About Leigh
Town Guide
For the most up to date information on Leigh-on-Sea, please look at our town guide
Leigh-on-Sea is situated west of Southend and 35 miles from London. It is based on a traditional fishing village, dating from mediaeval times. The Old Town retains its charm as it still operates fishing and cockling fleets, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. It also has nature reserves, sites of special scientific interest, a museum, pubs and restaurants, leisure facilities, yacht clubs, sea scouts, open spaces and a wide variety of wildlife. Up the hill from the Old Town, sits the main retail and commercial area of the Broadway, centred around the 13th century St. Clement’s Church, library and library gardens. The shops not only serve the local community but a much wider market with a range of independent high quality outlets.
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There is a large amount of residential development in Leigh, and the Town Council serves 22,000 residents. Leigh has two mainline railway stations and excellent road, rail and bus links with London. We have two primary schools and one secondary school, all of which provide an excellent educational base for our young people. For older residents there is the Adult Education College.
There is also a cultural side to Leigh-on-Sea. As well as the many festivals (Folk Festival, May Day, Carols, Regatta, Art Trail, Fishing Festival and Lights switch-on), there are art galleries which stage regular exhibitions and sell work of artists in the town and from across the world. Although there is no longer a cinema in the town The Leigh Film Society is active in promoting quality, often unusual and neglected films, to its members. There are numerous groups which meet regularly, covering drama, music and poetry.Other council activities include the first and best Farmers Market in South East Essex, our Community Transport Programme, First Aid Post on the foreshore, hanging baskets, Christmas Lights, allotments and bus shelters. We are close to taking control of Strand Wharf and renovating it to a high standard for the use by the public, fishing boats and pleasure craft, and are planning to build a new high quality skate park on Leigh Marsh, behind Leigh-on-Sea station.
