sue

Can anyone recommend a seaside vacation in England for a family with two school age kids? We're spending a week in London this summer and looking for something relatively relaxing to do for the second week of our vacation

Rich

<BR><BR>I enjoyed Broadstairs. East and a little north of London. Nice town with a beachfront. It stays pretty cool there, but it is nice.<BR><BR>Rich

marne

You are joking are you not? I am staying in England for a year and the very last place I would go in summer in England is the &quot;beach&quot;. Firstly there are no beaches per se in England and secondly if you find something remotely resembling a beach everyone else in England has found it too and its more like a zoo than anything else. What about a nice trip to the Scotish Highlands or Northern Wales or a canal trip though England?

Ruth

Cornwall has a wonderful coastline with many good beaches (so do many other parts of Britain), but if you are looking for unbroken sunshine and warm seas then the UK may not have what you are looking for. Best to plan a week that doesn't depend only on the beaches, but on the other activities in the area. Which month are you going? The traffic congestion seems to get worse every year in Cornwall and Devon during school holidays (end July/August).

Mark

Tenby in southwestern Wales has a great beach, at least when the tide is out...

sue

I know it won't be hot and sunny, but is everyone saying it's not even lovely and different and worth a trip?

EW

&quot;No beaches per se in England&quot;?? What do you class as a beach Marne? They may not have the golden sands of, say, La Jolla, but they have the pre-requisite of the definition of a beach - i.e. sea and sand (and effluence if the truth be told). There are the quiet beaches of Cornwall and Devon to the brash such as Blackpool. But I agree with Mark. Tenby in South West Wales. You can also enjoy the countryside on the way, and the breathtaking coastline beyond. Closer to London, you could try Brighton.

susanna

I REALLY like Cornwall; so many lovely towns/villages, I'm partial to Fowey. Nice beach/cliff walks around there, but your guidebooks will advise you about the others. And actually, Devon has beautiful cliffs and villages, too. I recommend thase all highly to you. Have fun.

Rich

<BR><BR>Meant to include this with my first post<BR><BR>http://www.broadstairs.gov.uk/SevenBays.html

Pat

I Sue, I originate from Bournemouth on the South Coast a 90 min train ride from Waterloo Station in London. It is a very lovely town with beautiful public gardens and seven miles of golden sand beaches, great for school age kids. The New Forest is only a few miles away, great scenery and villages, lots of ponies etc. Sure it gets busy in the summer season but have you been to the South of France? I agree with others that Devon &amp; Cornwall also have great beaches

Ruth

Sue - the British coastline is definitely worth a trip! It is one of the most varied and beautiful I have seen (ok I'm biased!). But for some, a beach holiday just consists of lying on a sunlounger in front of their hotel - most British beach holidays have to be a bit more active than that. <BR><BR>Even in summer, you see many kids (and adults) in surfing wetsuits (you can rent these) - this transformed my son's enjoyment of the beach as he simply didn't get cold, even when in and out of the sea all day. One idea - many resorts in Cornwall run surfing schools - your kids might enjoy a day learning this? And you can rent surfboards and body boards at lots of beaches. Lifeguards patrol the good swimming beaches in the summer, and put up flags to separate areas for &quot;real&quot; surfers and body surfers. If there isn't a lifeguard I would suggest taking local advice about where is safe to swim.

andrew

Sue<BR><BR>I can recommend St Ives in Cornwall as the perfect antidote to a week in London. I have been going there since I was a child and there are wonderful beaches, champagne-like Atlantic air, great restaurants, interesting shops and tiny cobbled streets with names like &quot;The Digey&quot; and &quot;Mount Zion&quot;. There is also the Tate Art Gallery there. <BR><BR>Cornwall benefits from the gulf stream and is the mildest part of Britain - you can sunbathe there even in September<BR><BR>To find out more try this website www.stives-cornwall.co.uk. which also has accommodation ideas you may want to hire a flat &quot;self-catering&quot; for the week <BR><BR>My take on the other suggestions mentionedBR><BR>Tenby as Mark mentioned earlier is another great beach holiday with the added attraction of being in Wales and you can go on a boat trip to the monastery at Caldey Island which I enjoyed as a child<BR><BR>Bournemouth is a large resort with lots to do.<BR><BR>Fowey is beautiful but lacks the beaches of St Ives<BR><BR>Broadstairs although close to London would not be on most English peoples top 10 list of beach destinations but that may have its bonus of being quieter<BR>than the rest<BR><BR>Good luck in choosing and you can have a wonderful beach holiday in the UK (just make sure you bring an umbrella just in case!)<BR><BR>

