The new water fountain attraction in Clacton town centre is near complete,
costing £138,000 we hope it proves popular with the kids and adults alike

Clacton-On-Sea is situated on the Essex coastline, probably about a little over an hours train ride from London, forgive me for any inaccuracies on time and distance.
I am not terribly good at judging them.

Ask hubby, it was me who suggested we nip up to Newcastle for the day once!!!…..five and a half hours of motorway later…!!.

The town evolved in the late 1800’s and the pier was built around this time too, incidentally it is now the longest pier in the country! I didn’t know that until I discovered that fact during researching this!!

In the early days it was an ideal place for the “East-enders” to come to, and they still do to this day. I believe Clacton is very popular as a holiday destination for those wishing to escape from the City for a break.

In the 60’s Radio Caroline was moored off the coastline and broadcasting nearby. The town really evolved as a holiday destination in the 70’s though when holiday camps and caravan parks became very popular.

Clacton itself had a Butlins once which closed in 1985. now there is The Orchards Holiday Village in nearby St Osyth, which I think is part of the British Holidays chain?

Clacton is described to many as a “typical Essex seaside town”. If you take th at to mean souvenir shops lining the main roads, a pier, the sickly tang of candy floss mingled with the hot smell of sunburnt holiday makers, then Yes I guess it meets that description well.

And if that is what you are looking for in a holiday then you won’t be disappointed. It is lively, vibrant and a little bit “tacky” but I think that’s what makes Clacton what it is.

And if you add to that the miles of sandy beaches, and each time I have been there the beaches are very clean, and the fact that it is one of the hottest and driest places in the country it is a great place for a reasonably priced holiday.

Now I make no apologies for not being able to give you any accommodation recommendations, but as I live only a few miles from Clacton then you will understand why I have never felt the need to stay anywhere closer!

Having grown up in the area of Clacton-on-sea I guess it is only natural that i do1't see its attraction...but then, when speaking to others who haven't grown up in this area, i realize that they haven't seen the attraction either, which leads me to only one conclusion...there is no attraction.

The holiday season in Clacton is the worst, and i honestly do not understand why people continue to visit. The town itself is full of parents shouting at kids who are running across to get to the infamous Mc Donalds. The town is against all cars and so parking is near on impossible, and even when you do park you have a few shops and then the sea front.

spent ten years of my life living in Clacton-on-Sea. During that time Clacton changed a lot and I spent the time to go out and do some of the things in and around the local area. I suppose Clacton has an image of being a retirement home with nothing there for younger people. To an extent this is still correct, it is indeed an area where many people go for their retirement, however, it is rapidly becoming much more tourism focused and the attractions and sights are becoming much more relevant to younger people.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s Clacton-on-Sea attracted lots of tourists but with the advent of holidays abroad, the number of tourists visiting Clacton rapidly fell during the 1970’s and 1980’s. This made Clacton the perfect spot for a peaceful retirement. In recent years, Clacton has undergone something of a rejuvenation in all its areas of interest and entertainment and I believe that Clacton is gradually rebuilding its tourism industry to an extent that I reckon in ten or twenty years time, it will be a more popular destination than ever.