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Original poster

British beach etiquette - lighthearted

132 replies

OrangeSunset · 22/08/2021 21:29

We are on holiday on the SW. It’s packed, beaches heaving.

I totally cannot understand how much stuff people take to the beach - and each year I swear it’s getting more. Windbreaks, tents, chairs, and now a new thing….trolleys to transport all the stuff. Plus those inflatable sofa things.

The bit I find really nuts is when people position a windbreak so they can’t even see the sea! What is the point in even going to the beach if you cannot enjoy the view. Some construct almost completely circular camps.

To me, it’s the equivalent of putting your phone up at a gig and recording the whole thing instead of actually watching it.

It’s an oddly British social practice. France - towel or beach mat, an umbrella to stick in the sand for shade if really hot. These are low level and don’t create barriers across the beach for everyone else and do for dogs, kids etc requiring shade.

If it were up to me…chairs only if you are medically unable to sit on the sand. When did teenagers need a chair!

I am really hoping there is someone out there who shares my incredulity at this madness!

OP posts:
LST · 22/08/2021 21:31

We have to take a chair as I can't sit on the beach but other than that it's just buckets, spades and towels

FlyingScott · 22/08/2021 21:38

I’m sure I read almost exactly the same thread a few weeks ago!
I do hate the windbreak walls where people use them not as windbreaks, but to create a massive area of beach for themselves.
As well as offering some shade, small beach tents are quite handy as they provide somewhere to be able to eat without the threat of a seagull attack.

lilyfire · 22/08/2021 21:41

But the British beach is normally a grim battle for survival. You need windbreaks, thermos flasks and blankets if you’re going to have a hope.

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Mumdiva99 · 22/08/2021 21:43

We were on a beautiful beach a few weeks ago. Hardly anyone else there. I was only with my daughter- she was digging I was in the sea. A few adults arrived and placed there stuff in between my daughter and the water. There was loads of free space but no....they wanted the exact spot we had. Then they proceeded to put up massive tents so I could no longer see my daughter or our stuff when we were in the water....and the view from the beach vanished. But the worst hit for me was that they never used the tents...

I have no issue with a small beach tent.....but these were 6 ft monstrosities they could have put elsewhere on the beach. Really ruined my time there.

IncessantNameChanger · 22/08/2021 21:44

Tent is now a essential for us. We was on the beach on the only only people still on the beach when it started raining! It rains a lot in the UK in summer.

You can also get changed in the tent.

BeneficiaryMadness · 22/08/2021 21:44

Trolleys are great for transporting stuff. Do you know how much I have to take for 3 kids to spend the whole day at the beach! It’s so much easier.

ItsAChallengingWank · 22/08/2021 21:45

We live by the sea and if we're going to the beach for the day we take a picnic, a football, towels, suncream and that's pretty much it. And if I'm honest, that's pushing it. If it's a quick walk I take a towel (we always walk along the shoreline) and a drink each.

We do see a lot of people with all the gear but quite frankly it's too much of a faff for me.

PlanDeRaccordement · 22/08/2021 21:46

Wind breaks are essential on UK beach as it’s often cold without them.
I agree about inflatables though..

Galassia · 22/08/2021 21:47

I now live in Wales. Sometimes I have a whole beach to myself or just my family.

Flatdisco · 22/08/2021 21:49

Why do you care what other people do?

Also British beaches are hardly the same as France. So you're also being disingenuous to compare the two.

Puffalicious · 22/08/2021 21:51

Let folk do what they like- it's their time. I personally don't go to packed beaches- what's the point? However, the wilder beaches we go to we take lots- chairs/ mats/ windbreaker/ sun tent/ rugby ball/ kites/ cool bags/ wetsuits/ body boards/ change towels/ books/ lots of digging stuff. I have 3 very active boys, one with ASN so I take what WE need. Don't be so judgemental.

