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UK travel

Welcome to our UK travel forum where you can get advice on everything from holidays to exotic destinations, to tips on London travel.

Original poster

Have your children been to a traditional British seaside?

113 replies

Hulababy · 12/06/2009 14:15

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?

OP posts:
Pendulum · 13/06/2009 09:04

horton my parents live in guernsey too. Did you grow up there?

Horton · 13/06/2009 10:00

No, I grew up in London. My dad got a job over there when I was 26 and my youngest siblings were 12 and 6 so they grew up over there. It's a lovely place. Did you grow up there?

LIZS · 13/06/2009 10:19

We've been to Brighton and South coast for the day (takes less than an hour ) and have holidayed in Cornwall so visited Padstow, Mevagissey etc. I grew up by the sea so love it - the smell , the sound - but because we lived in Switzerland (which is completely landlocked) dd was over 1 before she even saw the sea and then it was just a passing view on a visit to friends and a week's holiday in Italy.

sunburntats · 13/06/2009 10:26

we go allot yes.
we could go every day if we wanted to as we live in Blackpol.

we love it. Costs us zilch, spend the whole day there with a picnic.

even had ds's 3rd birthday party on the beach, twas bliss (apart from the dog turds baking in the sun on the prom)

Saltire · 13/06/2009 10:28

This is the thrid place we have lived at where the sea is reasonably close. We as a family have also visited Scarborough,Whitby,Paignton (a few times),Torquay,Goodrington,Newquay, Bournemouth and Blackpool beaches. Also a pebble beach near Paignton, can't remember the name of it. Also just along from us is Clarence Pier at Southsea, which the DSes love to visit, it has arcades,and candy floss shops and they love going there, then about 2 miles away is Lee on Solent beach, but they don't like it as it's pebbles.

MrsBonJovi · 13/06/2009 12:28

My Ds could go to a different beach every day of the week if we had the time. We live in Cornwall but sadly normal life means we often pass it but.

This year though I will make more of an effort cos for me the a childhood experience has to be sand sandwiches and the smell of the sea on your skin at the end of a day on the beach.

I remember that sometimes mum would finish work early and we would go to the beach straight from school...

Pendulum · 13/06/2009 13:59

horton yes I did and it was lovely. We take the DCs there every year too.

Thought I might have been talking to someone I grew up with then (on balance am relieved I am not!)

purepurple · 13/06/2009 14:10

yes, we live here

St Annes

Horton · 13/06/2009 14:39

I should think Guernsey is a great place to grow up, Pendulum. My mum would love us to live over there but DH wouldn't be able to get work in his area there so it would be a pretty big decision. My dad's retired now but they have no plans to leave - they love it.

grouchyoscar · 13/06/2009 15:09

Taken DS (6) to Scarborough every year, having a change to Whitby this year. The East Coast is lovely and yep, sandcastles, fish n chips, amusement arcades, the works We have no passports so it's UK all the way

His school are going to Blackpool this year. A change of coast for him

sunburntats · 13/06/2009 17:40

purepurple lovely to see another northwest lady on here!
We absolutely LOVE StAnnes and spend allot of our time there in the summer hols...i shall be looking out suspiciously at every woman with kids thinking in my head "hmmm is she a mumsnetter could it possibly be purepurple???"

Divatheshopaholic · 13/06/2009 18:53

Our kids been everywhere as since had children we havent been abroad
So far we have been everywhere North wales( Rhyl, Abergele,Kinmelbay, Colwyn bay, Conway, Caernarfon bay, Dinas Dinlle,Red dwarf bay,Morfa nefyn,Abersoch,Barmouth,so i remember, and only been Brighton as english beach.

MrsMattie · 13/06/2009 18:56

Yes. DS is 4 yrs old and we go to Brighton a fair bit and have been to Southend, Whitstable, Minehead and Cleethorpes off the top of my head.

FrayedKnot · 13/06/2009 19:02

Yes, DS has never been abroad yet, he's 5, but we've had lots of seaside holidays in the UK, and we live 30 mins from the coast so go fairly frequently, in all weathers

we were just talking about when we stayed in N. Norfolk last year, DS' fave place was Hunstanton

It has acres of amusements

lambanana · 13/06/2009 19:21

Yep - regularly go to Southport and Blackpool because they are close to where we live.

DD's are 3 and 1.

Also took my son when he was a nipper.

purepurple · 13/06/2009 21:25

sunburntats
St Annes is fab, as is Lytham, much better than Blackpool. I hate Blackpool with a passion.
We have a lovely beach and it is a fantastic place to live. We have lived here for 8 years and love it.

MrsWeasley · 13/06/2009 21:34

How many children have seen one of these? Mine adore it.

Imoverhere · 13/06/2009 21:38

Just come back from a week in Burnham On Sea. DD (3.7) thought it was the best place ever. Going to Paignton in September. Great holiday.

disneystar1 · 13/06/2009 22:56

we have took the dc,s to the seaside here mainly hemsby nr gr yarmouth we dont tend to venture out much to the british seaside as they can be so tacky we tried blackpool and found it full of young people quite drunk wavering about the streets....
gr yarmouth for us is a 4 hour drive but we like it. were going in august and my boys really love it
apparantly they love it as much as when we go to florida which is yearly. they would choose yarmouth everytime....through the eyes of a child eh!!!!

oh and minehead which is about an hour away.

disneystar1 · 13/06/2009 22:58

mrsweasley ive seen one many years ago my boys would love to see one but they are far and few between arnt they now?
memories....

TheyCallMeLofty · 13/06/2009 23:52

That looks the one on Weymouth beach that I used to watch every year mrsweasley

Quattrocento · 13/06/2009 23:58

I'm really glad you asked this question because mine haven't. We do go to Wales for a weekend but its generally around Easter/Spring Bank and involves rain and long walks on beaches and climbing over rockpools. It doesn't involve donkeys or fish and chips or ice cream or windcheaters or buckets and spades. I wonder if they are deprived?

Tortington · 14/06/2009 00:01

we live here - its bloody brilliant - in fact dh and dd bought a bag of chips each and we walked to the cinema this evening whislt i nicked chips of each of them - the cinema being a lovely old building and directly opposite the pier.

been here for 7 years and there isn't one day passes when i dont think " we bloody live here" i can hear the sound of the sea from my garden.

Divatheshopaholic · 14/06/2009 10:10

custardo, where do you live?

zookeeper · 14/06/2009 10:26

I'm in Devon and take mine to the beach most days after school. It's a ten minute drive at most. If I'm feeling particularly lazy I order fish and chips on the way(fiah and chip shop is on my contact list on mobile lol) and we sit on the beach eating watching the waves. Even in winter they play and we then climb into the boot of the car cover ourselves in sleeping bags and eat our chips there. I still get that "Bloody hell I live here" feeling nearly every day.