How I Grew To Love The British Seaside Again

The shoreline went on for miles, the sea stretching out onto the horizon. A gentle breeze brushed our faces as we clambered up the steep, bulky sand dunes and peered over tufts of grass to view the golden beach. There was barely a soul there. It was as if we had discovered a secret beach – all to ourselves.

Except this wasn’t Thailand, the location of the Leonardo DiCaprio film, nor the sand dunes of Australia’s Fraser Island. Not even the white sands of The Caribbean. No. This was Camber Sands. East Sussex, England.

Camber Sands is just one of the British seaside delights which have surprised me after years of fleeing the UK in search of more exotic destinations. But it wasn’t always like that. As a child, the Great British seaside was the sample of my summer holidays. As one of four children and before the advent of cheap air fares, every summer we would visit the likes of Lime Regis, Bournemouth, Penzance and Torquay. We would build sandcastles, play crazy golf, bury each other in the sand and brave the rather cool sea.

When I became old enough, I looked to more exotic shores. I wanted to see the world and I soon got the travel bug embarking on a nine-month adventure backpacking around the world on my own.

During this trip, I absorbed each country’s history and culture. I sampled the local cuisine, braved its sometimes primitive transportation and delighted in its natural beauty. I met people from over the world who had travelled far and wide. When sharing our travel tales and divulging favourite destinations, there was one place they would enthusiastically cite over and over again as being their top place in the world.

London.

That’s right, London. MY capital city. At the time, I had travelled extensively around a dozen different countries only to be told that the place they held in the highest esteem was right under my nose. It made me view my country and what it had to offer in a whole new way.

I love London. I got married there. I live there. But what many foreign tourists may overlook is Britain’s stunning coastline, some of which lies less than one hour out of London. We are, after all, an island. Beaches are everywhere! Stony ones, sandy ones, ones hidden away in quaint coves, rugged ones from which you can spot whales and dolphins. There are so many to see, it would take a lifetime to do so. Each with its own history, quaintness and beauty – which I have barely begun to explore.

Since starting a family, I have started to discover more of my own country, introducing my daughter to the English coast and looking back nostalgically at my own seaside jaunts. Most of the facilities have moved up a gear since I visited. Most are now kitted out with smart cafes, watersports and upmarket restaurants. There are even beach volley courts in glitzy Brighton and mini festivals pop up around seaside towns throughout the year.

But there remains enough nostalgia to take me back to my childhood. Many of the old Victorian piers provide a focal point to seaside towns, there are still the arcades, fairground rides, crazy golf, even the odd Punch and Judy show and in some places donkey rides. You’ll always be able hire a deckchair, find fish and chips and hear the ringing of the ice-cream van. And the smell. That salty, fishy, seaweed odour. When mixed together with the sound of seagulls overhead, it is pure seaside. British seaside. I’ve never smelt quite the same scent anywhere else in the world.

And then there are the ultimate seaside activities which remain timeless. Rockpooling, building sandcastles, catching crabs and filling up buckets with seawater again and again. Free activities enjoyed on the same beaches by me, my parents and their parents. Now I am doing it with my children. Past and future generations sharing the same British seaside experience, looking out at the same scenery and enjoying the same sand or stones beneath their toes.

For the British seaside will always remain. It lines our glorious country. And hidden gems like Camber Sands lie waiting, waiting to be discovered. By us.

Disclosure: I’m working with Visit England and BritMums promoting the Oh My Great Britain campaign, celebrating all the wonderful experiences families can have in the UK. Share your experiences using the #OMGBFamily tag and @BritMums. Visit www.Homeofamazing.com and follow Visit England on @VisitEngland to discover family adventures.

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