What's your favourite UK seaside town?

[Whathappenedtothelego]

Looking for somewhere for a traditional seaside holiday.

I'd like a nice, safe, sandy beach.
Water warm enough to swim (or at least wade) in.
A few shops, cafes, fish and chips and ice cream within walking distance.
Don't really want nightlife, arcades etc.
What's your favourite?

Littlehampton

We take our year 2s there now and love it.

Sheringham or Cromer in Norfolk- beautiful beaches, plenty to do without being too touristy. We love going to both.

Swanage or west bay but I think west bay is shingle not sand

@melissasummerfield we're at the Twitchen site. The reviews were all glowing but we are so disappointed. We are in a tent and were told our pitch would be 10m by 10m but when we arrived it was only 10x6. Lots of other campers complaining.

We are all packed in like sardines with no outside space or even room to park the car. Very very noisy at night and a dreadful lack of camping etiquette by some of the other guests.

Dirty swimming pool ( our kids refused to get in) Awful and chaotic restaurant.

Badly behaved kids everywhere. Badly behaved adults too. Example group of of women drinking lager from cans while supervising their kids on the shower block. A man swigging cider from a bottle in the shower blocks and then dropping it leaving smashed glass on the floor.

Most expensive camping pitch we've ever paid for and they don't even have a facility to freeze ice packs.

The only positive I can say is the staff are friendly and seem to be trying hard to help the many disgruntled guests.

Woolacombe is great but I can't wait to leave this bloody site. Never again!

@AngelsWithSilverWings that sounds terrible! We have stayed in the caravans and lodges at woolacombe and golden coast before and its been fine, you can still use the facilities at the other sites, might be worth a try for the swimming pools etc?

Sorry to hear you are having a bad time

Perranporth

Southwold is great with kids - the coloured beach huts along the front and the pier give it really traditional “day at the seaside” feel.

oops sorry for the poor spelling.

Re: Swanage. Chain link ferry is out of order until Oct so you're a good drive from anything apart from Studland atm.

I love Broadstairs too (to the pp who mentioned it), such a lovely and relatively unspoilt seaside town.
Lyme used to be my favourite but it’s been utterly gentrified now and has lost its rustic appeal for me slightly. Still beautiful though.
I adore Hayle beach: massive, lots of space, a shallow tidal pool so little ones can use their body boards etc in there for fun at low tide, gorgeous little cafe serving excellent food etc.
Plus the town has some cracking restaurants.

Your campsite sounds horrible poor you

Anywhere in North Wales except Rhyl.

Filey or Dawlish

Saltburn near Whitby. Wonderful beach, the perfect place for a day out with small children. My idea of heaven. Whitby would be next because they have crazy golf.

Not sure when you were there last but Saltburn has a little crazy golf now.

Filey or Fowey

Isn't saltburn crazy golf on the top above the park. Which name I forgot jubilee maybe.
Yy to saltburn, sandsend a mile along the beach from Whitby too

Although sandsend is a village, sorry

Frinton has home made chocs and ice cream in arcade off seafront and sandy beaches😁

Anywhere in Cornwall but especially St Ives! Carbis Bay is like being abroad.

Filey is also lovely but think the rest of the Yorkshire coast Scarborough, especially Bridlington and even Whitby now have all gone massively downhill in the last ten years

Swanage
It’s a perfect little self contained town with its own lovely microclimate. If you stand on te hills looking down onto swanage it’s almost always sunny, while behind you Pool can be dark rainy and miserable looking!
There are some arcades though, but all the other stuff you mentioned.

I was coming on to recommend Woolacombe too!. And from there you can go to Croyde, Ilfracombe etc.

@AngelsWithSilverWings we have camped at Twitchen House several times and I don't recognise your post at all! Favourite camping ever - we always just go in the 'non pitch' bit, so there are no designated pitches and the toilet/shower block is the best and cleanest I have ever used! Gorgeous views of the sea, lovely walk through the woods down into Woolacombe, have never had too much noise or loutish behaviour.

Filey!

Oh forgot to mention Harlech in Wales. Amazing beach and sand dunes

Sheringham and Cromer are lovely, traditional seaside towns, but we prefer Mundesley beach for swimming. It’s just a little further east round the Norfolk coast.

Bude,North Cornwall.

Perranporth for me, gorgeous beach, enough little shops for a potter, parking is a bitch though if you don't get down early enough.