Accessible toddler friendly beaches a train ride from London

[KohLanta]

I'd promised a day at the beach with my toddler next week but I've just broken my foot and can't drive. I can hobble in my moon boot and thankfully husband is on hand to help.

Which beaches can I reach by train direct from London except Brighton? (Been recently). Ideally suited to toddlers (rock pools, sand) and accessible for my dodgy foot?!

Anyone?

Our favourite is Camber Sands. The nearest station is Rye, and the journey from London to Rye by train usually takes just a little over an hour. From Rye station, you can catch the 102 Wave bus right to the beachfront. The bus takes around 20 minutes depending on traffic (it can get very busy on hot days!) and buses usually depart hourly from the station and they're often synced up with the train timetable. There are a few stops you can get off at: the Pontins bus stop for the beach amenities, changing rooms and shops, or the Camber Sands Holiday Park stop if you prefer to head to a less busy part of the beach.
If that all sounds a bit too long with a toddler, I’d suggest one of the beaches at Southend. Get the train to Southend Central for the beaches around the pier, or go a couple of stops up the line to Thorpe Bay (for the beach huts) and Shoeburyness if you’re looking for some quieter spots. Journey time from London is 45 mins – 1hr. It normally takes us about 15 mins to walk from Southend Central to City Beach and Three Shells Beach Lagoon, so you might need a taxi.

Whereabouts in London?

St Pancras gets to the Kent coast quite quickly (Whistable / Margate / Ramsgate)

Whitstable is a horrible beach, all shingle and mud. Is Southend doable on the train?

What about Liverpool st to Clacton? I know it gets a bad rap but you can walk down the high street bit straight to the beach, there's lots of kids stuff to do, arcade things and pier etc.

Brighton is really not a toddler friendly beach. All pebbles and a steep drop off into the sea, plus no rock pools.

Assuming you're south London, then can you get to Eastbourne, Worthing or Little Hampton?

Check tide times though.

Margate has a nice beach and the train station is pretty much right across the road from it. Can get there from Victoria or St Pancras.

Hayling Island, train to Havant and then a bus

We used to go to Goring quite a lot with the kids when they were small. Bit stony but has good parking and facilities. Is that train friendly? If not, Worthing next door or even Eastbourne.

Ooh yes Littlehampton is good for crabbing!

Why did I mention parking? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Chalkwell station is right on the beach! There is a ramp down to the beach from the station. The sand does have pebbles in so I would recommend water shoes if you have them (you can get them quite cheaply online I think). There are a couple of small cafes doing lunch and ice creams, and public loos opposite them (about 5 min walk from the station along the seafront). There is a concrete jetty type structure, some older kids we saw had collected crabs in a bucket from the end of it. The tide went out really quickly around 2/3pm and lots of families were paddling around and rock pooling at that time. Trains take about an hour from Fenchurch Street.