Southend-On-Sea has been a favourite place for me since my childhood. I only went a few times as it can be quite an expensive day out but it always seemed so magical with all the rides, arcades & the beaches. It’s changed a lot over the year’s & there’s so much to do along the seafront, which can be pricey, but as we found it doesn’t have to be.
Normally the travel costs are a big issue for us but C2C are letting children travel for £1 when you buy an adult ticket. The return journey only cost £11.30 for the 3 of us.
I’d read on facebook about the lagoon beach & decided to head there first as the tide was going to be out for most of the day. I was impressed to find the deck chairs were free! We even managed to find some to sit on even though it was quite busy.
Eva was so excited & couldn’t wait to get in the water so she ran off instantly and went in about waist deep before thinking she was drowning and coming out again. She did go back in a few times to her knees though.
Izzy on the other hand wasn’t impressed with the water at all and spent almost half an hour on a deck chair. Digging up small bits of sand into her bucket trying to avoid actually touching it.
Eventually I managed to get Izzy to sit in the sand and play properly whilst Eva was turned into a mermaid. They both had loads of fun especially with Izzy tearing apart one fin every time slim began the other haha!
Izzy eventually decided to brave a wander and ended up playing on the play frame with 2 other girls, another Isobella (Bella) and an Ava which was quite amusing when their mum told me!
We stayed at the lagoon beach for well over an hour and a half and on a slightly cooler day I imagine you could sit down there for hours. I would definitely recommend visiting the Lagoon if your ever in Southend.
We went on the hunt for some toilets after Eva attempted to shower herself off using the free shower when we left. I forgot about the adventure island toilets after a long walk we ended up having to buy a drink in a pub so Slim got himself a pint. I had a Coke and we got the girls an fruit shoot icy.
We actually had a much cheaper day out than I expected too. Admittedly we did put a few pounds into the 2p change machines for the girls though which they really enjoyed!
Eva won a minion pencil and an owl keyring, she was so proud of herself for winning but was sad Izzy hadn’t won anything so when we got home she decided to give Izzy the pencil who gave her a lovely big kiss and cuddle & said thank you!
The girls were pretty exhausted already after another hour or so in the arcades. Especially as it was such a hot day, so we decided to take a slow walk to find a stall where we could buy some sticks of rock to take home. The girls spotted a slush puppy stand. And decided they wanted one instead of rock or sweets and decided to get a Twister Straw cup each to drink so they could take home the cups afterwards, Eva got excited as she had the last pink cup & Izzy of course went for a red one!
I asked the girls what they wanted to do next & as they were tired they wanted to head home.
We took a slow walk back to the station watching the buskers perform. Then stopping to treat the girls to McDonald’s before getting our train home.
Although we only spent around 4 hours in Southend & spent very little money, it was a lovely day out and the girls really enjoyed themselves. Both of them kept thanking me & Eva said it was the best day ever! It was a lot less stressful than I expected it to be too so it’s given me quite a boost.
There’s so much to do in Southend and I am hoping C2C run the same scheme next summer. I found out too late this years. I know Eva really wants to go back to Adventure Island for the rides & the sea life centre as its been a few years since she last went & Izzy has yet to go.
Have you visited any Essex beaches this Summer? What did you think of them?
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