Brightlingsea - a coastal town oozing with personality

Just ten miles from Clacton, the town is a Cinque Port - a confederation believed to date back to Anglo-Saxon period of the most important ports which lie on the English channel.

They had obligations to provide ships and men to fight for the king in times of war for which they were compensated by lucrative exemptions from taxation.

Situated at the mouth of the River Colne, the town was an island until the 16th century.

By the late 18th century, the town became a busy fishing port and by the 19th century it had more advertised oyster merchants than anywhere else in England.

So what do business owners in the area think of it?

Olivia Reilly, who runs Little Boat Gifts with husband Peter, spoke of how great Brightlingsea is and what it has to offer.

Thriving - Olivia and Peter Reilly see Brightlingsea as a great place to operate a business (Image: NQ) She said: "Brightlingsea is a very community-based place and maybe 90 per cent of our customers are regulars and we’re lucky that people do support us by shopping here.

"Saying that, we are seeing a lot more visitors and hopefully that will increase over the summer if the weather stays nice, which is also very important to us as a small business.

Beautiful - Little Boat Gifts (Image: NQ) "We’re very lucky in Brightlingsea and you’ll find throughout Tendring, we’re one of the few high streets which has a full shop load. There aren’t really any empty shops and if one business goes another comes in.

"We have an independent butchers, bakery, green grocers which brings a nice vibe to it.

"There is so much going on here. We have so many festivals and things throughout the summer and even at Christmas.

"We've got a great high street and lots of great cafes now so you can make a real day of it and that’s without even going down to the coast.

"We’ve even got a museum which has lots of interactive stuff for kids, there’s just so much here."

Barry Hayes, the manager at Stoneridge Estates, has high praise for Brightlingsea and spoke of what makes it so unique.

Positive - Barry Hayes loves working in the town (Image: NQ) He said: “We’ve had an office here for about three and a half years and since then we’ve made ourselves a proper player in the property market in the area.

“We have the town centre here, but it’s more like a village environment which is nice, so it’s not overly hustle and bustle.

Outside - Stoneridge Estates (Image: NQ) “In comparison to the other towns along the coast which we cover, maybe because they don’t have a train station, other places have more people flowing in and out, whereas this is more of a family-friendly, community-based place.

“People grow up here, stay here rather than have a load of people coming from outside, but here there is more generational family orientation and throughout summer there are always festivals and things going on in the community.

“Everything sticks together and works quite nicely, that’s Brightlingsea’s unique selling point.

“It’s quite self sufficient. Once you live in Brightlingsea you don’t really need to go along to Colchester every day because you have supermarkets, doctors and the bus service will take you back into Colchester and the surrounding areas.

“There aren’t many empty units and if one does come up it gets snapped up pretty quickly, but by not having too many units that perhaps stops too many people from coming in.”

Amar Soni, who runs the Spar in Brightlingsea spoke about what makes the town tick.

Community - Amar Soni loves the community feel of Brightlingsea (Image: NQ) He said: “We’ve been here for about four years and business is good. We get busier in summer with more people being outside and more visitors.

“The people are the best thing about the area and the atmosphere down by the seafront with the lido, which is attracting people to come and visit.

Outside - Spar (Image: NQ) “We rely on the community and there is a lot of effort from the people who are using the shops here.”

What is there to do in Brightlingsea?

There really is so much to do in Brightlingsea, with a beautiful coastline, a number of quirky shops and some brilliant pubs just to name a few.

Scenery - The old railway line in Brightlingsea is a beautiful walk (Image: NQ) All year round the area provides great entertainment for residents and visitors, whether the sun is out or not.

So let's take a look at what there is to do.

Pubs

Brightlingsea is littered with pubs, all with brilliant characteristics whether they offer food, a great view or simply good atmosphere.

The Railway Tavern - 58 Station Road

The Brewers Arms - 1 Victoria Place

The Kings Head - 41 Victoria Place

The Rosebud - 66-67 Hurst Green

Freemasons Arms - 8 Sydney Street

The Yachtsman - 35 Waterside

Restaurants and cafes

Cafechic Coffee House - 48 Victoria Place

No 1 Harbour Square - 1 Harbour Square, Waterside Marina

Winkies - 7-9 New Street

Victoria Café - 22A Victoria Place

Cafe Lido - Promenade Way 

Things to do

Brightlingsea Lido

Day at the beach

Foot ferry across to Point Clear

Brightlingsea Museum

Brightlingsea Regent Football Club

Walk along the old railway line

How much does the average house cost in Brightlingsea?

According to Rightmove, the overall average house price over the last year was £284,357.

The majority of properties sold in Brightlingsea during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £281,068.

Detached properties sold for an average of £385,925, with terraced properties fetching £258,206.

Overall, the historical sold prices in Brightlingsea over the last year were one per cent up on the previous year and similar to the 2021 peak of £282,914.

To find out more about Brightlingsea and what there is to do there, visit https://tinyurl.com/Visit-Brightlingsea.