Best seaside towns with young children

[MrsCremuel]

We have been to a few and many of them seems to geared towards the older generation and we prefer somewhere a bit more kid friendly. We live on the Kent coast and there tends to be a younger family oriented crowd, any non Kent seaside towns that are popular with families that you’d recommend?

Cromer's got lots of druggies.
Hunstanton is by no means a safe beach. People regularly get caught in the quicksand area, or cut off by the tides as they walk at the base of the cliffs.

Cromer is really not druggie! It is as bucket-and-spade as seaside resorts come.

Hunstanton is perfectly safe as long as you're not an idiot about tide times - like any other beach.

@MegBusset

Cromer's more kid-friendly than Wells imo (was always worried about losing one of them off the harbour wall, plus they've shut the little train that goes to the beach).

Nope: the train is up and running.

I like Wells much more than Cromer. Wells beach is fabulous, soft play, trampolining and boating down by the beach, soft play by the quay, crabbing, low key amusement arcade...

Oh, I thought it had already closed - I know the Holkham estate have said they're closing it.

Wells does have French's fish and chips 😋

Sidmouth and / or exmouth maybe .. good for children, big beaches, towns with various shops and places to eat but not super trendy/bustling if that’s what you’re looking for.

Barry island was also a very successful trip. It’s a bit ‘tacky’ but the beach is good. And we love an arcade etc!!

I wasn’t a fan of Cromer, felt a bit past its best and I actually find the Norfolk beaches too exposed if that makes sense?

I like Swanage but, and this sounds awful but, whenever I go there I feel like one of the only under 60s there. We never go in the holidays though and often get stared at by silent couples in cafes just because we are having a conversation/our toddler is chatting (not loudly). Same in Norfolk really.

I do love Devon and Cornwall but it’s such a long way from East Kent. I know West Wittering and it’s lovely but yep, quite busy. I suppose that’s the south east though. Might give the south west a dodge next time and go North.

Also quite liked IoW but I do find these grand old ----faded traditional seaside towns a bit depressing.

Jesus I am picky.

Studland / Sandbanks / Isle of Purbeck - loads to do locally for young children in Dorset.

This is for a holiday!

The Yorkshire coast has some great family orientated beaches - Filey, Bridlington, Scarborough, Whitby, Saltburn and the area is nice and well set up for a holiday, eg indoor water park with splash area for little ones in Scarborough.

^^^ Yes to all this

Bexhill-On-Sea in East Sussex. Moved here from London when dd was 3yrs old, raised 4dc here. Excellent place to raise a family, lots of parks as well as the beach. Lovely community.

@munchbunch12 will check those out

Bridlington has the best sandy beach. It also has a little train you can ride along the front and a pirate boat ride. There is a swimming pool and cinema.

The north east coast is gorgeous!!

Yeah, Brid is great for the pirate ship, the land train, the fab beaches, the Spa theatre, the cinema and bowling, Sewerby Hall nearby, award winning fish and chips (fish&chips @149 were NATIONAL fish and chip takeaway of the year in 2011). Also it's reasonably close to Filey, Scarborough, Hull (surprisingly nice), Whitby and York.
I'm going to Brid tomorrow with the DC for the week and WE CAN'T WAIT!!

Lyme Regis.

*@munchbunch12 *

Enjoy ! hope the sun shines in Brid

@MrsCremuel A lot of the Norfolk beaches can be rather exposed. I remember sitting on Cromer beach in midsummer sunshine, wrapped in every item of clothing and all the picnic blankets and beach towels I had with me and I was still blue with the cold...

Hunstanton is in Norfolk but is on the Wash, west facing and has its own microclimate, so you don't get that bitter east wind from Siberia like the beaches on the east coast!

Devon has lovely resorts. Would avoid sidmouth though, it's really nice but as a 40 something I feel rather young

Weymouth

How about Suffolk then -Southwold, Aldeburgh, Walberswick all a bit more upmarket than Norfolk?

Southwold has the Under The Pier show which is totally unhinged and kids love it www.southwoldpier.co.uk/business/under-the-pier-show/

Highcliffe beach near Christchurch
and you caN go over to sourhbourne or Bournemouth

Thanks @Unsubscribed the forecast is supposed to be dry, so fingers crossed!

@MoChridhe

I've been told good things about Margate. We are checking it out next week.

Margate is a shithole. There's 2 arcades and a wetherspoons. And then dreamland which isn't worth paying to get in, if that is their current pricing structure, it chops and changes every season. And there are no public toilets on the beach anymore.