The first pier was built, a little distance to the north, in 1830 as a berthing point for steam ships and survived until 1880 when a storm blew it out to sea.

Construction of the second pier commenced in 1869, again to provide a berthing point for steamers and it has been extended and widened on several occasions since. For some time a tramway on the pier was used to convey passenegers between the landward end and the berthing point. The massive hangar-like structure, seen on the left here, houses a large covered amusement arcade. Walton Pier is the third longest in the UK at about 2,600 feet or about 790 metres.