Five glorious Victorian piers you can still visit now
From Blackpool to Brighton, Victoriana still rules the waves around Great Britain
The Grand Pier sits proudly on the beach at Weston-super-Mare
Credit: James D.Morgan/Getty
These piers are glorious examples of how early seaside visitors left their mark and where you can sample a slice of history on your summer staycation.
Southend Pier
Kicking an Essex leg out into the Thames Estuary, Southend Pier has been a big deal for a long time. Its “current” iron incarnation was the longest such structure in the world when it was inaugurated. The reasons for its length were more pragmatic than cosmetic - the coast around the town is largely mudflats that make for a shallow depth way into the water. Originally, many tourists came in from London by boat, and an extended pier was an obvious solution to the threat of grounding. A first, wooden pier, running 590ft (180m) out from the land, was finished in 1830. Its metal replacem