UK South coast beach - eg Camber Sands, WEst Wittering, Bournemouth

[Indigoo03]

Planning to head for a day trip from London - what would the water temperature be? I think online says 13/14C water and the temp for Friday is 21C....will it be pleasant or too chilly for 3 yr and 7 yr old? i know some beaches have some mini pools as the tide moves out which seem to heat up quickly.

Thoughts , looks like cloudy 20C... worthwhile? Kids building sandcastles and paddling...

west wittering is lovely.

West wittering is lovely, but only if you can beat the traffic as on beach-worthy weekends the world and his wife want to go and the road access means there's often a bottleneck situation. So if that is your chosen destination it pays to plan ahead and leave that little bit earlier to avoid sitting in queues.

I'd look at west witterings and camber sands safety wise.

They have very quick tides and if you aren't very coastal aware can catch you unawares.

Bournemouth beach would be my recommendation with young children.

Absolutely, was in Camber when that group of boys drowned and it was horrific.

Broadstairs is lovely and has a good safe beach for kids which is sheltered, I guess it all boils down to what areas of London you are starting from?

We were in the sea last week in Weymouth - down the coast a bit but probably just as chilly!

My DC were so excited to be at the sea, they couldn't care less about the cold water. It was me who took a while to get used to it, but once I'd braved actually submerging myself, my body got used to it and it was totally fine. Pleasant, even.

West Wittering normally has a life guarded patrol bit. Not sure about Camber, I always find it uncomfortably windy there.

& you can prebook parking at Wittering which is good.

Water is freezing in the sea on the south coast

2 teens in Brighton got hyperthermia today and had to be rescued and pulled out

Hypothermia not hyperthermia (autocorrect)

They couldn't swim a very short distance back to shore so hung onto the groynes till they were rescued

Since Covid you can only enter West Wittering car park if you've prebooked.
It sells out regularly, and they will not let you in.

There is nowhere to park nearby.
Beautiful beach, we were there at Easter and Christmas.

Thanks for all of this! We almost set off that morning until I saw the car park fully booked noticed. I didn't know about prebooking at West wittering! Does that mean traffic is much better now as only pre-booked turn up there?

@Allthefoodandwine was meant to do this in above

My recollection of West wittering was that when the tide went out small shallow pools remained which were perfect for little kids and the water was warm! However maybe that was when it was 25c plus!

my three and five year old were paddling at Bournemouth beach on a sunny day in March… I took spare clothes but they loved it (me: less so!). But I probably wouldn’t expect much swimming going on.

if a lot Bournemouth I tend to head to boscombe - it’s much quieter (though there are still lifeguarded bits).

Traffic is still a big issue at West Wittering, I'm relatively local and it's because Chichester traffic is a bit of a nightmare in general, and to get to the witterings it's small country lanes, not a big seafront like Bournemouth. It's best to go early in the day if possible. Bracklesham bay is easier traffic wise but can be tricky for parking, great fossils there though which are fun for young children to find. The currents are worth being aware of at both and need a close eye. The sea doesn't really warm up until aug/Sept on south coast but the tidal little pools are fun for paddling. Me and my daughter enjoy swimming in the cold water . There is just one food place at West Witterings, fine by me as we take a picnic and then just chips later to warm the kids up. It can get very windy, a little shelter/windbreaks definitely help make a beach day more enjoyable. It's a good place to take a kite :).