These Are England's 8 Hands-Down Best Piers For Ocean Views And Seaside Fun

Brits famously love the seaside, and perhaps even invented the modern seaside holiday, which makes sense when you consider that Great Britain is a relatively small island, where no one is ever more than approximately 70 miles from the coast.  Some of the U.K.'s finest beaches are in England, be it for coastal scenery, relaxing and bathing, or soaking up the vibes during the increasingly hot and dry summers. These beaches are often dominated by a pier (or multiple piers) offering amenities, amusements, and seascape scenery.

It's a given that a pier will probably have pleasing views, gazing across the horizon or towards distant coastlines. But defining "fun" and "hands-down best" is a little more subjective. For the purposes of this list, we'll focus on pleasure piers, which arose during the Victorian-era, the golden age of British seaside resorts. Once rudimentary assemblages of wood, poking into a sea or estuary and used for boat landings, piers across England blossomed into sprawling entertainment complexes in the 1800s, with restaurants, theaters, and amusement rides. This was aided by developments in iron, allowing more robust structures to be built on the seabed, and a booming rail industry that made cross-country trips to visit the seaside more accessible. 

The following eight piers are included for their historic significance, the views offered from them, and the entertainment and activities you'll find there. Some of the larger resort towns, such as Blackpool, have more than one pleasure pier, but these are included as a collective, rather than receiving individual entries. The eight pleasure pier towns are also scattered across the country, showcasing England's geographical diversity. Piers are at their best when the sun is shining, so consider booking your trip for early or late summer, the best time to visit England for optimal weather.

Cromer Pier on the Norfolk Coast has the trappings of a Victorian-era pleasure pier: lovely sea views over the balustrade, shaded seating areas, a place to stop for snacks and refreshments, and a grand theater. Though a primitive pier existed here in the late 14th century, the current one was introduced in 1901, and even today, more than a century later, it's one of England's finest, winning the National Piers Society's Pier of the Year award for the third time in 2024. The Pavilion Theatre at the end of Cromer Pier is arguably the highlight, staging an elaborate variety act throughout the summer each year.

With a Ferris wheel at one end and the world's first pier-to-shore zipline at the other, Bournemouth Pier has taken the Victorian pleasure pier concept and modernized it for the 21st-century customer. Its main feature is RockReef, an activity center with themed climbing walls, a pier cave for little explorers, an aerial obstacle course, and the Leap of Faith, where you jump in a harness towards a hanging bag. The scenery is fine, too, looking across Poole Bay, with the Isle of Wight to the east and the Purbeck Hills to the west.

Compared to the many seaside towns suffering from decline, Clevedon is thriving — The Times named it one of Britain's "best places to live in 2024" — with its popular marine lake, seafront promenade, and famous pier. More than 1,000 feet long, Clevedon Pier has stood since 1869 and is the town's major landmark. You won't find fairground amusements here, but you can admire the views with an ice cream at the Pagoda Cafe, browse souvenirs in the castle-like tollhouse, or reserve a seat on the Waverley, the world's last seafaring paddle steamer, which occasionally tours around the Bristol Channel and Southwest Wales.

Blackpool might be the U.K.'s most famous seaside town, but it's not for everyone. Rick Steves called it Britain's "Coney Island," a comparison drawn from the amusements, variety shows, carnival food stalls, and general air of gaudiness that defines the seaside town. If this sounds like your kind of thing, the three Victorian-era piers — North, Central, and South, connected by a promenade running alongside the beach — are the hub of Blackpool's entertainment scene. Also ascend Blackpool Tower, rising between the North and Central piers like a painted steel watchtower, for exceptional views of the Irish Sea from its observation deck, 380 feet above the water.

Brighton is a cool city with a relaxed beach-town vibe. One of England's hipster hubs and arguably the country's LGBTQ+ capital, Brighton is also redolent of the Victorian Age, with its stylish architecture and 1,700-foot pier. Officially called Brighton Palace Pier, it opened in 1899, and despite braving destructive storms, wars, and modernization, it's still one of the liveliest in the country. The pier is a great stop for families, with fairground rides (including rollercoasters), bars and restaurants, and a bandstand with lovely views over the bustling sandy beach and the English Channel.

Sandown Pier on the Isle of Wight is chock-full of activities: 10-pin bowling, slot machines, arcade games, a sports bar, an Aztec-themed adventure golf course, and a fantastical children's adventure area called Magic Island. It may read as tacky, but it has the advantage of hosting lots of indoor activities — vital in the often drizzly English climate. Venture outside, onto the deck or the beach, and you'll be rewarded with far-reaching views. Sandown Pier stares across the English Channel in the direction of France, though you can expect to see sky, clouds, and sea meeting on the horizon.

Since the Victorian era, Great Yarmouth, a coastal town just outside Norwich, has been one of the most popular resort towns in East Anglia, a historic region comprised of the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. This is one of the U.K.'s driest (and therefore most beach-friendly) areas. Great Yarmouth's piers, grandly known as Britannia and Wellington, are replete with amusements, gambling dens, arcade machines, fairground rides, carnival food, and views across the broad expanse of golden sand. The piers are connected by a seaside promenade, humming with activity in the summer.

Approximately 40 miles outside of central London, Southend-on-Sea is both a growing commuter town and a beachy escape for east Londoners. Alongside fairground-style attractions, breezy beer gardens, and sea-view hotels, it also hosts the longest pleasure pier in the world. It reaches across the Thames Estuary for 1.33 miles, long enough to merit a railway running for most of its length. You can also visit the pier museum, get a warped view of reality at the Walk of Mirrors, or throw a line over the boardwalk railing and try to catch a mackerel, plaice, or flounder.