uk uncovered - britain’s beach resorts

Sea Life Centre, live entertainment at theBrighton Dome, marvellous shopping and

restaurants – and this year a newRegency fashion exhibition at theelegant Royal Pavilion.

Eastbourne’s establishedattractions include award-winning beaches, a uniqueseafront bandstand withsummer concerts, a Victorianpier, Beachy Head and thestart of the South DownsNational Park.

This year’s Interna-tional Airshow (August11-14) is among severalspecial events. Newones include a CyclingFestival (May 21-22)and Eastbourne Fiesta(May 28-29) featuringfood from around theglobe, live music and dance. Seeking somewherequieter? Bexhill-on-Sea isundergoing a £5 million

redesign of itsseafront, givingit new sheltersand seating,and a new-lookMetropole

Lawn. The refur-bished Colonnade is

opening a new restau-rant and kiosks, while the iconic De La Warr Pavillionarts centre is again staging a full programme of eventsand exhibitions. In neighbouring West Sussex, Littlehampton and

Bognor Regis have award-winning beaches and promise

Spring 2011 tlm � the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 29

uk uncovered � britain’s beach resorts

It’s enough to make you drop your ice-cream orchoke on your candy-floss. Few summer after-noons start in a more stimulating fashion thanwith the sudden deafening roar of the Red Arrowsscorching over your head. Not so long ago a kiss-me-quick hat and a quick dip in the briny were

about as much excitement as you could expect at aBritish seaside resort. These days, families are morelikely to be thrilled by a screeching Typhoon fighter,wartime Spitfire or the RAF’s display team being putthrough their paces.Air shows have become a star attraction at top resorts

around the country. They’re fascinating – and they’refree.At Eastbourne, you can treat yourself to a spectacular

helicopter flight along the coast from Beachy Headbefore watching fantastic air acrobatics over the seawhich don’t cost a penny. What else can you do at resorts around the coast this

summer?

south coastWithin a few years of thePrince Regent’s ornate palacethe Royal Pavilion beingcompleted in 1823, Brighton hadbecome the country’s favouriteseaside bolthole. Today, this EastSussex town is one of the busiestand buzziest of resorts, with athriving arts and cultural life aswell as traditional holiday attrac-tions. It has a pebble beach and one of the best piers. There

are also attractive gardens, water sports, horse-racing,

28 tlm � the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk Spring 2011

We do liketo be besidetheseaside


plenty of traditional family fun. You can jump on a water-chute or walzer at Littlehampton’s Harbour Park andcatch your breath afterwards enjoying views across theChannel from the resort’s surprising new Long Bench,made from reclaimed driftwood and claimed to be thelongest in the world. An Armed Forces Day (June 25)features a vintage vehicle show, land and air displaysincluding a pipe and drum band.For something a bit different, Bognor’s annual Inter-

national Birdman competition (July 16-17) offers theintriguing spectacle of would-be fliers leaping off thepier. If you miss that one, Worthing stages a similarmadcap event on August 13-14. Another peak-seasonWorthing draw is the Festival (July 22-August 2), whereholiday crowds gather for the fireworks, bus rally andAmerican Rod and Custom Car Show.In Dorset, Bournemouth is a once genteel resort that’s

getting trendier by the minute. Here you’ll find sevenmiles of golden sands, surfing and other water sports, alively nightlife and good range of accommodation andclassy restaurants.New this summer is the £3 million Pavilion Dance,

where boppers can join 48 different classes from hip hopto samba. The award-winning gardens and anOceanarium stocked with sharks and stingrays are popu-lar, while special events include Carnival Week (August1-7) and the Air Festival (August 18-21).

south eastThe opening of the railway line from London in 1843placed Folkestone and its neighbouring Kent coastaltowns firmly on the Victorian holiday map. Today, itsattractions include the award-winning Lower LeasCoastal Park, with its sheltered bays for swimming, asandpit and adventure playground. For somewherequieter, try Folkestone Warren, which has a sandy beachwith rock pools and fossils.Deal has been a resort since Victorian times but was a

flourishing port before that. It has many B&Bs and holi-day cottages, and its winding streets house many

Forget the kiss-me-quick hats and sticks of rock. These days,Britain’s seaside resorts are still pulling in the crowds – but nowthey are doing it with the wow factor, as John Law reports.

