Does anyone actually like the city centre 'beaches'?

[pinotnow]

Surely they are even worse than the Christmas markets/Winter Wonderland horrors that every town 'boasts' these days?

I went past ours on the tram the other day and got hideous flashbacks to the few times I took my dc to sit on a tiny patch of sand being accosted by them to go on endless rides and purchase overpriced snacks, occasionally venturing into a tiny paddling pool. No space and absolutely nothing like the experience of going to an actual beach or even a proper lido.

Our city has a very nice square with a lovely water feature that kids can run around in and splash about which is much better than the bloody 'beach' but is out of action for the whole summer due to it. It also has loads of benches and walls to sit on and I used to like taking the dc, treating them to a Greggs and a treat drink and just sitting there while they splashed around. Mine are too old anyway now but it still annoys me that there's actually only a few weeks in the year when you can do that before the whole space gets taken over.

I get that there is a drive to get more people into city centres but is anyone actually drawn to these things? Surely there is a better way to use the space.

I had not heard of this phenomenon. How is it like a beach if there is no, er, sea?

I took the kids to one when they were little.

They had a blast but it was 15 years ago. They played the sound of the see. Large deck chairs and free buckets and spades.

I can imagine these take off and become money making places.

the childrens centre used to do days out for beach trips etc.

As for schools doing them, have you seen the parental complaints, too far, too long, travel sickness, spare clothes - you’d think the teacher was taking them on a hideous trip!!

I live by the sea - city people don’t understand the dangerous nature of the tides, waves, stones thrown up etc and risk death - more awareness is a good thing.

The Old Market Square in Nottingham used to be really beautiful OP with flowers and fountains and little seats and underground loos. Someone decided it needed to be more flat and open so they could have events which in my mind would be U2 or Bruce Springsteen doing a gig, but in the end turned out to be the beach and the ice rink. The Square is much better without anything in it tbh, the beach is naff.

Not in a city, but the town where my DD and family live has a park near the shopping area with a huge sandpit which is referred to as the beach and also a large splash park as well as the usual playground. It's not a pop up it is there all the time but only open in the summer months (has a chain link fence around it with locked gate). Playground is open all year round obviously.

I went to one at Meadowhell recently (iykyk)
Cost £2each entry then rides were £4-6 theonly free thing was a very small patch of sand. £6 for two large paddling pools . Spent £70 in 2 hours!!!

Our children’s centre does a yearly trip to the seaside!! It’s £3 a ticket and is for anyone who uses the children’s centre with a child under 5 years old and their families. It sells out pretty quickly though so not everyone can go.

We don’t have one this year but I took my little one a couple of times last year and he enjoyed it but it was basically just a big sandpit and nothing else 🤷‍♀️ There was a child who wet themselves in it and told their parent who just told them to go back in and keep playing in it though 😬

I mean by this description the adult ones sound pretty tacky..

I have never seen them Op, but I am not a Christmas market fan, so..

@PuppyMonkey nooo, Skeg is ace. My DS loves suncastle. And Skeg is home to the UK's only (AFAIK) gluten free seaside donut stall. I have years of memories of going to Skeg with my grandparents, grandad always parked near the skip at the pier 🤣. City beaches no doubt serve a purpose but of course they are not as good as the real thing.

The ones that are not run by a commercial company can be nice. I think the Nottingham one is run by a commercial company OP? And yes they are just expensive stalls and a tiny bit of sand.

https://westbridgfordwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Nottingham-Beach-scaled.jpg

@beetr00 os that really what it looks like? Because that looks pretty decent.

@Nadeed I had absolutely no clue, was imagining sandpit-like area. Google is enlightening in so many ways 😎

I live in a very prosperous town and any water feature would be amazing! Absolutely nowhere within 30 miles for fun in the sun !!

How is treating your children to a Greggs a snide name drop?

We live 10 mins from the beach but our city has a fake beach in the shopping area. Great if you are going as a couple, one parent stays in beach while the other one shops. Absolute fucking nightmare if you go alone with your child.

First the child sees the sand, runs like Bolt to dive head first into it, then buries themselves in it. All you ever owned is now covered in sand and you have to begin the torturous 4 hour negotiation to try and get them out or risk a public meltdown from your child and you. You finally get them out, go into a shop, come out of the shop and they see the sand again.

We have been to a few in other cities, and my dcs like them. Far quicker to get to than a real beach (we would go by train not car but rail prices don't bother me, it takes 2 hours to get there, door to beach, which is a long journey for preschoolers). At a real beach my dcs mainly play in the sand and have a little paddle and go on rides, so it covers the main things they'd do. I don't mind paying for occasional rides and ice cream on a summer day out.

We have quite a few outdoor pools and swimming ponds nearby but most aren't suitable for younger kids. Lots of free fountain splash areas though, which the dcs love (but most of them don't have sand nearby, but there are lots of other playgrounds with huge sandpits).

I've genuinely never heard of a city centre beach (no point having them here because we're surrounded by miles and miles of beaches.) and from what you've described, they sound utterly pointless!
Do you have to pay to use them?

We don't have to pay. As I say we are surrounded by beaches too but in fairness they're all polluted this year so I've not let my DC near them. The (real) beaches stink so the sewage must be all over them even just for playing in the sand.

@Kipperthedawg how awful! Such a shame that so much of the country's water is so polluted these days.
In all fairness, despite living a 3 minute walk from the beach, I don't go to it very often.
I love looking out to sea - it's my favourite view...but I hate sand 😂

It's a great idea for those children who never get the chance to go to the actual beach and helps them feel as if they've "been somewhere" during their summer holidays. It also brings more than normal numbers of people into the city so therefore helps boost the local economy.

I live as about as far from the beach as you can get in the UK.

Last year I worked with a 7yo who has never been on holiday or to a beach. This summer our town has a massive sandpit with some deckchairs around it. For that little girl going to the town "beach" will be her holiday. She'll probably go back to a school in September and talk about "the beach" with other DC who had a fortnight in Greece and not feel left out. It may well be one of the highlights of the year for her and make a nice change from the park.

Personally I probably wouldn't have let my own DC spend much time at "the beach" in town, but I'm really, really glad it's there for the children who don't have access to a real holiday.

I don't have a photo but I do remember quite a funny fake beach in the late 80s (or possibly 90/91) which had a few deck chairs. Someone else remembers it as carpet instead of sand. Nothing like the set up now.

No. All the ones I've been to / seen are free (although I see a pp said there is one she went to that charge).

Not sure how you can lack the imagination to see the point of them though - even after 3 pages of people explaining that many, many families don't have access to beaches.

I've never heard of these before, tbh they sound a bit grim... now Lidos on the other hand I'm incredibly envious of! Especally the ones that are heated, we probably don't have them over here because we can't have nice things without some idiots destroying it "for a buzz" 🙄