Are YOU a performance beach goer?

[keiratwiceknightly]

At the beach yesterday. So many families arrived with bags and bags of stuff - some even with festival trolleys. Shelter up, double rugs on sand, windbreak, chairs, elaborate picnic. Kids into sun suits, then sun cream rubbed into all exposed bits approx every 10 mins.

40 min set up. Sit for an hour. Then dismantle and clear off.

Great spectator sport.

This was my first year without a pram/ buggy and I've realised I need a trolley, I don't take loads but with a towel for everyone, food, buckets and spades and needing at least 1 free hand each to hold hands I think it will get a lot of use

Honestly, we have used once a day stuff all over the world, in very hot humid climates, for almost 20 years now. Never once have any of us ever burnt, in the slightest, when using it.

Other people might burn though. Parents tend to know their own DC's skin. Better to put one layer too many than not enough

@Lcachu

Wow a lot of sensitive people. Pretty sure OP was making a lighthearted joke.

I feel the same when I see a family of 4 taking 6 suitcases on holiday with them.

Personally I like travelling light but if people want the struggle of extra baggage for all those "just-in-case" moments then that's up to them. The OP was referring to the fact that the people in question didn't stay long for all that effort.

how do you know what's in their suitcases?

I can't remember the number of times I flew with near empty suitcases to bring them absolutely packed on the way back.. With the luggage allowanced included anyway, no point buying new suitcases anyway.

It's hardly a struggle to put cases in car boot, on a trolley to the check in and vice-versa on the other side

I feel the same when I see a family of 4 taking 6 suitcases on holiday with them

When I lived abroad and people came to visit me I'd always get them to bring a couple of suitcases with clothes and food items that I closet get there. It was cheaper than postage. Also baby equipment. People often brought things like pushchairs/travel cots. You don't actually have to be travelling with a baby to use the baby equipment allowance but it probably looked odd to onlookers

I do not travel light. Anywhere. So I would bowl up with everything and the kitchen sink.

Would stay way longer than an hour though! What a load of faff for an hour!

Sometimes I go over to the Strategist and fantasise about owning all the beach gadgets they've found on Amazon.

nymag.com/strategist/tags/beach-accessories/

There's a wormhole for all you fellow maximalists to go down....

Why are you all taking your own food (unless money is an issue obviously). Surely fish and chips and an ice cream on a beach day out is mandatory.

@KatherineJaneway

Why are you all taking your own food (unless money is an issue obviously). Surely fish and chips and an ice cream on a beach day out is mandatory.

Depends where you live. Many of the best beaches here are miles from any fish and chip or ice cream shops

Because the best beaches where we are barely have a car park let alone fish and chips etc

But don't take my people watching away. It's one of the great glories of life. And it's far more often about being interested in people than about judging them

You say that, but it isn't how your post came across at all. And the title 'performance' indicates they are doing it to somehow show off. I think it's much more likely they have small kids, want to be comfortable and have the things they might need with them.

@KatherineJaneway

Why are you all taking your own food (unless money is an issue obviously). Surely fish and chips and an ice cream on a beach day out is mandatory.

can't be arsed to fish personally!

and fish and chips on a hot day? Bleurgh

[quote qualitygirl]@Nietzschethehiker that's odd because I am a local but I take everything, in fact we have a constant supply of "beach stuff" in the car and van (which has the surfboards and kayaks on the roof) I hate the idea of having to go home to get something.

We are always beach ready I suppose. We could be at home and randomly decide to go for a swim/body boarding at 7 in the evening. [/quote]
It's not odd really though is it ? Different cultures at different beaches. I mean we don't all behave identically just because we live near sand and water....different types of beaches , some near towns , some less so. See for example we never used to take any form of car to the beach as it was close enough to walk (in fact closer than all but one car park) so generally around here you don't see loads of locals spend all day. Mostly everyone troops home for lunch etc.

I will admit the exception is if we are going to the boat and that's because we don't moor the tender nearby as we use an inflatable while we repair our mirror. So yes fair enough on those days we have more stuff.

Actually during the summer you see the same school mums etc all out really early for a couple of hours before the tourists arrive and then everyone buggers off because the influx of some groups make it unpleasant. Mostly a single bag if that.