� Camber Sands

� Wingwalkers at Bournemouth’s Air Festival

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� Broadstairs, Botany Bay



speciality food shops. Nearby Ramsgate is a harbourtown but has an award-winning sandy beach. FromPegwell Bay round to Reculver, which takes in Rams-gate as well as Broadstairs and Margate, there are 15sandy beaches and bays, of which nine have beenawarded Blue Flag status.Margate’s Old Town is undergoing a transformation

and a new Turner Contemporary gallery is due to openthis spring. Besides the beaches, visitors can go waterskiing or play bowls, golf or tennis at Westbrook Bay, orstroll along the prom and hitch a donkey ride along theMain Sands.Adding to the appeal of Herne Bay’s Victorian architec-

ture are events including Continental markets and carnivals,while Whitstable is noted for its oysters. You can tuck intothem overlooking its north-facing beaches, followed by apint at the Old Neptune pub right on the beach Just across the Thames estuary in Essex, Southend-

on-Sea offers seven miles of seafront and the world’slongest pier. There’s plenty of family fun and somecracking free festivals lined up for summer. These rangefrom the Air Festival (May 28-29) to the Carnival(August 12-20), a Grand Puppet Festival and Old LeighRegatta (both dates to be confirmed) where eventsinclude Morris dancing and a cockle-eating contest inaddition to sailing.

splashing outGrand by name, grand by nature … Eastbourne’s leading hotel of that title remains,surprisingly, Britain’s only five-star seaside hotel.The elegant and traditional Victorian Eastbourne Grand

(www.grandeastbourne.com) has 152 rooms and enjoys an enviable seafrontposition with views across the Channel and up to Beachy Head. Manyholidaymakers prefer the more informal surroundings of smaller, contemporaryboutique hotels springing up around the coast. Bournemouth, for example, has twoaward-winning boutique properties, the Urban Beach (www.urbanbeach.co.uk)and the eco-friendly Green House (www.thegreenhousehotel.co.uk).Others where style comes with sea breezes include The Vincent

(www.thevincenthotel.com) in Southport, whose penthouse has a rooftop hot-tub, and Babbacombe’s Cary Arms (www.caryarms.co.uk), described as an inn onthe beach gastro-pub.

� Brighton Pier � Ramsgate

www.visitbrighton.com

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east angliaStill in Essex is Clacton, long popular with Londonerswanting to escape to the sea. This area of England boaststhe lowest rainfall in the UK, so the chances of your holi-day being spoilt are lower. Clacton has sandy beaches, aVictorian pier, themed gardens and factory outlet shop-ping. It also holds an annual air show over August BankHoliday and stages an annual carnival and jazz festival.Frinton is Clacton’s more refined neighbour and has

some fascinating Art Deco buildings. On the Suffolk coast, charming and unspoilt Alde-

burgh has a great musical heritage, started by composerBenjamin Britten, whose Aldeburgh Festival (June 10-26) remains an annual highlight. The town began as aport and fishing village and visitors can still buy thedaily catch from fishermen on the beach. Southwold is asleepy little resort with a pier, brewery and lighthouse.Great Yarmouth is set on a 15-mile stretch of soft

Norfolk sand perfect for families who can also enjoy aGolden Mile of amusement arcades in the town, alongwith theme parks. Six museums include the Potteries andSmoke House and the award-winning Time and Tide.Sports fans enjoy the golf and regular summer horse-racing. Nearby Caister stages an annual Weekender soulmusic beach party over the May Day bank holiday.Cromer visitors can swim or surf from the sand and

shingle beach, delve in rock pools and enjoy a clifftopwalk to the old lighthouse. Attractive Victorian buildingsrise up from the beach chalets and crab boats and there aremuseums tracing the history of this historic fishing town.Norfolk has several small, charming resorts including

one-time fishing village Sheringham and Wells next theSea, popular for its holiday caravan sites, as well asHunstanton, which faces west towards The Wash on theso-called “Sunset Coast”. It offers pristine beaches,cliffs, nature reserves and sport on land and sea.

east coastYorkshire offers a good choice of popular resorts withlots of family entertainment. Among them, Scarboroughhas two beaches, including North Bay’s Blue Flag sandybeach set against hills and cliffs and dominated by Scar-borough Castle.

