No point in England is more than about 70 miles from the sea, so it's fitting that the country more or less invented the seaside holiday. Its piers are the physical proof: iron-legged Victorian pleasure palaces built in the 1800s when railways first delivered city workers to the coast. A new roundup from Islands picks eight of the best, and they're a genuinely varied bunch — from old-school variety theatre to ziplines.
Cromer Pier in Norfolk may be the purist's choice. Built in 1901, it took the National Piers Society's Pier of the Year award in 2024 — its third win — and its Pavilion Theatre still runs a full summer variety show at the end of the pier, a tradition that's nearly extinct elsewhere. Also in Norfolk, Great Yarmouth offers a double act: the Britannia and Wellington piers, packed with rides, arcades and carnival food along one of the UK's driest, most beach-friendly stretches of coast.
For thrills, head to Bournemouth in Dorset, where the pier has traded the fairground for a Ferris wheel, a pier-to-shore zipline (the world's first) and RockReef, an activity centre with climbing walls and an aerial obstacle course. Nearby Sandown on the Isle of Wight goes the opposite direction — 10-pin bowling, adventure golf and a children's play area called Magic Island, all indoors, which matters given England's habit of drizzle. Gaze down the beach and you're looking across the Channel towards France.
Clevedon in Somerset is the elegant one. Its 1869 pier stretches over 1,000 feet with no amusements at all — just an ice cream at the Pagoda Cafe, a castle-style tollhouse, and the chance to board the Waverley, the world's last seafaring paddle steamer, when it tours the Bristol Channel. The Times rated Clevedon among Britain's best places to live in 2024, and it shows.
At the loud end of the spectrum sit Blackpool and Brighton. Blackpool's three Victorian piers — North, Central and South — anchor a seaside scene one travel writer has compared to Coney Island; the tower between the first two gives you a 380-foot lookout over the Irish Sea. Brighton Palace Pier, opened in 1899 and stretching 1,700 feet, mixes rollercoasters and a bandstand with the city's famously relaxed, LGBTQ+-friendly beach vibe.
The record-holder is Southend-on-Sea, just 40 miles from central London: its pier is the longest pleasure pier on Earth at 1.33 miles across the Thames Estuary, long enough to have its own railway. There's a pier museum, a hall of mirrors, and fishing from the railings — mackerel, plaice and flounder are the usual catches.
For anyone planning an English coastal break, this list doubles as a map of the country: Norfolk, Dorset, Somerset, Lancashire, Sussex, Essex and the Isle of Wight are all represented. Aim for early or late summer when the weather and crowds cooperate, and remember piers were built for exactly the kind of slow day — chips, sea air, a show at the end of the boards — that modern trips often forget.
