Your favourite seaside terminus UK station (and town)

[Sun Chariot]

Years ago, I went to Wick and Thurso (by the same train IIRC) but no one has yet nominated either as their favourite. They are isolated and require many hours' travel to arrive at from England so that may be a factor.

Post #28:
"If we are allowed to include Scotland, then there are some attractive additions to be added to the list. How about Wick and Thurso?"

 

[Acey]

Always had a soft spot for Hastings,especially as it was back in the late sixties/early seventies when the Wife and I used to go there quite a lot .A walk to the old town,onto the pier and a coffee in Dimarcos ! Always felt safe there even late at night !
Then when I used to drive trains, CX - Hastings was probably my favourite route , scenery wise !

 

[Busaholic]

Always had a soft spot for Hastings,especially as it was back in the late sixties/early seventies when the Wife and I used to go there quite a lot .A walk to the old town,onto the pier and a coffee in Dimarcos ! Always felt safe there even late at night !
Then when I used to drive trains, CX - Hastings was probably my favourite route , scenery wise !

I'm with you on that. Can you still buy fish landed by the day boats? I even saw a county cricket match, wonder if the ground is still there. Only wish I'd seen the trolleybuses, including the open toppers!

 

[alex397]

I agree with you both about the long walk. I used to do it both ways when I worked in London but these days (old and rickety) I use my bus pass

The town centre is not great but there are restaurants and shops springing up elsewhere and it’s definitely on the up. I love living here

I’m lucky enough to be able to walk in along the seafront and the marina (with its cafes bars and restaurants) is lovely

You’ve certainly been unlucky. I use the station regularly and have seen little trouble. There’s a gang of youths who hang round there at night sometimes who are best avoided though

Yes to the cafe at Margate I use it regularly and it’s really good

I hope you didn’t mind me criticising your town! It’s only the town centre I really don’t like. The Harbour area is wonderful, and the seafront by the Boating Pool is really lovely. I’ve also had some of my favourite walks from there - Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay, and Ramsgate up to Broadstairs.
It’s great to have direct trains to Margate and London too.

 

[NeilCr]

I hope you didn’t mind me criticising your town! It’s only the town centre I really don’t like. The Harbour area is wonderful, and the seafront by the Boating Pool is really lovely. I’ve also had some of my favourite walks from there - Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay, and Ramsgate up to Broadstairs.
It’s great to have direct trains to Margate and London too.

Not at all

I agree with you. There’s the odd nugget to be found around the town centre. Brew is a lovely cafe and there are excellent Indian and Italian restaurants

But in general it’s dull and uninspiring and that’s being kind!

 

[Djgr]

Years ago, I went to Wick and Thurso (by the same train IIRC) but no one has yet nominated either as their favourite. They are isolated and require many hours' travel to arrive at from England so that may be a factor.

Are either of them seaside?

 

[Acey]

I'm with you on that. Can you still buy fish landed by the day boats? I even saw a county cricket match, wonder if the ground is still there. Only wish I'd seen the trolleybuses, including the open toppers!

They still sell fish by the boats but I think the cricket ground is now a shopping center ,Hastings is no longer thr pleasant town as portrayed in Foyles War ,it became a Mecca for druggies and was rather run down for a while although it's improving ,the old town is still rather pleasant though !

 

[Sun Chariot]

Are either of them seaside?

Neither is on the seafront. Wick is about 400-500 metres inland; Thurso's almost a kilometre to the seafront.
Both terminus stations are sited near rivers, each which flows out to the sea.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

btw since the thread title mentions town as well as station, can I put in a mention for Folkestone. Folkestone Central station is pretty meh (and calling it 'Central' is - shall we say - somewhat optimistic) but as far as the town is concerned - the area around the Old High Street is beautiful and full of fascinating unique shops. And the footpaths heading down the cliffs around Sandgate Lane (not sure what the name of that area is) are likewise beautiful. There's also an amazing and absolutely huge kids' adventure playground in the middle of the woods - the biggest I've ever seen, and great fun to climb over even as an adult.

And of course back to railways, the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway is but a short bus ride away....