Disneycharacter · 22/08/2021 21:52

Haha! My family group had a collapsible beach chair, 2 pop up tents, rugs to sit on, and a huge windbreak plus buckets and spades. Not to mention a picnic. We could see the sea though as the kids were playing in it.

Eyeing up those little trolleys though

Disneycharacter · 22/08/2021 21:52

God, I just remembered, my cousin did have a blue beach trolley 🤣

Disneycharacter · 22/08/2021 21:53

And 2 kites

Disneycharacter · 22/08/2021 21:53

2 body boards. I'll stop there

MrsWooster · 22/08/2021 22:04

We have a beach trolley. It lives at our house in France and I wish it was here as we will have to slum it on the beach in wales next week, carting everything around in IKEA bags. Ooh, the inhumanity.

Ohdeariedear · 22/08/2021 22:06

@Mumdiva99

We were on a beautiful beach a few weeks ago. Hardly anyone else there. I was only with my daughter- she was digging I was in the sea. A few adults arrived and placed there stuff in between my daughter and the water. There was loads of free space but no....they wanted the exact spot we had. Then they proceeded to put up massive tents so I could no longer see my daughter or our stuff when we were in the water....and the view from the beach vanished. But the worst hit for me was that they never used the tents...

I have no issue with a small beach tent.....but these were 6 ft monstrosities they could have put elsewhere on the beach. Really ruined my time there.

This! You can guarantee, if I sit on an empty beach, the next person to arrive will sit within 5 m of me. I try and take it as a compliment on my superior spot-choosing abilities but really - fuck off further away!
Original poster
OrangeSunset · 22/08/2021 22:13

We managed to carry stuff for 3 adults and 2 kids without a trolley. And get changed without a tent! We had bodyboards, picnic, wetsuits. Yesterday it rained for a bit and I put my coat on.

The windbreak land grabs…we had a spot where I could see DC in the sea from my place. Then a group turn up and erect a windbreak wall about 20ft long. All I could see was loads of windbreaks and other people. So yes I see the point of a windbreak if appropriately placed to actually protect from wind. But ginormous encampments, not so much. It takes up loads of space and to be honest you might as well be sat in a car park for all the natural environment you can see and appreciate.

Of course we would chose quieter beaches if poss, but I expect that’s pretty impossible on this location at the moment.

OP posts:
bettertimesarecomingnow · 22/08/2021 22:15

We took a blanket and a radio today. There were only about it ten people on the beach and we stayed all day.

Did pop to the shop for crisps and juice tho

Original poster
OrangeSunset · 22/08/2021 22:16

It’s definitely gathering momentum. No way in the recent past did people take so much shit with them.

And you know, climate emergency. Why are we buying so much (unnecessary) stuff to take with us? And yet we see someone else with something that looks handy and want one.

On a plus side, I have seen very little litter on the beaches.

OP posts:
newnortherner111 · 22/08/2021 22:19

Despite all the things people such as the OP describes take to the beach, they tend to leave style at home!!!

camelfinger · 22/08/2021 22:21

I noticed this too, especially the tents which I hadn’t seen before. I can see the logic of taking a trolley etc, but it all looked just so exhausting having so much stuff. We love to travel light, there’s usually something important that we could have done with but this is far outweighed by not having much to carry and pack away.

camelfinger · 22/08/2021 22:23

Although most beaches I’ve been outside the UK are wall to wall ugly sun loungers packed together so it is nice to be able to just choose a patch of sand.

Hardbackwriter · 22/08/2021 22:24

It’s an oddly British social practice. France - towel or beach mat, an umbrella to stick in the sand for shade if really hot.

It really isn't just a British thing. I used to spend a lot of time in the south of Italy and people seemed to bring the whole contents of their house to the beach, and absolutely everyone had their own chair, either hired or brought with them.

PeachesPumpkin · 22/08/2021 22:26

It’s also important to start a bloody game of cricket right where everyone is sat and then whack a ball around terrifying everyone sat nearby.
Similarly football.