Yes, of course I do, but the UK's traditional seaside "resorts" have fallen on hard times recently and some are looking a bit shabby. So, prompted by mention of Weston-super-Mare on the Zoomathon thread, childhood memories of the British seaside, adult experiences and the current state of play.
I suppose that the resorts visited during your childhood, if you were lucky enough to be able to go, were usually dependant on where you lived, the most popular ones being those closest to where you lived. Growing up in South London, for me it was Brighton, Worthing, Littlehampton, Bugger Bognor and, occasionally, Seaford. Not Camber Sands that I can recall, which seems rather odd as it's one of the few sandy respites from south coast shingle. Our regular "punches" down the coast were very pleasant, not that I've got that many memories of them, other than ham sandwiches after a dip in the freezing English Channel, mint ice cream and pouring my meagre pocket money into the amusement arcades. There was one incident, on Brighton Pier I think, when some sort of horrific scarecrow figure, like a nightmarish cuckoo in a cuckoo clock, came flying out an entertainment venue and scared the crap out of me! For years afterwards I was a bag of nerves when I walked along piers, constantly expecting the experience to repeat itself and warily studying the buildings either side of me like a gunslinger walking through a town in the Wild West.
Margate I knew too, as my uncle had moved down there shortly after remarrying following the death of my aunt and on trips to see family in North Wales we'd visit my mum's friend in Colwyn Bay, but I'm not sure if that's really known as a holiday resort. It certainly didn't feel like one at the time.
My dad, and I've never quite understood why, was somehow connected to the Post Office Insurance Society which held annual jollies around the country, so I got to see a few places that were outside of my usual SE coast stamping ground, such as Torquay, Weymouth (spent three days in the local hospital with a grumbling appendix), Southport (as an 8-year-old I saw a condom machine on the wall of the campsite toilets and asked my dad what they were for, "They're what men wear if they don't want to have babies," he said, a good answer but one which left many more questions than answers) and Blackpool. Dunoon was the very first venue, but Scottish OTFers will have to let me know if that's a daytripper sort of place or not. Thinking about it, I'm not sure if I know which places in Scotland are. Oban? I've been there. What about Northern Ireland?
Most holidays were spent in NW Wales, so you can add Porthmadog to the list, but I may have visited one or two East Anglian resorts when I was very young and a bit later we spent a couple of weeks at Brean, so we probably popped into the aforementioned Weston.
School field trips helped add Paignton and Llandudno to the list.
I was a student in Portsmouth and spent three happy years in Southsea, tombstoning from South Parade Pier, and on one occasion popped over to Hayling Island.
As an adult, I've now seen Southend as a football fan, been back to Margate and finally got to see Camber Sands. I've been to Exmouth and Sidmouth with my wife and I've taken my kids to the Isle of Wight (Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin), Jersey (one big seaside resort, really), Paignton again, Newquay and Teignmouth.
My folks moved to Rustington in the '90s so I've been reacquainted with Littlehampton and then, in the hospital years, Worthing. Both seem to have made a big effort to smarten themselves up and diversify the attractions they provide, which is what I'd like OTF to comment on. How many of the places that you visited as kids are making a fist of flourishing in the 21st century and how many seem to be on an inexorable downward trajectory?
There are so many traditional seaside towns that I've never visited that I've got no real idea which ones are doing well and which ones aren't. Southsea was looking a bit tired in parts when I went down there a few years ago, but it's still got a lot to offer. And I gather from my cousins that Margate is on the up. But Skegness, Scarborough, Rhyl, Whitley Bay?
A friend of mine has just moved from St. Leonard's to the Costa Tropical. Bit of an unfair comparison to make, so I won't , but he was cheerfully critical of the former, which was sinking rather than swimming in his opinion.
So, memories and observations, OTFers.
I suppose that the resorts visited during your childhood, if you were lucky enough to be able to go, were usually dependant on where you lived, the most popular ones being those closest to where you lived. Growing up in South London, for me it was Brighton, Worthing, Littlehampton, Bugger Bognor and, occasionally, Seaford. Not Camber Sands that I can recall, which seems rather odd as it's one of the few sandy respites from south coast shingle. Our regular "punches" down the coast were very pleasant, not that I've got that many memories of them, other than ham sandwiches after a dip in the freezing English Channel, mint ice cream and pouring my meagre pocket money into the amusement arcades. There was one incident, on Brighton Pier I think, when some sort of horrific scarecrow figure, like a nightmarish cuckoo in a cuckoo clock, came flying out an entertainment venue and scared the crap out of me! For years afterwards I was a bag of nerves when I walked along piers, constantly expecting the experience to repeat itself and warily studying the buildings either side of me like a gunslinger walking through a town in the Wild West.
Margate I knew too, as my uncle had moved down there shortly after remarrying following the death of my aunt and on trips to see family in North Wales we'd visit my mum's friend in Colwyn Bay, but I'm not sure if that's really known as a holiday resort. It certainly didn't feel like one at the time.
My dad, and I've never quite understood why, was somehow connected to the Post Office Insurance Society which held annual jollies around the country, so I got to see a few places that were outside of my usual SE coast stamping ground, such as Torquay, Weymouth (spent three days in the local hospital with a grumbling appendix), Southport (as an 8-year-old I saw a condom machine on the wall of the campsite toilets and asked my dad what they were for, "They're what men wear if they don't want to have babies," he said, a good answer but one which left many more questions than answers) and Blackpool. Dunoon was the very first venue, but Scottish OTFers will have to let me know if that's a daytripper sort of place or not. Thinking about it, I'm not sure if I know which places in Scotland are. Oban? I've been there. What about Northern Ireland?
Most holidays were spent in NW Wales, so you can add Porthmadog to the list, but I may have visited one or two East Anglian resorts when I was very young and a bit later we spent a couple of weeks at Brean, so we probably popped into the aforementioned Weston.
School field trips helped add Paignton and Llandudno to the list.
I was a student in Portsmouth and spent three happy years in Southsea, tombstoning from South Parade Pier, and on one occasion popped over to Hayling Island.
As an adult, I've now seen Southend as a football fan, been back to Margate and finally got to see Camber Sands. I've been to Exmouth and Sidmouth with my wife and I've taken my kids to the Isle of Wight (Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin), Jersey (one big seaside resort, really), Paignton again, Newquay and Teignmouth.
My folks moved to Rustington in the '90s so I've been reacquainted with Littlehampton and then, in the hospital years, Worthing. Both seem to have made a big effort to smarten themselves up and diversify the attractions they provide, which is what I'd like OTF to comment on. How many of the places that you visited as kids are making a fist of flourishing in the 21st century and how many seem to be on an inexorable downward trajectory?
There are so many traditional seaside towns that I've never visited that I've got no real idea which ones are doing well and which ones aren't. Southsea was looking a bit tired in parts when I went down there a few years ago, but it's still got a lot to offer. And I gather from my cousins that Margate is on the up. But Skegness, Scarborough, Rhyl, Whitley Bay?
A friend of mine has just moved from St. Leonard's to the Costa Tropical. Bit of an unfair comparison to make, so I won't , but he was cheerfully critical of the former, which was sinking rather than swimming in his opinion.
So, memories and observations, OTFers.
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