This is funny. http://gu.com/p/4bmx6?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

We often take a cottage in Southwold

>>as English as warm beer<<

Good that it was an Englishman who wrote this.

After reading the first two paragraphs my mind went back to so many English beaches I have been on or coasts - always some old men in their cars gazing out to sea - I wondered why - oh why oh why? And now it is all explained:

<The seaside is the national playground for our deepest, insular selves and also, perhaps, a simple expression of the democratic ideal. The English celebrate the castles of their homes, but we are also drawn to the littoral.

The beach is where we defend our freedoms and where, on a fine afternoon, with a kite or a surfboard, we can play truant from everyday life. It is also the place where, in contemplation of the infinite, the flux and reflux of ceaseless tides, ordinary island dwellers can renew their identity. Hardier souls can also get refreshed in the icy water.>

"we want more affordable property" Just don't build a new estate in my backyard, or make it too affordable.

I have to admit I can't imagine spending more than a day in Southwold. I'll remember not to pack a picnic next time I go.

Southwold is now on my bucket list - I collect British seaside resorts - good and bad.

PalenQ

Have you read the newish Bill Bryson, The Road to Little Dribbling? He talks at length about several British seaside resorts; he must be a collector of them, too.

The poet Edward FitzGerald is buried at St. Michaels Church in Boulge in Suffolk. He is noted for his translation of The Rubyiat of Omar Khayyam.

Lowestoft was famous for its porcelain. I think the town is now on the skids. Grim.

Thin

My daughter was at boarding school in Southwold, and I once lived just down the coast in Aldeburgh. Of the two I find Aldeburgh more interesting, especially in June during the music festival.

My in-laws live in Lowestoft. What a depressed and depressing place, no industry left, a high street of pound shops, a concrete seafront. Grim indeed.

Benjamin Britten, the 20th century composer, was born in Lowestoft. He founded the Aldeburgh Festival, where he lived much of his life: http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk

This is a very old thread.
We are taking a cottage in Southwold again this year, right on the cliff with a lovely sea view.

I have many connections with the area. My grandfather was a coastguard in Dunwch, my father sang in the choir in Southwold church and my Aunt Elsie's dentist was a certain Mr. Britten.

She was living in a boarding house in Suffolk when an air rad warning went off. She had the sense to get into a Morrison shelter and was joined by the owner's dog.
They were the only survivors

I meant to say that the bomb fell on Southwold

tuscanlieedit - thanks for that tip - I did once read Paul Theroux' trip around the coast of Britain and it mentions many seaside resorts.