Set on a sweeping bay, Filey offers a wide stretch ofgolden sand protected by the rocky grandeur of FileyBrigg, a haven for birds and wildlife. This elegantEdwardian resort has an attractive old promenade.

south westDorset resorts Weymouth and Lyme Regis are majorgateways to the Jurassic Coast, a 95-mile stretch ofcoast encompassing glorious beaches and fossil-strewncliffs stretching into Devon. Devon and Cornwall’smarvellous beaches and countryside attract many longer-stay visitors from the South East. The English Riviera in South Devon incorporates

Torquay, Paignton and Brixham; Torquay alone has ninebeaches. Lovers of crime fiction enjoy following thetown’s Agatha Christie Trail. The writer lived there formuch of her life and fans can track down Hercule Poirotat the Museum and – for the first time this summer –take a vintage bus tour to Christie’s splendid house,Greenway, now owned by the National Trust.A fun event for youngsters is the Brixham Pirate

Festival (April 30-May 1). Last year, to an accompani-ment of sea shanties and folk music, 1,744 buddingBluebeards and Captain Hooks set the record for themost pirates in a single gathering. Cornwall scooped top honours in the 2010 British

Travel Awards, being named Best UK Holiday Countyand having St Ives voted Best UK Seaside Town. St Ives also collared the Best Family Holiday Desti-

nation title in the Coast Awards. The town is home toTate St Ives and famed for its arts scene, superb beaches,scenic harbour and its warren of lanes with stylish cafesand working artist studios and galleries.Newquay is Cornwall’s liveliest resort, offering some

of the country’s best surfing and plenty of nightlife anddecent restaurants. Relentless Boardmasters, Europe’sbiggest surf, skate and music festival, celebrates its 30thanniversary from August 10-14. Due to open thissummer is a new four-screen digital cinema capable ofscreening 3D films.Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset is famous for the

donkeys that trek along its wide stretch of sand and thiswill be the first summer for Weston’s newly re-openedGrand Pier. Between July and September 13 sculptorswill use 500 tonnes of sand to create masterpieces up to13ft (4m) high in the annual Sand Sculpture Festival.

walesThe neighbouring North Wales resorts of Rhyl andPrestatyn are traditional seaside towns with miles ofsandy beaches and lots going on. Rhyl has plenty offamily attractions, plus a theatre, marine lake, miniaturerailway, botanical gardens, and an airshow (August 6-7).The Seaquarium will even boast its very own residentmermaid this summer after advertising the post!In Prestatyn you can splash around the Nova Centre,

with its pools, slides and waterchutes, or get the familyrolling at the North Wales Indoor Bowls Centre.For a more sedate holiday, Tenby in Pembrokeshire is

best known for its three Blue Flag beaches and prettyharbour.

north westBoring it ain’t. Resorts don’t come any bigger orbrasher than Blackpool, where iconic attrac-tions and round-the-clock action continue topull in the summer crowds.There are miles of golden sand and thrills

galore on the Pleasure Beach Resort white-knuckle rides and Sandcastle Waterpark’s hugerollercoaster. A new Nickelodeon-themed attractionis due to open at Pleasure Beach, while the town’s othertop crowd pleasers include the famous Tower, the zoo,Sea Life Centre and autumn’s Blackpool Illuminations.Less boisterous is Morecambe, which has a wide

stretch of sand on the edge of Morecambe Bay. Here you


Britain’s seaside piers were much lovedby the Victorians and enjoyed a secondheyday in the 1950s. Sadly, many havesince crumbled into the sea or beendevastated by fire, but others arestaging a further revival.1. Weston-Super-Mare (built 1904):Wrecked by fire three years ago, thestriking new-look Grand Pier re-opened last autumn to feature theUK’s first laser maze, go-karts andmini-rollercoaster among itsattractions.

2. Cromer (1901): An unspoilt gemwhose Pavilion Theatre presents theonly surviving end-of-the-pier varietyshow.

3. Southend-on-Sea (1890): The world’slongest pleasure pier, measuring 1.3miles, has suffered several fires butstill has a railway and was theNational Piers Society Pier of theYear in 2007.

4. Brighton West Pier (1866): Onceregarded as an architecturalmasterpiece, it now needs rebuildingafter two serious blazes.

5. Brighton Palace Pier (1899):

Thankfully Brighton’s other pier isthriving and offers amusements, thrillrides and a new food court.

6. Eastbourne (1870): A handsomeconstruction featuring restaurants,bars and gift shops beneath itsturrets, domes and gables.

7. Lowestoft South Pier (1846): Majorrefurbishment in 2008 has turnedthe pier into a family entertainmentcomplex with a bar, restaurant,gaming and live music.

8. Southwold (1900): A popular localattraction with shops, restaurant,café and arcade. Plans for a luxuryhotel to replace the pavilion haverecently been shelved.

9. Deal (1957): The first structure waswashed away shortly after opening in1838 and the current pier is built ofreinforced concrete. The recently-added café has won a design award.

10.Southport (1860): The country’ssecond-longest pier. A carousel andamusement hall welcome visitorsand a tram takes them to thepavilion at the end for the arcadesand other attractions.

