posh English seacoast town
 

For a newspaper column I'm writing, I'm wondering what coastal resort is Britain's equivalent to The Hamptons in the US. Any help would be appreciated.

Hmm.. I'm not sure there's an exact equivalent. People with more money than sense are pouring money into buying property in Sandbanks, outside Poole. People who think themselves culturally up a notch (and with money) have places around Southwold. But the kind of people I think you're thinking of have places in France, or Tuscany - or maybe even the Hamptons.

Interesting. By a coincidence, I'm comparing the town of Southold, on Long Island, New York, with its namesake, Southwold. From the stories about Gordon Brown's upcoming vacation there, I got the impression that Southwold is kind of old-school and staid. I guess I'm looking for the A-list version, if there is one. Where would the Beckhams go, if they weren't in Bali, for instance?

I've been to many and Bournemouth seems the poshest i've been too - parts of the envrions of Torquay were posh as well to me

but perhaps St Anne's south of Blackpool fits the bill

will be interesting to hear Britons views on this - always looking for interesting seaside towns to visit

Hove Actually. West Sussex (just plane Hove, the Actually bit is a local joke)

Next door to Brighton Innit.

The two in fact form one city: Brighton and Hove.

"Do you live in Brighton?"
"Hove, actually.

Paul McCartney has a place there, as well as most of the staff of the BBC. Lots of bankers etc.

That said, nowhere near as posh as the Hamptons.

"Where would the Beckhams go, if they weren't in Bali, for instance?"

Anywhere but Britain. People like that just don't go to British seaside resorts: for them the equivalent of the Hamptons is somewhere in the Balearics, the Riviera or Sardinia. In fact, apart from the odd Cotswold wedding of some other member of the riff-raff, they don't go anywhere posh in Britain.

I don't buy Southwold as old-school as staid. It and the North Norfolk coast are for Islingtonians - and a rather raffish group of local middle-agers locally known as the Coastettes (think Essex girl tartiness with rather posher accents).

But as Patrick says, the equivalent of the Hamptons for anyonme you might call posh (as opposed to posh)is the Hamptons. Chiantishire's probably a bit declasse these days: like North Norfolk.

"Where would the Beckhams go, if they weren't in Bali, for instance?"

Anywhere but Britain. People like that just don't go to British seaside resorts: for them the equivalent of the Hamptons is somewhere in the Balearics, the Riviera or Sardinia. In fact, apart from the odd Cotswold wedding of some other member of the riff-raff, they don't go anywhere posh in Britain.

I don't buy Southwold as old-school as staid. It and the North Norfolk coast are for Islingtonians - and a rather raffish group of local middle-agers locally known as the Coastettes (think Essex girl tartiness with rather posher accents).

But as Patrick says, the equivalent of the Hamptons for anyonme you might call posh (as opposed to Posh) is the Hamptons. Chiantishire's probably a bit declasse these days: like North Norfolk.

St Barts.

Guy, if you want to do a piece on St Barts email me at james at premiumiv dot com

Hmm. So what about PalenQ's suggestions of Bournemouth, Torquay and St. Anne's? Not in the running?

Bournemouth, Torquay and St. Anne's are not the Hamptons.

Reasonably respectable places to retire to. Bournemouth and to a lesser extent St Anne's are slightly in demand as places to bring a family up in. But not places to summer in for either toffs or chavs.

Part of the problem is that guy's example of the A list isn't posh. Rock in Cornwall's really the closest thing to a posh seacoast place to summer in - though only in conjunction with somewhere in the Med as well. But footballers' families wouldn't dream of going there.

I was going to say Rock too. But the likes of (not so) Posh and Becks wouldn't go there.

So I guess I should say:

"Both Southold and Southwold are popular seacoast resorts, but neither is exactly A-list. Here, that feather goes to the Hamptons. Over there, it's, well, St. Barts."

Or something like that?

(Brighton and) Hove is less than an hour from London,

Torquay is a long way away, Bournemouth closer, but a bit more the blue hair set.

St Anne's is in the North. Think Redneck Riviera.

I think Patricks stab at Sandbanks isn't a bad one. Not far from Bournemouth. Reachable from London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbanks

Britans "palm beach"

There is a swathe of countryside on the Hampshire Sussex border on the Southdowns inhabited by retired Dinosaur Rockers, but not slap on the coast.

The types of Beckham will buy an eff off house in the middle of the sticks somewhere within reasonable distance of London.

Anyone watching the British Open in Soutport - definitely NOT a posh seaside resort - will see why there is nothing approaching the Hamptons in the U.K. (apparently from comments) - 53 degrees and 40 mph winds for the weekend

... and of course, the other confusion here is that "summering" isn't terribly British.

London - unlike New York - is more or less habitable in summer. So the idea of taking somewhere for the summer is pretty odd: the Seven Year Itch is based on a premiss that simply baffled English audiences. You might own a house somewhere with a climate normally seen as "nicer" than London (the base for the Hamptons' success): but that absolutely has to be abroad. The idea that little wifey might sit around Padstow or Burnham Overy Staithe while hubby's earning the money in the Big City would strike most people as weird.

