As a traditional seaside holiday resort, Clacton-on-Sea is a town of contrasts: it can be lively and bustling with the fun of the seaside or quiet and relaxing. Clacton, sometimes known as the capital of the Sunshine Coast has sandy beaches stretching over 36 miles, which has attracted holiday makers since Victorian times when it first became a popular holiday location, although Clacton takes its name from the historic village of Great Clacton, which is now considered part of the town borough.

Clacton Pier, acclaimed to be the largest fun pier in Europe, still stands proud of the sea and remains a popular tourist attraction with fairground style rides for all that visit the seafront, as do the well maintained and attractive memorial gardens along the seafront promenade.

The town boasts a large array of recreational and shopping facilities which include two theatres, a multi screen cinema, two golf courses surrounding the airfield, a leisure centre with indoor swimming pool, and a large selection of traditional and modern pubs, restaurants and nightclubs. The town centre provides a variety of shops with both familiar high street names and independent retailers. As you go to the outskirts you will find various smaller shopping areas and the Clacton Common Shopping Village which opened its doors at Christmas 1998.

The housing in and around the town ranges from predominately older, established properties in the town centre area and Great Clacton centre to more modern developments on the outskirts with the estates around the Bockings Elm area and Great Clacton outskirts. As Clacton became increasingly popular as a retirement location many bungalows were built in and around the area and along the coastline, which now command premium prices.

Clacton has excellent access links which offers road travel to London via the A12 which joins with the M25 and rail travel into Liverpool Street Station, thus serving a sizeable commuting population. Access to Britain’s oldest recorded town Colchester can also be easily gained by road or rail, with a larger array of shopping facilities and many more high street names only 15 – 20 miles away. For those ferry trips to Europe, the port of Harwich is accessible through picturesque country roads from Clacton or via the A120.