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I'm going to stay with friends in Bristol at Easter, and would like to incorporate some beach time. ARe there any decent beaches within a day trip? If we decide to make a few days of it, where would you recommend where we can book accommodation for a few days during easter holidays??
Many thanks

Weston is your classic 'beach' with a pier. Clevedon is a pretty town, but no beach. We went to a lovely one - can't remember the name though...will look it up.

There's Weston Super Mare, which I'd avoid like the plague tbh.

Berrow is nice, although there's not a great deal there, but the beach is lovely

Burnham on Sea is where it was! Donkeys etc.

Did you want MUD ?? Burnham-on-Mud and Weston-Super-Mud have MUD !

For sand you will need to go a bit further I'm afraid !

I don't really mind - just need to satisfy the ds's desire for beach time! how far are these places from central Bristol? and how far is the nearest really nice place?

From the centre of Bristol to Burnham on Sea will take about an hour or just over, down the M5. If you just want a huge beach and mud, Weston will do.

But if you want a half decent beach, you really have to go as far as Minehead. You have to remember you are up the Bristol Channel and that doesn't make for nice sea or nice beaches particularly!

Hey Elliott,
Langland & Caswell Bays in the Mumbles, just beyond Swansea along the M4 are the nearest nice beaches (2 hour trip). Another half hour further is the rest of the Gower and v nice beaches. North Devon's surfing beaches at Croyde and Wollacombe are about 2 and a half/three quarters of an hour down the M5. Or there's the Dorset coast (same kind of travelling time). Really these are the nearest nice beaches - anything along the Severn estuary is just mud. We've lived here for years and each summer widened out daytrip radius until we had found acceptable beachy beaches. Burnham and Weston are less than an hour, but, as has already been said, although there is some sand at the top of the beach, the rest is treacherous mud. HTH.

Weston is a horrible place in my opinion (I lived there for 9 months when I persuaded DH in a hormonal moment shortly after DD that it would be a good idea as we could have a big house), and Burnham is down wind of Hinkley Point which doesn't do it for me. Both of them are well endowed on the mud front. I used to use Berrow if we went anywhere.

Personally I would do as BITBBH suggests and go a bit further a field. We're in Dorset now and there really is no comparison.

thanks. How far is Minehead? (sorry for the questions, but I really don't know the geography round there, coming from the opposite end of the country!)
how far is woolacombe?

thanks all - I hadn't thought of heading up towards Wales but that may be a good option, thanks bitbbh. any ideas for accommodation up there? I have always hankered after Woolacombe bay hotel but think we may be on a belt tightening phase (house move imminent) so perhaps a caravan park might be nearer the mark...

plenty of mobile home type accomodation at woolacombe / croyde.

There's RUDA at croyde

and one at woolacombe.

Go, it's lovely at easter

It's a fair old drive to N Devon from Bristol though.

(it is for me anyway. I get easily bored)

Minehead is closer. I have never been there so I donm;t know what it;s like. There's Butlins there if you were looking for hat sort of thing

a fair old drive?

I've done it from London just to surf that afternoon then again in the morning, then back in the car and in London that night! ah life was simple pre-kids!

fascinating anyway - fossils and very beautiful countryside. Watchet is a really quaint quirky little town and Minehead is too. I don't like Weston, Burnham and Clevedon but that's just personal prejudice I think. However I have to agree that if you want 'proper' sandy then East Devon (Sidmouth perhaps) or N Devon (Croyde etc) is your best bet. Fortunately my lot like mud-larking, beach-combing and fossil hunting just as much

Sorry - having trouble posting. The beginning of my message was something like this....


None of the West Somerset beaches are classic sandy ones but.....

Woolacombe/Croyde are just over 100 miles but it does take nearly 2 1/2 hours 'cause the second half is on A roads then you've got to get through Barnstaple.

Sorry no idea about accom. in Wales - we only ever go for day trips.

Minehead's nice enough, but the water's still brown as it's still technically on the Severn Estuary. It's a 60 mile/hour and a half kind of drive.

