Tag: Wells next the Sea

Our Favourite Beaches and Seaside Resorts in the UK

That the UK has some stunning countryside is accepted by all, but our beaches? Many people aren’t aware of just how beautiful many of our beaches really are – a friend who has just visited Devon & Cornwall commented that you wouldn’t expect to see the beaches that they’d found in the UK! Read this to discover some of the must see beaches and resorts in the UK.

I think we all have a favourite beach, but that doesn’t, of course, mean that this is the best beach in the country!  We can’t all visit them all can we?  So this is my selection of our favourite beaches that we have visited in the UK – so far 🙂

Note, these are OUR favourites, and therefore I feel it’s only fair to fess up to the fact that I’m not a fan of pebbly beaches.  So, even though some pebbly beaches are stunning  they’re unlikely to feature in our favourites as I would aim for a sandy beach over a pebbly one any day of the week 🙂  Maybe I’ll do a separate list for pebbly beaches one day!!

My favourite features are beach huts (the quirkier the better), a good old fashioned pier, a nice promenade and beautiful clean sand and water.  These are to be found in abundance all around the coast here in the UK.  (Note: not having a blue flag designation does not mean a beach and it’s water aren’t clean…)

I have missed out so many beaches (there are numerous lovely examples in Norfolk – from Mundsley to California, Lincolnshire – from Cleethorpes to Skegness, Yorkshire – Saltburn to Robin Hoods Bay, Northumberland – Newbiggin to Spittal, Dorset – Bournemouth to Swanage, Cornwall – too many to mention! and not to forget Devon where my childhood memories are of Blackpool Sands, Dartmouth, and where I first swam without armbands in Bigbury Bay (where the beach scenes in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were filmed).  Or Wales where all the beaches I’ve ever visited are stunning (Tenby (see no. 10 below), Saundersfoot, Pendine, those on the Gower peninsula and North Wales too), and, of course, the Isle of Wight (right on our doorstep).  I’m look forward to visiting Liverpool and the Wirral in a few weeks to see what they have to offer us on the North East Coast 🙂

Also I am able to say that we have actually visited all the beaches featured on the following pages – so again I am quite sure there are others that you might include – please feel free to share!

 

Before you look through my choices I have to say that a couple of other beaches deserve a special mention (I decided to stick with a Top 10 but can’t resist these):-

Filey, East Yorkshire – good old fashioned seaside resort with a surprising amount of history

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Filey Beach

Southwold, Suffolk – what a surprisingly lovely resort.  A unique pier, no amusement arcades – just a lovely promenade along the seafront and a charming little town with a rather lovely fish and chip shop! The Little Fish & Chip Shop   No wonder it topped a poll of the UK’s favourite seaside resorts!

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View from the end of the pier at Southwold

Scarborough, East Yorkshire – Specifically the quieter North Bay, overlooked by the castle high up on the hill that divides the 2 bays.

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Overlooking Scarborough beach and harbour

Weymouth, Dorset – the sand may well be imported but this is a lovely south coast resort with a permanent sand art display on the beach.

And, finally, the main picture was taken, believe it or not, on the outskirts of Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire!  We were NOT expecting this 🙂

Now, read on for images and comments on our top 10 favourite beaches 🙂

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Wells next the Sea, Blickley Hall and Langham Glass to see glassware being created

Our first full day on the North Norfolk coast coincided with the start of the recent beautiful weather across the UK, so we thought we’d have a nice lazy day on the beach!  Although it was a bit of a trek from our campsite we chose Wells next the Sea.  We set off along the coastal A149 which ran through several lovely historic villages (Weybourne, Cley next the Sea, Blakeney and Stiffkey) as we wound our way towards our destination.

On arrival we initially stopped in the town car-park, ideal for visiting the harbour or the town centre, but can also be used to visit the beach if you don’t mind either walking about a mile, or taking the little train.  This car-park had fairly reasonable charges, but we continued along the beach road and found another car-park right by the beach (where the charges were considerably higher!)  There are toilets here as well as a nice café and upmarket beach shop (Joules!)

We made our way onto the beach and could see lovely colourful beach huts up on stilts in the near distance.  Calv refused to walk any further so we parked ourselves quite quickly.  Very soon I saw a disturbance in the water Continue reading “Wells next the Sea, Blickley Hall and Langham Glass to see glassware being created”