What about good old Sarfend? Lovely pier, bag of chips, stick of rock, mini Blackpool. Even a decent-ish beach these days, since they shifted in half the Sahara a few years ago.
Train station on the airfield, 5 minutes into Southend. Lots of B&B, hotels etc.
Lovely jubbly.
On the other hand, if it's culture you are after, ........