 

[Rescars]

btw since the thread title mentions town as well as station, can I put in a mention for Folkestone. Folkestone Central station is pretty meh (and calling it 'Central' is - shall we say - somewhat optimistic) but as far as the town is concerned - the area around the Old High Street is beautiful and full of fascinating unique shops. And the footpaths heading down the cliffs around Sandgate Lane (not sure what the name of that area is) are likewise beautiful. There's also an amazing and absolutely huge kids' adventure playground in the middle of the woods - the biggest I've ever seen, and great fun to climb over even as an adult.

And of course back to railways, the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway is but a short bus ride away....

There may not be much there, but Dungeness is definitely close to the sea.

 

[D6130]

I would like to give a shout out for Stranraer....should it ever be possible to travel there by train again. Granted the station is pretty run-down and the now-dirty 1980s plastic cocoon surrounding the original G&SWR platform canopy will never win any beauty contests - but the town itself is friendly and bustling, with several good cafés, restaurants and pubs. I would particularly recommend the Grapes Inn, with its unspoilt wood-panelled public bar full of character and characters.... several of whom are retired railwaymen with interesting tales to tell. They also serve a couple of Scottish real ales in good condition and are regulars in the Good Beer Guide.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I'm with you on that. Can you still buy fish landed by the day boats? I even saw a county cricket match, wonder if the ground is still there. Only wish I'd seen the trolleybuses, including the open toppers!

Open-top trolleybuses, really, was there ever such a thing??

Are either of them seaside?

Well, Wick and Thurso are both on the coast (though whether they're seaside of the sort you'd visit for a beach-based holiday I'm not sure...). Thurso even has a port (Scrabster) a mile round the bay.

Neither is on the seafront. Wick is about 400-500 metres inland; Thurso's almost a kilometre to the seafront.
Both terminus stations are sited near rivers, each which flows out to the sea.

But I took the thread to be about rail termini serving seaside towns, whether or not the station itself was by the beach! In lots of the places mentioned the station is some way from the sea.

 

[hermit]

I'm with you on that. Can you still buy fish landed by the day boats? I even saw a county cricket match, wonder if the ground is still there. Only wish I'd seen the trolleybuses, including the open toppers!

Unfortunately, the cricket ground was replaced by a shopping development. A great loss, as it was a particularly attractive venue. I saw Sussex play Northamptonshire there shortly before its demise.

 

[railfan99]

But I took the thread to be about rail termini serving seaside towns, whether or not the station itself was by the beach! In lots of the places mentioned the station is some way from the sea.

Exactly what I intended. Late last year, I enjoyed the walk from Clacton-on-Sea's historic (slightly grungy?) station to the sea, stopping off at a confectionery shop and then walking through the pier's 'amusements'. The latter is another aspect we lack in my country.

 

[75A]

Unfortunately, the cricket ground was replaced by a shopping development. A great loss, as it was a particularly attractive venue. I saw Sussex play Northamptonshire there shortly before its demise.

That's a shame, I remember playing there once in the early 80's on a really cold day.

 

[Krokodil]

But I took the thread to be about rail termini serving seaside towns, whether or not the station itself was by the beach! In lots of the places mentioned the station is some way from the sea.

In many places I bet that Network Rail would prefer it if the railway wasn't quite so close to the sea

 

[Busaholic]

Open-top trolleybuses, really, was there ever such a thing??

The longest trolleybus system in the world (for a while in 1929) ran opentopped trolleys, single deck trolleys and a double decker with a diesel engine fitted later (can't remember if this was an open top or not). The system closed in 1959, shortly after Stage 1 of London's trolleybus replacement programme. Unusally, it wasn't a municipal system but became part of the magnificent Maidstone and District empire.

 

[DM352]

Whitby. Years ago with a NE rail rover and a YHA membership remember boarding a pacer at middlesbrough with self changing gears thinking quite seriously will it make it? It did but the ride was awful.

Have been there several times since and just like the walk from the station over the bridge to the harbour with often a rough sea.

Unless driving there, still prefer the Esk Valley Line than going to Scarbrough and getting the bus.

 

[railfan99]

Whitby. Years ago with a NE rail rover and a YHA membership remember boarding a pacer at middlesbrough with self changing gears thinking quite seriously will it make it? It did but the ride was awful.

