West Mersea Beach Huts – The most amazing beach huts in the UK!

One of the most instagrammable beaches in the UK – West Mersea beach huts are the place to snap some photos on a beach day! Whether you are on a London trip, live in Essex or live anywhere else and want to head to the beach, Essex has some great beaches! I’ll be telling you exactly where to find these adorable beach huts, how to get here, as well as other lovely beaches nearby. This little island really is a hidden gem! I had never heard of it until Instagram and even if you aren’t into taking photos, it is so lovely to see these huts here in a row and chill on the beach. At the end of this post I’ll throw in a couple of the most instagrammable places in London too, as it is just 2 hours away to London from Mersea Island!

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Where is Mersea Island?

Mersea Island is in Colchester, Essex. It is found North-East of London. It is further along the coast from Southend and closer to London than Clacton-on-Sea which some of you may know. Mersea island really is a small island, the population is just around 7,000. The island is super relaxed from what I saw and really has that island feel. One of the other great things about Mersea Island is that a lot of the beaches are dog friendly! And of COURSE the best thing for me on Mersea Island were the adorable beach huts. I’ll be telling you exactly where to find these very soon, as a few of you messaged me on Instagram saying you couldn’t find them when you went there. There are also some lovely places to stay in Mersea Island for those who want to stay for longer than one day!

By Bus

From Colchester you can get the 67 bus to Mersea Island.

Where are the Instagrammable West Mersea Beach huts?

West Mersea Beach!

As you arrive to Mersea Island, follow the signs to West Mersea beach. I actually just googled ‘colourful beach huts Mersea island’ and it came up with West Mersea beach! You really can’t miss them. As you walk onto the beach, turn left and you will see this famous row of stunning beach huts. To the right there are also some lovely beach huts but not with the pastel colours. I actually asked one of the people painting a beach hut and he said they aren’t allowed to paint them any other colour than they are. He also said that they cost £26,000.

How to get to West Mersea Beach huts?

Here is the exact address for you!

401 Victoria Esplanade, West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8AT, United Kingdom

As you enter Mersea Island, you want to follow the B1025 and you can’t go wrong.  There are lots of places to park, or you can park on the official parking too. Someone said it was £3 for 3 hours so not too bad at all!

If you want to book a beach hut on Mersea Island?

The Little Beach Hut Company website has an easy booking system and when I looked it was around £110 for two nights. It also said you can book up to 7 days online, perfect for a week getaway by the sea! They have the cutest names too, Peggy, Kitty and Bertie! These aren’t the pastel coloured beach huts but also gorgeous!

What else can you do on Mersea Island?

Walking!

On Visit Colchester you can find 7 different walks on Mersea Island. These vary from 1.5 miles to 3.5 miles long. There is also Cudmore Grove County Park that is worth a visit.

Eat Seafood!

Head to West Mersea Oyster Bar for fresh oysters and seafood platters. There’s also the Dukes Seafood, The Deck – Mersea Seafood Company as well as lots of other places that serve great fresh seafood. Reminds me of my trip to Jersey, Channel Islands. If you ever want to eat the best seafood in the UK then you have to take a trip to Jersey. A slightly longer journey, best by plane but honestly such a great little place to go to!

Take the ferry over to Brightlingsea

Mersea island is lovely but if you like a sandy beach then head over to Brightlingsea beach! There is a small ferry that leaves East Mersea, at Mersea Stone. This can take you to Brightlingsea Harbour across the River Colne.

Other great beaches in Essex?

Frinton on Sea

Frinton is the place to go for a sandy beach! I walked here with my Mum from Holland on Sea and it was such a lovely coastal walk. There are also some lovely beach huts to see in Frinton. Literally all the best beach huts here I was almost tempted to live the beach hut life but then I remembered there are only a few sunny days a year in the UK! It did look great for kids though if you live nearby to have everything in one hut for a day at the beach.

Clacton on Sea

Clacton has a pier and is one of the more popular spots here. So it does get a lot busier be warned! However, it is also lovely so could be an option! If you have kids it might be more fun with the attractions on the pier.

If you are visiting London this could be the perfect day trip from London!

London in summer is amazing but it can get soooo hot when there is a heatwave and then the best thing to do is head to the beach. When it was over 30 degrees Celsius in London I came to Mersea Island and it was such a nice escape. With the sea breeze it was just perfect and didn’t feel as hot and stuffy as London.

How to get to Mersea Island from London?

It takes 2 hours to get from Straford in London to Mersea Island, so just the max amount of time to still let it be a day trip. It is well worth it I’ll tell you! One day by the beach does you a load of good. You will have to get the train to Colchester and then a bus from there to Mersea Island. The best way to do it is definitely to drive so you don’t have any time constraints! In London now there are so many ZipCars you can just hire for the day to make it sure easy to escape London even if you don’t have a car.

When in London – Instagrammable places in London!

Covent Garden

While in London you really must visit Covent Garden. This is like a huge market place, with high end shops as well as a huge covered market with vintage goods and all sorts. Then nearby, go to Neal’s Yard to see some lovely colourful buildings and eat some great food along the way.

Churchill Arms – Notting Hill

The most instagrammable pub in London! Head here for a drink before you start to explore Notting Hill and West London. There is a lot of waking involved when you are visiting London so make sure you plan in plenty of toilet and food breaks. Luckily there are lots of semi decent public toilets in London, or just sneak into a pub!

St Lukes Mews – Notting Hill

The pink house! This is a stop literally just for the photo. You now have to donate some money that then goes to charity to have a photo here so bear that in mind. I think its a lovely idea!

Tower Bridge

One of the most iconic shots in London! Early morning just after sunrise there is a lovely light here and it is less busy. Some times it is rammed with people and you definitely couldn’t get a shot like this. Just a 5 minute walk from here you have one of the best hidden gems in London. Read on to see!

St Dunstan’s in the East

This is an old ruin and it is so magical! I never even knew it existed until I saw it on Instagram. It really is so peaceful and doesn’t feel like you are in London at all. Definitely have a little look around if you can. Remember it doesn’t open til 8am so if you are Tower Bridge early, pop to Leadenhall Market while you wait for this place to open!

Leadenhall Market

This is a stunning market. The architecture is honestly photo worthy I can tell you. Once it opens up later be sure to take a look too but for photos its best early morning when everything is closed.

St Pauls Cathedral

This is another very ‘London tourist’ one but I still loved it. Honestly London is just amazing and you could take photos everywhere. So grab a bike or an Oyster card and just go!

My other favourite beach in the UK!

Of course my other favourite beach in the UK is Durdle Door beach! Take a trip to Dorset if you can while you are in the UK. If you live in the UK, then even better! Dorset in Winter is even lovely so no excuses!

I hope you enjoyed this blog post on the West Mersea Beach Huts. My Mum and I had such fun taking photos here and wish I had more time and spent the day here. It is a pebbly beach but as I said lots of nice walks to do and you can even hop on a boat to some nearby places. Remember that the colourful beach huts are on West Mersea beach, don’t be driving around the island looking for them. You will find them very fast if you head to West Mersea beach. I think the best time is earlier on in the day. I came here at sunset and the sun set behind the beach huts unfortunately and it got dark quite fast.