the seaside is free, the train isn't
Free coastal day trips from London
The sea costs nothing. Every one of these is a free day by the coast, a beach to walk, a clifftop path or a free gallery right on the front, and the only real cost is the train. Each page lists the cheapest line and an honest fare so the whole day stays cheap. Pack a picnic and go.
FREE
Free coastal day trips from London
LONDON FREE GUIDEThe list
1
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Brighton by the sea
Brighton · East Sussex · Victoria → Brighton
Pebbles, the Lanes and a pier you can walk for free. The seaside London escapes to when it needs the sea.
FreeFull details →
2
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Whitstable for the sunset
Whitstable · Kent · Victoria → Whitstable
A working oyster town with a shingle beach and the best free sunset in the southeast. Bring a jumper and watch the sky go.
FreeFull details →
3
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Margate and the Turner
Margate · Kent · St Pancras → Margate
A free world-class gallery, a wide sandy beach and a salty old town. The seaside that got its cool back.
FreeFull details →
4
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea · Essex · Fenchurch Street → Leigh-on-Sea
A tiny old fishing town of cockle sheds and estuary light, under an hour from Fenchurch Street. Old Leigh is all free to wander.
FreeFull details →
5
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Bexhill and the De La Warr Pavilion
Bexhill-on-Sea · East Sussex · Victoria → Bexhill
A free modernist gallery right on the seafront. The De La Warr Pavilion is a 1935 icon and its art shows cost nothing.
FreeFull details →
6
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Dover's white cliffs
Dover · Kent · St Pancras → Dover Priory
The white cliffs you have seen a hundred times, free to walk. A clifftop path high above the busiest sea crossing in the world, with France on the horizon.
FreeFull details →
7
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Folkestone by the sea
Folkestone · Kent · St Pancras → Folkestone Central
A whole free public-art trail by the sea, plus a harbour arm of food stalls and a clifftop park. The arty seaside town that reinvented itself.
FreeFull details →
8
FREELONDON FREE GUIDE
Seven Sisters cliffs
Seaford to Eastbourne · East Sussex · Victoria → Seaford / Eastbourne
The white chalk cliffs you have seen in a hundred photos. A free clifftop walk along the most dramatic coast in the south.
FreeFull details →
More guides
Guide
Free
The stories hiding above Clerkenwell's pubs
A free ~45-minute walk from Angel to Farringdon past six Clerkenwell pub signs, each hiding a story you'd never guess from the street: a prince replaced by a Tamil king, a freed slave in chains, a mystery mural, the man who funded England's first atlas, and a 400-year-old typo. Every stop is free to look at, this is about the signs, not drinking.
Guide
FreeEvery weekend
Go East Vintage Flea: a free vintage market in Bermondsey
Go East Vintage runs a free vintage flea market most weekends at Maltby Street in Bermondsey, plus an indoor edition inside the railway arches on selected weekends. Free entry, no ticket, dog-friendly, just turn up. Expect 40 plus vintage sellers with furniture, vinyl, cameras, fashion, jewellery and odd little treasures, right by Maltby Street Market's food stalls. Dates move around a little, so check Go East Vintage's Instagram for the exact weekend before you go.
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