and Saturday night with guest DJs playing everything from R&B to current dance classics. Located just off Marine Parade, the complex of bars and clubs is just a short walk from the Clacton-on-Sea Seafront hotel.
Pubs
Clacton pubs don’t get much better than the Old Lifeboat House. A minute’s stroll from Marine Parade and the pier, the converted lifeboat station is a welcoming venue with one of the best beer and real ale selections in town and a steady supply of locals and tourists who come for the friendly atmosphere and stay to work their way through the wide range of IPAs, lagers, stouts and beers.
Heading north into the town centre, you’ll find The Queens Arms on Old Road. A large, family-friendly pub that’s been recently refurbished, they serve up a very decent range of drinks behind the bar and have a regular entertainment lineup, including domino and bingo nights and live music at the weekend. Factor in a large terrace, tasty pub grub and a late, 1am license at the weekend and you have a real winner.
Heading further north into Great Clacton, you’ll come to the Robin Hood, Ship Inn and Robert Burre pubs, just a short stroll from each other near St John’s Road. The Robin Hood is a classic, traditional pub with a large beer garden, very decent pub food and a wide range of cask ales, while The Ship Inn is one of the oldest pubs in the region dating back to the 1520s. The food is a big sell here, with their large menu covering lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, specialist steaks and their popular Sunday lunch. Completing the pub crawl is The Robert Burre, another traditional pub that plays to its strengths of good food, good beer and an atmospheric setting complete with wooden floors and ceiling beams, a roaring fireplace and an inclusive bar serving beer, wine and spirits.
There are several recommended countryside pubs in the area. The Wick Lodge on Jaywick Lane is a large pub known for its excellent food and lively bar stocked with a wide range of beer, cider and spirits. With a beer garden and views across the Essex countryside, it’s a popular rural option.