Am a Cornish maid who likes to travel light to the beach - cossie, hamman towel, rug and sunscreen. Not much more when the kids were small. I have recently added sun parasol which folds up and fits in my one single beach bag. My husbands family used to infuriate me - beach shelter, multiple boards, wetsuits, full picnic. It was exhausting getting on and off the beach!

@KatherineJaneway

Why are you all taking your own food (unless money is an issue obviously). Surely fish and chips and an ice cream on a beach day out is mandatory.

Have you been to Poppit Sands?

What I have always wanted to know is WHY do people insist on gluing others and plonk themselves 5cm from your towel, especially when the beach is near empty anyway. WHY?

It can't be people watching, they would have a better view if they went a bit further?

@KatherineJaneway well we do picnic at lunch time and fish and chips for tea!

The beaches we've been to this holiday haven't even had an ice cream kiosk!! We've had to travel to get fish and chips- shocker!!!

God no. Elbows hurt too much to carry more than a beach mat in hand. Whatever we take has to fit in a rucksack that is not too heavy.

WE live within a short drive of several beaches in Somerset. Yesterday was glorious weather so off we went.

I had a rucksack which contained book, crossword book and pen, some knitting or sewing stuff, tissues, sun cream, years old fold-up straw hat, mobile, money, hair brush, little mirror and lip gloss. I carry a small insulated bag with bottles of frozen water and great for keeping other food cool (always in the freezer ready) filled rolls, fruit, crisps etc. Obviously this is lighter on the return walk back to car.
DP carried a large IKEA bag with rolled up foam mats (lots of pebbles round here), towels, small pop up shelter, book and very basic first-aid stuff.

It took 10 mins to "get settled" and then we're very happy for at least 5-6 hrs. I love soaking up the sun, smell of fresh salty sea air and watching the wind-surfers/paddle boarders/lobster pot fishermen but also need my books and something crafty to do. There are rock pools to explore at low tide and fossils to hunt out. This kind of day is my idea of heaven. The only thing that made me cross was the man who was obviously taking photos of me sunbathing topless (just half a dozen people on the whole secluded beach and he came to sit within 20 yards of us). The first time I noticed, I gave him my best "cold stare" so he knew I was aware, but after a few mins he was snapping away again!

What I don't understand are the people on the beach near where we are staying who have all that stuff and then set up on the concrete wharf

Couple of towels, one tan lotion, cards, waterproof bag, and a couple of floaties - that does me and a couple of kids

Stealth pic of trolley took at Cleethorpes today.Might get one.

@MintyGreenDream

Stealth pic of trolley took at Cleethorpes today.Might get one.

I'd go for one with wider wheels as they're a bit better on the sand!

Use a smallish backpack -
Waterproof rug (often on smallish beaches as tide going out). Thin towel. Small food. Water. Phone and plasters and brush. Sun cream. Eye shade. Something to read (never gets read). Usually swim where you don’t need to be clothed so no probs with wet swimwear. Have swimwear with me in case change of beach.

@EccentricaGalumbits

I'm going to save my beach rage for:

• people who set up their shelter or chairs directly in front of people who are sitting on the sand watching the waves
• people who play their music loud enough for everyone to hear - I want to close my eyes and listen to waves, gulls, children laughing... not your shit tunes
• people who smoke on the beach. and leave the butts in the sand.

This ^ in bucket and spade loads

and this

I don’t have kids but can remember being a child at the beach and now realise what a faff it must have been for our poor parents! I am one of three and we had long uk based beach days every summer. I distinctly remember the rugs, windbreaker, chairs, cool boxes of lunch stuff, toys, towels, etc. etc. Plus because UK we always had to have sun protection and be ready to get rained on!

But mainly what I remember is how much I loved those beach days. We’d be there for hours and it was so much fun spending lovely long days playing in the sand, going swimming, climbing in the rock pools, eating lunch after running around all morning. So to all the poor ‘performance parents’... it is worth it!

The car park at the beach nearest to us is right onto the beach. The best beach people get there early in their motorhome and just have a home from home on the beach all day. I aspire to be those people.