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From Wikivoyage

Clacton in Essex, also known as Clacton-on-Sea, is the largest town in the Tendring Peninsula. It's between Jaywick and Holland-on-Sea.

Get in

Clacton-on-sea

By car

Exit the A12 at the Colchester North exit onto the A120, and then the A133 all the way into Clacton.

By train

  • 1 Railway Station, Skelmersdale Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 6PU. Trains run to Clacton every hour from London Liverpool Street and take approximately 90 minutes. If travelling from the Ipswich direction, change trains at Colchester North. Clacton-on-Sea railway station (Q5124903) on Wikidata Clacton-on-Sea railway station on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)

By bus

Buses serve Clacton from most parts of North-East Essex, including Colchester (every 30 minutes, approx. 1 hour journey time), Walton and Frinton (every 30 minutes, approx. 30 minutes journey time) and Harwich (every hour, approx. 45 minutes journey time). There are also 3 National Express coaches per day to London (#484, approx. 3 hours journey time) and 1 National Express coach per day to Liverpool, via Cambridge, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester etc. (#350, approx journey time 12 hours to Liverpool). As there is no distinct bus station, finding the correct stop within the town centre can be a problem, mainly because of a lack of any maps, and the digital displays at each stop only show departures for that street. If in doubt, walk out to the train station as most routes pass here.

By bicycle

National Cycle Route 150 runs along the coast from Frinton-on-Sea & Walton to the NE to Jawick (just past the golf club) to SW.

Get around

The main town centre is fairly compact and can easily be covered on foot.

By car

Clacton is a fairly driver-friendly town with cheap, plentiful parking, although during the summer holidays or the Clacton Air Show, parking and traffic can be problematic.

By bus

The two main operators of suburban routes are First Essex and Hedingham Omnibuses. The former operates a handful of suburban routes at half-hourly intervals, one of which serves the out-of-town Tesco hypermarket. The latter operates regular shuttle services to the Clacton Common Shopping Village.

See

Do

Clacton Pier
  • 1 Push Kiting (Kite Surfing School), ☏ +44 7736 052967, . M-F 8AM-9:30PM, Sa Su 8AM-5PM. Kite surfing, kite buggy, kite landboarding, power kite, paddleboard. M-F taster (2 hr) £50. Sa Su taster (2 hr) £60. M-F ½-day course £50. Sa Su ½-day course £70.. (updated Apr 2017)
  • 2 Clacton Pier (Tenpin bowling, Bar, Rides, Seaquarium,), 1 North Sea, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1QX, ☏ +44 1255 421115, . Clacton Pier (Q5124905) on Wikidata Clacton Pier on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)
  • 3 The Beach, CO15 6JS (OS Grid ref TM 1760 1445). Seasonal lifeguard. (updated May 2017)
  • 4 Weeley Hall Wood (Nature Reserve) (Off the B1441 (Colchester to Clacton Rd) Weeley, Essex. OS Grid ref TM 156 212), ☏ +44 1621 862960, . Best times to visit are Apr-Jul & Nov-Feb. Dogs allowed. Weeleyhall Wood (Q26237193) on Wikidata Weeleyhall Wood on Wikipedia (updated May 2017)

Buy

Clacton-on-Sea streets

The town centre areas feature the usual high-street shops (Argos, WHSmith, Marks & Spencer etc.), as well as plenty of seaside tourist shops. There are several decent sized supermarkets including Fiveways, Morrisons, Lidl and Tesco, the latter of which is quite a way out of town but can be reached by local bus.

The Clacton Common Shopping Village, located on an industrial estate on the edge of town, is one of two 'factory outlet' shopping malls in Essex (the other being Freeport, near Braintree). It mostly consists of numerous stores selling discontinued clothing lines at discount prices.

  • 1 Sainsbury's (Supermarket), 39 High St, Clacton-On-Sea, CO15 1NU, ☏ +44 1255 202400. M-Sa 8AM-8PM, Su 10AM-4PM. ATMs (updated May 2017)
  • 2 Lidl (Supermarket), St Osyth Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 3BN. M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM. (updated May 2017)
  • 3 Morrisons (Supermarket), Waterglade Retail Park, Old Rd, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1HX, ☏ +44 1255 221127. M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM. ATMs. (updated May 2017)

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Connect

  • 1 Post Office, High St, Clacton On Sea, CO15 1NP. M 9AM-5:30PM, Tu 9:30AM-5:30PM, W-F 9AM-5:30PM, Sa 9AM-12:30PM. (updated May 2017)

Stay safe

General precautions and common sense apply, avoid anywhere that looks rough and try to avoid walking the streets at night. Jaywick to the west of Clacton is extremely impoverished and rundown (especially the Brooklands area), commercial areas and the beaches are safe, but wandering around residential streets is ill-advised.

Go next

This city travel guide to Clacton is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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