UK seaside in the countryside, close to a city

[BerryStripe]

Trying to work out where to go this summer.
Two DDs, a young 13 and an old 15.
Younger one likes the outdoors, horses, waking, cycling. Older one likes cities and shopping, especially thrift shopping.
Both are happy in the water, swimming, surfing etc.
Looking for somewhere based at the seaside with a nice beach (rural/village/small town) but with a city accessible (ideally by public transport) within about an hour.
Any suggestions from the Mumsnet hive mind? Thank you 😀

Scarborough! Less than an hour to York on the train. Whitby just up the road. North Yorkshire Moors on the door step.

Devon - Woolacombe for the great surfing, Ilfracombe near but more like a large town.
Cornwall you have the pick there, Truro is a nice city and you can base yourself at the north coast for the surfing. South coast for sailing. Plymouth just over the border in Devon too.

Northumberland - somewhere you can get the metro to Newcastle or it’s about an hour drive.

Somewhere near to Exeter?

Isle of Wight. Their riding centre is amazing. Hop over to Southampton for the city element.

Newquay has fabulous beaches, and surf obviously, riding stables in the town that do rides on the beach, coastal path, countryside at the back, shops in the town including charity shops. Truro is only about 12 miles away for shopping.

Perranporth is similar but more laid back and has a riding stables just outside.

New Forest situated on the coast between Southampton & Bournemouth 1-2 hours from London with rail links

Thank you all - so many great ideas! I'm going to get googling and looking at maps 😀

North Berwick on the coast 30 mins on the train from Edinburgh. There is riding nearby including beach hacks if rider good enough. Surfing etc available in area at Dunbar and Foxlake Adventures good for aqua stuff. Lots of charity shops!

Gower peninsula. 30 mins from Swansea. Cardiff about Ibrahim 20

North Norfolk - Sheringham or Cromer for the beach (I prefer Cromer) - train to Norwich which is fantastic for shopping.

Whitley bay? You’ve got some lovely little shops etc and good transport links. Plus miles of beach

How about anywhere near Brighton? Admittedly, no surfing but the shopper will love The Lanes.

I wouldn't classify Truro or Ilfracombe as shopping destinations!

What about Poole/Bournemouth

(Oh and new forest for riding is close by)

Fife - St Andrews/Elie/Crail and close enough to Dundee or Edinburgh for shops etc

I’d do Devon-Croyde, Woolacombe or Exmouth. You’ve got Exeter or Plymouth for city life.

Eastbourne? Lovely clean beach (although rocky) and surrounded by beautiful South Downs countryside. Has its own quirky thrift shop area (Little Chelsea), some cool stuff at the Towner Gallery and they have things like outdoor saunas on the beach.

Can also hop on the coastal bus which goes every 15 mins to Brighton for great general shopping and exploring the North Laines for vintage and thrift stuff. Can also access Lewes or Hastings by short train journey for more thrifting fun and quirky cafes/galleries. And then 90mins on train to London if you need more city excitement.

Brighton beach is rubbish though, all stones.

Devon. Bantham beach is nice, so is Wembury, then you have Plymouth for shopping.

Scarborough, great for surfing plus there’s the Open Air Theatre with fantastic music this summer. 52 mins on train from York

Wareham. Nice little country town near beaches and forest - you can hire bikes, horses too, boats.. It's easy to catch a bus into Poole/Dorchester/Weymouth or train into Dorchester/Bournemouth/Christchurch (lots of charity shops there) or even Southampton.

I was going to suggest Isle of Wight too. Fun to mooch at some for the vintage and thrift shops in Ryde or get the hovercraft over to Portsmouth for the large outlet shopping at Gunwharf Quays. Lots of activities and nothing is far to get to. We went for years with the kids and always went to Hilltop Riding stables. Robin Hill and Black Gang are a bit of fun. Like the beaches at Appleby and Seaview. Stayed in Yarmouth a lot of the time but loads of lovely places to stay.

Truro is just about passable for teen shopping but Ilfracombe would be a dead loss. Poole better

Whitley bay / tynemouth / south shields