About Southend                                                                  Southend-on-Sea is the largest town in Essex, with a population of around 176,000. Located at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, the town is the closest resort to London, being only 40 miles east of the capital. Southend is a busy tourist destination and shopping centre, with a world famous Pier, 7 miles of sea and foreshore, with all its associated leisure facilities and attractions, excellent shopping facilities and numerous restaurants, wine bars and pubs. There are two direct railway lines to London, and the M25 motorway is less than half an hour away. In addition, Southend also has its own airport.                                                                  Southend is twinned with the Polish seaside resort town of Sopot. Sopot is on the bay of Gdansk on the southern part of the Baltic coast, and boasts a 500-metre wooden pier - the longest of its kind in Europe. To find out more about our twin town - without having to leave your seat - why not visit their website: www.sopot.pl (NB naturally, this website is mainly in Polish).                                                                   Another useful website to visit is www.sopot.net which provides information about the town in English translation. More information about Southend you can find on http://southend.gov.uk   click on image to view biger