Southend Pier is open daily, 10.15am to 6pm, as of 3 November. Its festoon lights return on Saturday 14 November, 4pm to 8pm. Winter days and train prices.
Southend Pier is open every day from 10:15am to 6pm at the moment. Last winter it switched to Wednesday to Sunday only, 10:15am to 5pm, and it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in that timetable. Last entry is one hour before closing.
The pier has not yet said when its 2026 winter hours start. In 2025 the summer timetable was kept until Monday 1 December because of the Poppies on the Pier display.
Updated 12 November: the council has added detail on the pier’s part of the evening. More than a mile of festoon lights go on at 5pm, the pier is open from 10.15am to 8pm on Saturday 14 November, and walking admission is £3.10 for adults and £2.10 for children and concessions. The “On the Decks” area at the Pier Head has new neon lighting and light benches, and the Royal Pavilion serves food and drinks through the evening (Southend-on-Sea City Council, 11 November 2026).
Updated 3 November: the pier is still open every day, 10:15am to 6pm, and has not announced its winter timetable. It has added a Southend Pier Switch On on Saturday 14 November, 4pm to 8pm: its festoon lights go back on at 5pm “for the first time in over 20 years”, standard admission applies, last entry is 7pm and the last train ashore is 7:45pm. Details in the Christmas section below.
Overview
- Now: open daily, 10:15am to 6pm. Last winter: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:15am to 5pm, closed Monday and Tuesday.
- Walking onto the pier costs £3.10 for adults and £2.10 for children aged 3 to 16. With the train return it is £7.70 and £4.10, or £19.50 for a family.
- Pier Switch On, Saturday 14 November, 4pm to 8pm: festoon lights on at 5pm, fireworks from the pier at 7:30pm, normal admission.
- Last entry is an hour before closing, and the pier warns times can change in bad weather. Check on 01702 212534.
Opening times now and last winter
| Now (checked 3 November 2026) | Winter 2025/26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pier | Daily, 10:15am to 6pm | Wednesday to Sunday, 10:15am to 5pm |
| Offshore Cafe | Daily, 10:30am to 5pm | Wednesday to Sunday, 10:30am to 4pm |
| RNLI lifeboat station | Daily, 11am to 3:30pm | Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 3:30pm |
| Pier Museum | Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays, 11am to 4:30pm | Closed, except bank holidays 11am to 4:30pm |
Sources: the pier’s opening times page today, and the same page as it stood in January 2026 and March 2026.
Last entry is one hour before closing, so in winter the last walk or train out is at 4pm. The pier says all times are “subject to change and are weather dependent”.
When the winter hours start
Last year the change came late. The council said the pier would “remain open under its summer timetable until Monday 1 December, when winter hours resume”, after Poppies on the Pier was extended to 23 November (council news, 13 November 2025). The display had more than 110,000 hand-knitted poppies along the pier and drew over 17,000 visitors in its first week.
Neither the pier nor the council has said whether Poppies on the Pier will return in 2026, or when this winter’s timetable begins. We will add the date when it is published.
Ticket prices
Tickets are bought on the day. Concession prices apply to over-60s, disabled visitors and students with ID (Southend Pier tickets).
| Pier entry (walk) | Entry plus train return | Entry plus fishing pass | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | £3.10 | £7.70 | £10.80 |
| Child (3 to 16) | £2.10 | £4.10 | £5.65 |
| Concession | £2.10 | £4.10 | £5.65 |
| Family | Not listed | £19.50 | Not listed |
For tickets and information, the pier gives 01702 212534 and vic@southend.gov.uk.
Christmas on the pier
Southend Pier Switch On, Saturday 14 November, 4pm to 8pm. The pier says its “iconic festoon lights are back and switched on for the first time in over 20 years”. The official switch-on is at 5pm, and visitors can stay on the pier for the 7:30pm seafront fireworks. Standard pier admission charges apply, last entry is at 7pm and the last train ashore leaves at 7:45pm (Southend Pier, Pier Switch On). It is the same evening as the city centre’s Christmas lights switch-on at 6pm in Victoria Circus.
The pier lists no other Christmas events for 2026 on its What’s On page. Its Santa on the Pier train visits were last listed in 2023. For where to meet Father Christmas this year, see Southend Santa’s grotto.
The pier has not published its Christmas and New Year opening days. The New Year’s Eve fireworks of the last two years were fired from a barge just east of the pier: see Southend New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Getting there
The pier entrance is on Western Esplanade, SS1 1EE. See parking in Southend for the seafront car parks and Southend roadworks and travel for closures.
Still to be confirmed
- The start date of the 2026/27 winter timetable.
- Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year opening.
- Whether Poppies on the Pier returns this November.
Last checked 3 November 2026.
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