Bristol's a great place to live, but a pain if you like beachy stuff - there's nothing for it, you just have to drive for a couple of hours. I'm sure you'll all have fun whatever you do.

Weymouth is probably one of the best beaches, about an hour and half drive, 60 odd miles. Also, during holiday times (not sure if Easter would count) you can get quite a fast train service from Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth.

All good stuff, keep it coming. (and I'm feeling more and more smug about my corner of the country - lovely sandy beaches within 20 minutes - cold mind )
My kids will be happy with mud combing/fossil hunting. I'm guessing it will be jumpers and wellies sort of beaching anyway in early April!

am beginning to think I might as well go to south devon though - can't be much more than 2.5 hrs to salcombe...

Lovely beaches at Dunraven Park and Ogmore, which are between Cardiff & Swansea on the Glamorgan Coast. The beach at Ogmore is great, loads of massive dunes to explore, including Europe's largest sand dune, 'The Big Dipper'.

elliot - don't feel too smug . There's more to life than beaches and we've got Exmoor and loads of other gorgeous places.

hi elliot, i come from weston-super-mare, to be fair it is muddy when get in sea, but if your son only wants beach/sand, you can't go wrong. theres donkeys, trampolines, fair rides, and loads on pier including ball park. loads places to eat, nice shops to browse(if ds lets you). it is 20 mins from bristol. there is also brean, the next bay around, 10 more mins along. we used to love as kids. loads to do, brean leisure centre, rides, swim pool, crazy golf, amusements. there is also a beach here too. would well recommend these. the beaches in devon/cornwall are lovely too, i went to croyde and wooloacombe last yr, but to be honest spent most time in car stuck behind caravans. not my idea of fun. up to you, but I would stick with somewhere close to bristol, less time travelling, and more time having fun. xx

Awww, you lot are hard on Weston! For a fairly short journey it is fine for a day out We always stay the opposite end to the peir, fairly close to the miniature railway as it is quieter and there are loos and nearby and of course the little railway. We quite like Brean beach too

Barry beach in South Wales has been improved, we were pleasantly surprised anyway, and it is clean and they have life guards etc. If you want somewhere more isolated Trecco beach near Porthcawl is nice Then there is Porthcawl.

All within an hour of Bristol. The Gower will take you an hour and a half or longer if the traffic is bad. If you decide on South Wales avoid travelling when it is likely to be busy around Cardiff (rush hours and Millenium Stadium fixtures).

Also, check out:

http://www.waterpark.org/leisure/keynes_park.html

Not too far and has a beach!

Boo-hoo all that slate Weston Super Mare - for kids it is lovely - no I wouldn't want to go there for a weeks holiday but for a day trip from Bristol we go regularly. The mud is the sea! When the tide is out the beach is beautifully sandy and exceptionally clean.

Plenty of child friendly places to eat, good parking and plenty of entertainment (Pier, donkeys, Burlington Rd Museum, trampolines, train rides etc etc.)

Hope you have a good weekend, wherever you may end up X

Yep. Museum is good chipstick.

How about Watchet??

all about Watchet!

I like Watchet but it's not to everyone's taste. A bit down at heel and gritty . It always makes me think of the town in Under Milkwood. There's a cafe near the harbour where we always seem to end for lunch on New Years Day. Gloriously old-fashioned, a bit scruffy and generally delightful. The kind of place where you get paper doilies on the saucers.

We're new to Bristol and I'm determined to have plenty of nice day trips this year no matter the weather. Thanks for all the suggestions. Do you know anywhere nice to camp (new to camping too)? Thanks!

I also live in Weston and I don't understand where all the negativity comes from? It's a great entertainment area for kids and you'll only see the mud if you wonder right down the (quite wide) beach otherwise you wouldn't know it was there, perfectly clean and safe on the soft sand.

I take my kids for a stroll and a donkey ride most weekends over the summer, they know them all by name and at £2 a go it's not going to break the bank.

I guess the people who think is ghastly are used to holidaying in Tuscany and taking weekend breaks in Padstow, I wont pretend that Weston compares to these places but it won't cost you an arm and a leg either.