10 peerless piers

� Grand Pier, Weston-Super-Mare

� Donkeys atWeston-Super-Mare

Spring 2011 tlm � the travel & leisure magazine www.tlm-magazine.co.uk 33

Grand

Pier

North Somerset Council

can enjoy magnificent sunsets or spot the seabirds on aCross Bay Walk. Architectural gems include the Victo-rian Winter Gardens and recently-restored art decoMidland Hotel, while a stroll along the prom reveals acheery bronze statue of the town’s most famous son –comedian Eric Morecambe.

scotland and northern irelandIf you’d rather avoid the tourist masses and sizzlingnightlife to enjoy glorious sandy beaches and spectac-ular scenery, Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast has


uk resor t facts

family holiday centresFor those seeking plenty of entertainment and activitiesfor everyone without breaking the bank, family holidaycentres are like mini-resorts in themselves.Butlins (www.butlins.com) celebrates its 75th

birthday this year at its three seafront centres atBognor Regis (West Sussex), Minehead (Somerset) andSkegness (Lincolnshire). There are live shows for all –from dance, music and drama for toddlers to cabaretfor parents. Active types can try Splash Waterworld,beach sports, improve their rugby and cricket skills, ortackle the High Ropes or Climbing Wall.Haven (www.haven.com) has 35 holiday parks

and Safari Tents are a new “glamping” option at PerranSands (Cornwall) and Burnham-on-Sea (Somerset). Inaddition to super pools and plenty of sports, Haventempts youngsters with Kids’ Clubs, cookery lessons,year-round pantos and Wildlife Detective trails.Along with tribute acts, this summer’s stars at some of

the 39 Park Resorts (www.park-resorts.com) centresinclude Joe Pasquale, Chico and Shaun Williamson.Outdoor summer festivals are planned at resorts such asBideford Bay (Devon) and Kessingland Beach, betweenthe Suffolk resorts of Lowestoft and Southwold.


� Butlins

Butlins

resortsBrighton: www.visitbrighton.comEastbourne: www.visiteastbourne.comBexhill-on-Sea:www.visit1066country.comLittlehampton/Bognor Regis:www.sussexbythesea.comWorthing: www.visitworthing.co.ukBournemouth: www.bournemouth.co.ukFolkestone: www.discoverfolkestone.co.ukMargate: www.visitthanet.co.ukSouthend-on-Sea: www.visitsouthend.co.ukGreat Yarmouth: www.great-yarmouth.co.ukCromer: www.visitnorthnorfolk.comAldeburgh: www.suffolkcoastal.gov.ukScarborough/Filey: www.discoveryorkshirecoast.comWeston-Super-Mare:www.visitsomerset.co.ukEnglish Riviera: www.englishriviera.co.ukSt Ives: www.stives-cornwall.co.ukNewquay: www.visitnewquay.orgRhyl/Prestatyn: www.rhyl-prestatyn.co.ukTenby: www.visittenby.co.ukBlackpool: www.visitblackpool.comMorecambe: www.visitmorecambe.co.ukPortrush/Portstewart: www.northcoastni.comAyr: www.ayrshire-arran.com

piersNational Piers Society: www.piers.org.ukWeston-Super-Mare:www.grandpier.co.ukCromer: www.cromer-pier.comSouthend-on-Sea: www.southend.gov.ukBrighton West: www.westpier.co.ukBrighton Palace:www.brightonpier.co.ukEastbourne: www.eastbournepier.comLowestoft: www.thesouthpier.co.ukSouthwold: www.southwoldpier.co.ukDeal: www.dealpier.comSouthport: www.visitsouthport.com

John Law remembershappy holidays as a smallchild spent beachcombingand paddling in Devon andthe Isle of Wight. A traveljournalist for the past 35years, he still enjoys visitsto the English seaside.

� Birdmen at Worthing

� St Ives

� Beach sculptureat Aldeburgh

much to commend it. Northern Ireland has eight Blue Flag beaches where

families take to the water to swim, sail, windsurf andcanoe. The neighbouring resorts of Portrush and Port-stewart both have superb beaches and highly-ratedrestaurants. Portrush also has a golf course and anamusement park with thrill rides and children’s entertain-ment, while Portstewart is handy for Barmouth natureand wildlife reserve.The Ayrshire Coast has some of Scotland’s best sandy

beaches, with the town of Ayr offering the most seasideentertainment. It has a decent beach with a children’splaypark nearby – and a wealth of history and otherattractions. Su

ffolk Coastal D

istrict Co

uncil

www.visitcornwall.com

� Surfing at Newquay

arun.gov.uk

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uk uncovered - britain’s beach resorts