David

I was in Cromer the first week of June this past summer. It’s a small resort community with about 7,000 inhabitants north of Norwich. Both are north of London in the East Anglia area of England. I really can’t compare it to other British beaches because it’s the only one I’ve been to. <BR><BR>The beach was very pretty with nice sandy areas interspersed with patches of rounded, smooth stones. The water was brisk. Though I don’t know the exact temperature it was probably in the mid-sixties. No one was in the water as thunderstorms rolled through that day alternating rain with sunshine. Made for some beautiful photos of the beach. The little town has a pretty church and a lot of resort-area shopping: antique stores, oil &amp; watercolor paintings, souvenirs, other types of artwork, etc. The town has a pier that juts over the water for fishing. There’s even a theater on the pier. <BR><BR>I picked Cromer over Great Yarmouth from the advice of a poster on this board. I was really happy with my decision. From what I understand Great Yarmouth is much bigger but tends towards the go-cart track and putt-putt mentality. Perhaps perfect with kids, but not for me.<BR><BR>I went to Cromer with a cheap day return ticket on the Bittern Train Line from Norwich where I was staying. You could do the opposite and stay in Cromer and daytrip to Norwich on a lousy weather day. Norwich has a beautiful cathedral and a huge blocky castle that towers over the city. <BR><BR>If you make it to Cromer make sure you eat fish &amp; chips at Mary Jane’s. Best I’ve ever had. <BR>

Lanny

No one seems to have mentioned some of the specific areas in what is called the English Riviera -- that area in South Devon around Torquay. The beaches are wonderful velvety sand, there are palm trees and certainly as much or more sun than you will find anywhere in England. On my last visit from Canada a couple of years ago I spent a week in Torquay and moved from beach to beach along that coast, enjoying them all, especially Paignton which I loved and would go back to in a minute (and certainly next time I am in England in 2003). There are tons of B and Bs in the area at very reasonable prices and lots for families to do throughout the entire area.<BR><BR>Lanny

James

Maybe Marne's referring to the fact that Maggie Thatcher pulled another fast one during her time as prime minister, and basically had all the beaches in the UK declared not to be beaches, so the UK wouldn't have to follow the EU's guidelines on pollution, cleanliness, etc., at these said beaches. Pretty snazzy, but at least it didn't involve anyone dying, like the Mad Cow fiasco that she covered up, her ridiculous handling of the situation in Northern Ireland, etc.<BR><BR>Actually, I'm sure Marne didn't mean that, but one can always hope.

sonia

I grew up in England, spend many summer holidays at the &quot;seaside&quot;. (Live in New England now.) <BR><BR>Favorite place was St Ives in Cornwall: the whole county has spectacular scenery, cliff walks, and many little towns and villages to explore on less-than-perfect days. Not to mention cream teas and Cornish pasties! Devon is also a great spot, with many beaches to explore and Dartmoor and lovely countryside for a change of pace.<BR><BR>My dad now lives in Dorset, which (apart from Weymouth) has less touristy beaches than Cornwall -- you could make a great week based somewhere like Lyme Regis or Charmouth, and explore the area, both inland and beaches(think &quot;French Lieutenant's Woman&quot. Bournemouth would give you easy access to the eastern part of the county.<BR><BR>But as another poster said, to avoid the crowds try to be there before UK schools get out in mid-July. Late June/early July would be great, with long hours of daylight to enjoy as a bonus. Just don't expect to wear your bikini every day... your compensation will be a totally different experience from US or Euro beach vacations. Have a great trip.

PatrickW

Just to clarify the muddied waters, there has been a lot of effort put in to cleaning up beaches in the UK, and you can find out which have got the official EU 'blue flag' designation at:<BR>http://www.blueflag.org/Map_UK.asp#

Ruth

If I just had a week to see the British coastline, I would choose the Atlantic coast over the North Sea (the east coast) or the English Channel (the south coast). But that is because I like cliffs, waves, and sandy bays more than long expanses of sand and shingle. Each has its own distinct character - what I'm trying to say is that there are many types of coastal scenery around these islands.<BR><BR>You could consider a week in the Channel Islands. Or even the west coast of Ireland - much emptier and less built up than the UK coast (there are flights from London to Shannon).

qwerty

I was taken on holiday to Broadstairs as a school-age kid. DULL DULL DULL. <BR><BR>I'd go to Brighton for fun (although there is no sand on the beach - only pebbles)<BR><BR>Cornwall for scenary (never been but Newquay is getting a reputation as a happening place)<BR><BR>If is a sun and sand style beach holdiay you are after, then do what most brits do - go to spain (or Florida!)

sghosh

Cornwall can be very lovely, and it does have good beaches where you can actually swim ... but only if the weather cooperates. I was there last July with my son, nieces, and nephew. We rented a house not far from St. Ives, a short drive from a beautiful beach, and spent a week indoors watching the rain fall and wishing we had brought more sweaters. (Actually, that's not EXACTLY true, we did get out and do some fun things like the Gwiek Aquarium and Henry VIIIs fort, but the children were awfully disappointed that the rain spoiled the beach plans.)<BR>I also spent a couple days at Brighton without all the kids but on the same trip. I thought it was a much less attractive place to bring children. It was more urban than I expacted (decidedly grungy in places), and the pebbles on the beach mean no sand castles. Also, the pier entertainments could get expensive with children around.<BR>If I were to do that holiday over again, I might consider someplace inland with lots of rolling green hills to play on. If it rained, at least the icy wind wouldn't be blowing in off the ocean....