But it isn't (or wasn't before the Credit Crunch) odd for hubbies to Easyjet it out to Nice, Malaga or Pisa airports on Friday nights.

More than a few seaside resorts have been known to boast having 'Britain's best weather or sunniest weather' - formerly to draw the beach crowd i guess

Liverpool

Well on Coronation Street at the Salford Quays in Manchester - a Liverpiddle alike place i would think - there are some really posh flats overlooking the Salford Quays

What about Cleethorpes..Seems to have what British resorts towns have.

I was going to say Rock too. But the likes of (not so) Posh and Becks wouldn't go there>>

exactly.

at the first sight of a footballer or his WAG, the house prices in Rock would plummet.

Salcombe is popular with the yaghty sort.

the idea is to spend August [the "long vacation" for judges and barristers and hols most MPs] in England, as Tuscany can be a bit hot that time of year.

I've lived in Cornwall for 11 years now, and I haven't made it to Rock yet. I'm too busy picking mussels off the rocks!

regards, ann

Flanner: I just looked up the term "biased snob" in the dictionary and there was your picture!

For the Brits - what about St. Mawes or somewhere on the Isle of Wight?

I'm not an expert - but don't think there's an equivalent - just based on the weather.

I agree that the people that would go to the Hamptons probably go to the Riviera - or the Hamptons. They may have a country house (which seems more an English thing than an American one) - but I'm not aware of any English resorts that are packed with the uberwealthy on large ocean-front estates, towns with branches of many designer stores and the trendiest of restaurants - and the same sort of two-month long party atmosphere.

"Flanner: I just looked up the term "biased snob" in the dictionary and there was your picture!"

Still using picture dictionaries, then? When you've graduated to ones with words, discussion might be worthwhile.

You could include Salcombe, a beautiful sailing resort on the south Devon coast.

Cowes is pretty snobby ime, full of the yachty types, many of whom own yachts but pay others to sail them.

Camber Sands in Sussex, in addition to holiday parks, has some pretty chic beachside property nowadays, a long way from the leaky old bungalow we used to rent when I was a kid.

And as for the weather during the British open - I was in Massachusetts a couple of years ago, mid August and the weather was worse than anything you saw during the golf!

To put my comments in perspective, I used to live on Longg Island for a few years, while I suffered the LIR through Jamaica Station, then to Brooklyn and on through the "Electric Sewer" on to Wall Street each day.

I must say that I was never very impressed with the natural beauty of the Hamptons in Summer. Undoubtedly though, there are some large beautiful homes there. The best things about eastern LI were the wineries on the North Fork and Shelter Island.

So I would have thought that the north coast of Cornwall was far more picturesque than the Hamptons and that is why we have chosen it for our next trip :)

Although, as others note, there isn't a direct equivalent, if you're looking for an area where the posh go to play with their yachts, you need to head to the south west coast.

Google Sandbanks in Dorset - recently cited as the 4th most expensive place to buy property in the world.

My wealthy friend's wealthier parents (who also own homes in the Caribbean and mediterranean) have long owned a second home on Dartmouth (Devon) where they keep their 50ft yacht and have BBQs with their equally posh friends.

Various places in Cornwall attract different kinds of well-off/upper crust visitors, for shortish periods, but there's one factor we're overlooking. I don't know whether it's peculiarly British (or should I say English), but within a short period of somewhere becoming the place for the in-crowd to be (Rock was the place a few years ago, for example), the people who don't need to be told they're the in-crowd are looking for somewhere to get away from the people trying to be the in-crowd. It's all about getting away rather than getting together.

Now I come to think of it, I saw some documentary series on a minor digital channel about people in the Hamptons - not upmarket at all. Is the same thing happening there?

As has been said - if you have Hamptons money you would probably go abroad, or have a house in the country rather than the seaside.

The Queen has lots of houses and she gave away the only one by the seaside. Says it all really.

Padstow is pretty upmarket (and dominated by Rick Stein).

Whitstable has something about it too.

Sandbanks is in much the same league as regards property prices, but it's largely populated by footballers, WAG's, and property developers so probably a bit 'downmarket' (relative to the Hamptons) as regards populus.

Cowes is probably the closest.

I don't think we really have a true equivalent....

Agree, nowhere. People with second homes buy mainly in France, Italy or Spain (i.e. somewhere warmer but not too far).

Isle of Wight ?

And I get the impression that people mainly live in Sandbanks, it's not a holiday resort.

Lymington's full of snotty yachties.

If anyone would like to donate a place at Sandbanks, then I would willingly accept as a) it is a very pleasant part of the world and b) I am a bit of an oik, so am sue I could fit right in.

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-prop...HAKC_KNI080210

There you go, Willit....

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-prop.../id/SACC125110

Actually, I prefer this one.

What's 4.5 million split between all the Fodorites?

Or this (minus the enormous plasma screen)

http://www.primelocation.com/uk-prop.../id/SACC228140

I really like the second house - so if I sold mine, hocked everything and went as ddeply into debt as I can get, that still leaves me about £4.2 Million short.

And I'd have to be sure I wasn't next to the Redknapps - Not that I am ungrateful!