Have your children been to a traditional British seaside?

[Hulababy]

Just curious really.

7y DD has BTW.

Her school are having a whole school day out to the seaside. They can't wait; the girls are very excited. They are visiting a "besde the seaside" museum, taking buckets and spades to the beach, having fish and chips for lunch and having ice creams in the afternoon before heading home.

I know a few of the classes have been looking at coastal seasides around the UK as part of various aspects of the curriculum, geography, etc.

Also what came out is that there are a suprising number of children who haven't been to a traditional british seaside before.

I wondered if this is quite common for modern children. Do they have all these fab holidays abroad, but rarely visit their own seaside resorts?

So, have your children experienced our seasides?

I took both mine here

and here

then over here

We go to Guernsey every year in the summer to visit my parents so yes. DD learnt the word 'kiosk' last year, closely followed by 'kitkat'.

And then she asked what the funny stuff was, which was seaweed.

We don't live near the sea, but SIL does so DS has been to the seaside when visiting her. DD has only been to the beach abroad (not extensively as I'm not a fan of beach holidays, but for the odd paddle).

Not yet - but it is my mission for this summer. I want somewhere not too busy with a sandy beach and a pier, not more than 2 hours drive from Heathrow. So any suggestions would be fab!

dd has been to margate for about 40 mins, it was dirty, then it rained, then we went home!

My MIL lives in Bridlington, so we go every month or so.

We don't always actually see the sea, nor go on the beach but when the weather is good it's fantastic. OH and DD2 have gone up there for the weekend today and taken all the buckets and spades so it will probably rain both days.

Yes plenty and he's only 3!

HOliday at camber last year when it was so windy that we were sadnblasted! Then we have been to the Isle of WIght many times. Perfect holiday for littlies in my opinion. GEt to go over on a boat (so like a proper holiday), nice clean beaches not too busy, little road train around Ryde, dinosaur museum, whats not to like?

mrspnut - it is bridlingon where DD's school is taking them

ds has been forced privileged to have brit seaside holidays in the usual places (cornwall, wales etc) and loved it. tis part of his heritage to eat sandwiches full of sand, poke crabs with a stick and get tar on his feet and tread it through the house, imho. i was well into my teens before it dawned on me that there are places in the world where the sea isnt freezing and it is possible to remove one's jumper while sunbathing

we take ours to southport sometimes, but since ils moved to the seaside, 2 hours away, we go there every couple of months.

If the kiddies were getting excited it might not be that they have never been to the seaside before, its just that children get excited EVERY time they go to the seaside!

Flibberty - the school discovered through other lessons that a fair number had never been to a proper British seaside resort, rather than the announcement of the trip. I agree that they are excited at the idea of the day trip, esp as a whole school one.

I guess so many of them go ont hese wide and wonderful trips abroad that the bristish seaside isn;t the obvious place to go, esp as it is so far from us. Have to admit we don't holiday in the UK much and if we do it is generally in the countryside rather than the beach. We just go for the odd day trip.

TBH DD isn't actually keen on the sand at all, but I am sure for the sake of a day out with her friends she will manage and have a fab time on the sand regardless.

ds has been to yarmouth and scratby beaches in the past year. Will be going more often now as STB MIL lives there

We live in the SW and have had British holidays (or at least a long weekend) every year with the DCs (5 and 3). We've been to Cornwall and Devon with them, and are going to West Wales this year. I love the mixture of facilities (nice and crap) and none in Cornwall. Deserted beach at the bottom of a cliff one day, luxury beach cafes in St Ives the next.

we do NE coast regularly, Northumberland and N yorks usually, DTs' favourite holiday, beating Rome and france, was camping near Weymouth. We are going to Cornwall this year

How sad!

My sis had her children in a country with narrow tropical type beaches.

They were 6 4 and 3 when she brought them to the uk for a trip, we took them to Southport and the tide was out!

They went back to their pacific exotic home and told everyone that the beaches in England are the biggest and best in the world

My gran lived a 10 min bus ride from Whitely Bay and Cullercoats in Northumberland, we'd go for 2 weeks each summer and just spend every day on the beach.

We are off to dorset in 2 weeks I have buckets and spades at the ready!

My boys (7 and 10) have been to loads of different British resorts, some commercialised, some unspoilt.

We were at torquay and salcombe at half term and are having a week in pembrokeshire in august.

We are somewhat landlocked as well living in Bucks, so we tend to go for at least a couple of days rather than a day trip.

My boys love rockpooling, going in the sea (usually in wetsuits) body boarding, damming streams, digging big holes in the sand, making sand castles, burying family members etc etc.

Not really so keen on commercialised places but they are irrisistably drawn to the penny arcades.

And they love crabbing

I'm not sure that the Channel Islands count as traditional british seaside - i mean the weather is far more guaranteed and they're pretty special. We go to guernsey quite a lot and I have yet to experience the whole sitting in a howling gale in an anorak trying to eat fish and chips and keeping your chin up about the whole experience thing... Very jealous of people with family out there...

We also do seaside in England - lucky enough to have 2 sets of GPs with holiday places so spend a lot of time there. Even winter!

We live by the sea but as someone who didn't grow up by the sea I still get a sense of excitement everytime I see the sea. It is a real treat to live by the sea.

When I was a child I can remember the excitement of driving toward the coast and that first glimpse of sea. For us it was a couple of hours drive away on the Suffolk or Norfolk coast.

North Devon (westwood ho!)
Cornwall (padstow and newquay)
Southend/Clacton (Essex very local)
Southwold and Great Yarmouth

All in the past year

I see it as part of childhood tbh

I thought it might be with the mention of the seaside museum. Bridlington is great, especially if the sun is shining. The beach is sandy and clean and it isn't as commercial as Scarborough.

I also know it only takes about 90 minutes from Sheffield because I've done the trip a few times from one to the other.

Ha! All the time! MIL lives in Scarborough

And when we are not by the north sea, we often go to cornwall for holidays.
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sagacious have you done Walton as well, next down from Clacton? and Frinton? we used to go there a lot and I really liked Walton

We took DS to Broadstairs when he was 2 weeks old, and he has enjoyed seaside hols ever since.

But I am amazed at the number of children who think that seaside hols require so many 'attractions', and think 'there is nothing to do' on a beach.