A few years ago, I travelled on a weekend from London to Saltburn, had no time (regrettably) to explore the town, then back to Middlesbrough with bad behaviour of male teenagers at the station (BTP uninterested) and then the scenic Esk Valley line and the night at Whitby prior to NYMR next day.

The town is lovely: Captain Cook Museum is of significance to my countrymen and women. Lazily, I didn't walk to the Abbey.

 

[Grecian 1998]

There's certainly a big difference between nice places and nice stations. Weymouth, Exmouth, Looe and St Ives are all very nice places in my view, but the stations aren't going to win any awards.

Weymouth station in particular is thoroughly underwhelming, with its permanently closed toilets due to vandalism. A dispiriting experience is waiting in the glare of the sun on platform 1 in the early evening and seeing a 166 arrive with all the windows open, meaning it'll be a baking journey back to Bristol, whilst eastbound travellers get 444s with ultra reliable aircon sitting under the shadier platforms 2 and 3. The town however has a lovely setting with multiple places of interest IMHO.

Bournemouth station is very pleasant since its refurbishment at the turn of the century, although it's a bit of a trek to the beach. Not as bad as Poole though, since it has beaches but nothing closer than a 2.5 mile walk to the town station (Branksome is a bit closer).

Some seaside resorts served by steeply graded lines suffered from having their station plonked a long way inland above the town. Ilfracombe and Lyme Regis were two such examples. Not surprisingly, most of these lines didn't survive the 1960s.

Is any seaside town nice in February?

I stayed in St Ives in February 2019, at the start of a mini 'heatwave' when it hit 20C in southern England. With St Ives's almost Mediterranean style lighting and its sheltered harbour, it really was very pleasant.

 

[spyinthesky]

A few years ago, I travelled on a weekend from London to Saltburn, had no time (regrettably) to explore the town, then back to Middlesbrough with bad behaviour of male teenagers at the station (BTP uninterested) and then the scenic Esk Valley line and the night at Whitby prior to NYMR next day.

The town is lovely: Captain Cook Museum is of significance to my countrymen and women. Lazily, I didn't walk to the Abbey.

And once at the top there is a spectacular entrance fee to boot.
The Whitby brewery tap a few hundred yards further provides a far better cultural experience.

 

[Calthrop]

And once at the top there is a spectacular entrance fee to boot.

My brother and myself visited Whitby a decade or so ago (an essentially car-borne trip): went up to the Abbey with view to looking round; but on finding what the cost of admission was, our joint reaction was "blow this for a game of soldiers". I'd had the good fortune to pay a visit to the town, some fifty years ago as from now: before things were "formalised" vis-a-vis the Abbey -- was able then to go around said historic site free of any charge.

 

[Djgr]

My brother and myself visited Whitby a decade or so ago (an essentially car-borne trip): went up to the Abbey with view to looking round; but on finding what the cost of admission was, our joint reaction was "blow this for a game of soldiers". I'd had the good fortune to pay a visit to the town, some fifty years ago as from now: before things were "formalised" vis-a-vis the Abbey -- was able then to go around said historic site free of any charge.

Is £10 (2024 prices) such an issue?

 

[spyinthesky]

Is £10 (2024 prices) such an issue?

No, it’s a choice.

 

[Busaholic]

No, it’s a choice.

If you ain't got the money, the choice is made for you.

 

[Russel]

Is £10 (2024 prices) such an issue?

I've just had a look on the Whitby Abbey website, on the day, without a donation, its £13.60 for adults and £8.10 for kids.

£13.60 May not be much if you're on your own, but if you go as a family, even a small family such as myself, my partner and our child, it amounts to £35.30 which suddenly doesn't sound such good value.

 

[railfan99]

I've not been to Southend-on-Sea ("Southend Victoria" station). The town has a funicular as well as a Greater Anglia terminus.

Does anyone regard the station and town highly?

 

[Rescars]

I've not been to Southend-on-Sea ("Southend Victoria" station). The town has a funicular as well as a Greater Anglia terminus.

Does anyone regard the station and town highly?

We should recognise that Southend was granted city status in 2022.

 

[Busaholic]

We should recognise that Southend was granted city status in 2022.

We should also recognise that the decision was hugely influenced by the killing of Sir David Amess, local MP, at his constituency surgery a short time before.