Postgraduate Prospectus

www.essex.ac.uk/southend | Southend and surrounding area
The educational and cultural hub for
south Essex, Southend-on-Sea has
theatres, cinemas, parks, galleries, a theme
park and a marine activities centre. The
town hosts a variety of events throughout
the year including a folk festival, carnival,
firework displays and Europe’s largest
free air show.
Southend’s seven miles of award-winning
coastline provides opportunities for water
sports and leisure activities from sailing
and kitesurfing, to fishing and cycling
along the seafront.
The High Street offers shops to suit
most pockets, while Lakeside shopping
centre is just 20 minutes away. A mix
of fashionable bars, restaurants, bistros
and cafés, nightclubs and music venues
ensures Southend comes to life at night.
The small fishing town of Leigh-on-Sea, just
three miles from Southend, has traditional
pubs, cockle sheds and art galleries on the
quayside, along with bars, restaurants and
independent boutiques. From here you can
enjoy a walk across the downs through
Hadleigh Country Park to explore the ruins
of a thirteenth-century castle and views
across the Estuary. Watch out for the
cyclists though! In 2012, the park is host to
the Olympic Games mountain biking event.
Southend is served by excellent transport
links, with two major roads (the A13
and A127) and two train lines running into
London. Our Gateway Building is adjacent
to Southend Central train station, from
where London can be reached in 50
minutes, while Stansted and Gatwick
airports are an hour away. Southend’s own
airport is soon to expand its passenger
flights to destinations across Europe.
The town has been designated as
the educational and cultural hub
for south Essex.
Postgraduate Prospectus 2012 | 15