Beaches near Bristol?

[elliott]

I'm going to stay with friends in Bristol at Easter, and would like to incorporate some beach time. ARe there any decent beaches within a day trip? If we decide to make a few days of it, where would you recommend where we can book accommodation for a few days during easter holidays??
Many thanks

[matt645]

I also live in Weston and I don't understand where all the negativity comes from? It's a great entertainment area for kids and you'll only see the mud if you wonder right down the (quite wide) beach otherwise you wouldn't know it was there, perfectly clean and safe on the soft sand.

I take my kids for a stroll and a donkey ride most weekends over the summer, they know them all by name and at £2 a go it's not going to break the bank.

I guess the people who think is ghastly are used to holidaying in Tuscany and taking weekend breaks in Padstow, I wont pretend that Weston compares to these places but it won't cost you an arm and a leg either.

[ImSanta]

We're new to Bristol and I'm determined to have plenty of nice day trips this year no matter the weather. Thanks for all the suggestions. Do you know anywhere nice to camp (new to camping too)? Thanks!

[OrmIrian]

I like Watchet but it's not to everyone's taste. A bit down at heel and gritty . It always makes me think of the town in Under Milkwood. There's a cafe near the harbour where we always seem to end for lunch on New Years Day. Gloriously old-fashioned, a bit scruffy and generally delightful. The kind of place where you get paper doilies on the saucers.

[yeahinaminute]

How about Watchet??

all about Watchet!

[OrmIrian]

Yep. Museum is good chipstick.

[Chipstick]

Boo-hoo all that slate Weston Super Mare - for kids it is lovely - no I wouldn't want to go there for a weeks holiday but for a day trip from Bristol we go regularly. The mud is the sea! When the tide is out the beach is beautifully sandy and exceptionally clean.

Plenty of child friendly places to eat, good parking and plenty of entertainment (Pier, donkeys, Burlington Rd Museum, trampolines, train rides etc etc.)

Hope you have a good weekend, wherever you may end up X

[WestCountryLass]

Also, check out:

www.waterpark.org/leisure/keynes_park.html

Not too far and has a beach!

[WestCountryLass]

Awww, you lot are hard on Weston! For a fairly short journey it is fine for a day out We always stay the opposite end to the peir, fairly close to the miniature railway as it is quieter and there are loos and nearby and of course the little railway. We quite like Brean beach too

Barry beach in South Wales has been improved, we were pleasantly surprised anyway, and it is clean and they have life guards etc. If you want somewhere more isolated Trecco beach near Porthcawl is nice Then there is Porthcawl.

All within an hour of Bristol. The Gower will take you an hour and a half or longer if the traffic is bad. If you decide on South Wales avoid travelling when it is likely to be busy around Cardiff (rush hours and Millenium Stadium fixtures).

[rachelmendham]

hi elliot, i come from weston-super-mare, to be fair it is muddy when get in sea, but if your son only wants beach/sand, you can't go wrong. theres donkeys, trampolines, fair rides, and loads on pier including ball park. loads places to eat, nice shops to browse(if ds lets you). it is 20 mins from bristol. there is also brean, the next bay around, 10 more mins along. we used to love as kids. loads to do, brean leisure centre, rides, swim pool, crazy golf, amusements. there is also a beach here too. would well recommend these. the beaches in devon/cornwall are lovely too, i went to croyde and wooloacombe last yr, but to be honest spent most time in car stuck behind caravans. not my idea of fun. up to you, but I would stick with somewhere close to bristol, less time travelling, and more time having fun. xx

[NOELallie]

elliot - don't feel too smug . There's more to life than beaches and we've got Exmoor and loads of other gorgeous places.

[chonky]

Lovely beaches at Dunraven Park and Ogmore, which are between Cardiff & Swansea on the Glamorgan Coast. The beach at Ogmore is great, loads of massive dunes to explore, including Europe's largest sand dune, 'The Big Dipper'.

[elliott]

am beginning to think I might as well go to south devon though - can't be much more than 2.5 hrs to salcombe...

[elliott]

All good stuff, keep it coming. (and I'm feeling more and more smug about my corner of the country - lovely sandy beaches within 20 minutes - cold mind )
My kids will be happy with mud combing/fossil hunting. I'm guessing it will be jumpers and wellies sort of beaching anyway in early April!

[jenkel]

Weymouth is probably one of the best beaches, about an hour and half drive, 60 odd miles. Also, during holiday times (not sure if Easter would count) you can get quite a fast train service from Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth.

[BearintheBigBlueHouse]

Woolacombe/Croyde are just over 100 miles but it does take nearly 2 1/2 hours 'cause the second half is on A roads then you've got to get through Barnstaple.

Sorry no idea about accom. in Wales - we only ever go for day trips.

Minehead's nice enough, but the water's still brown as it's still technically on the Severn Estuary. It's a 60 mile/hour and a half kind of drive.

Bristol's a great place to live, but a pain if you like beachy stuff - there's nothing for it, you just have to drive for a couple of hours. I'm sure you'll all have fun whatever you do.

[NOELallie]

Sorry - having trouble posting. The beginning of my message was something like this....


None of the West Somerset beaches are classic sandy ones but.....

[NOELallie]

fascinating anyway - fossils and very beautiful countryside. Watchet is a really quaint quirky little town and Minehead is too. I don't like Weston, Burnham and Clevedon but that's just personal prejudice I think. However I have to agree that if you want 'proper' sandy then East Devon (Sidmouth perhaps) or N Devon (Croyde etc) is your best bet. Fortunately my lot like mud-larking, beach-combing and fossil hunting just as much

[aDad]

a fair old drive?

I've done it from London just to surf that afternoon then again in the morning, then back in the car and in London that night! ah life was simple pre-kids!

[IntergalacticWalrus]

Minehead is closer. I have never been there so I donm;t know what it;s like. There's Butlins there if you were looking for hat sort of thing

[IntergalacticWalrus]

It's a fair old drive to N Devon from Bristol though.

(it is for me anyway. I get easily bored)

[aDad]

plenty of mobile home type accomodation at woolacombe / croyde.

There's RUDA at croyde

and one at woolacombe.

Go, it's lovely at easter

[elliott]

thanks all - I hadn't thought of heading up towards Wales but that may be a good option, thanks bitbbh. any ideas for accommodation up there? I have always hankered after Woolacombe bay hotel but think we may be on a belt tightening phase (house move imminent) so perhaps a caravan park might be nearer the mark...

[elliott]

thanks. How far is Minehead? (sorry for the questions, but I really don't know the geography round there, coming from the opposite end of the country!)
how far is woolacombe?

[Kittypickle]

Weston is a horrible place in my opinion (I lived there for 9 months when I persuaded DH in a hormonal moment shortly after DD that it would be a good idea as we could have a big house), and Burnham is down wind of Hinkley Point which doesn't do it for me. Both of them are well endowed on the mud front. I used to use Berrow if we went anywhere.

Personally I would do as BITBBH suggests and go a bit further a field. We're in Dorset now and there really is no comparison.