Do you have any childhood seaside memories ?

I was born beside the sea in the North West and always thought there were mountains on the other side like we had.
We went to Blackpool with family and unfortunately so had half of Cumbria it was "Stop Fortnight```',at the pit. My father vowed never to go back as he did not work at the mines and every other person we passed we seemed to know.
The Next venture was to Butlins at Ayr in Scotland my mother cried for two days she said it was like a concentration camp and she did not like joining all the activities. I was left in a chalet with cousins whilst our parents went out dancing and we had a big fight which was announced over the tannoy in the ballroom by the babysitting patrol, so of course we all got a smack.
My father gave up on extended family holidays and we used to go to Oostende in Belgium my memory is of eating chips with mayonnaise, not fish and the Belgian and Dutch beaches..

We went to various seaside towns on holiday, but my favourite was Scarborough. Up and down in the cliff lift, I think the fare was 3d return. Lunch in the Peasholm Pantry, my youngest sister would only order egg and chips.
Sunday School trips went to Seaburn, Whitely Bay or Morecambe.
I remember one trip to Whitley Bay. We sat on the coach and watch the lightning flashing over the sea, and torrential rain pouring down in the car park. We got off the coach and went to the swimming pool, none of us swam, we just sat in the gallery and watched the swimmers. It was the worst day trip ever!

I was horse mad and fondly remember donkey rides on the beach in blackpool when we did a day trip there. Then one year we took a cottage in Cornwall when I was 11 and Dad hired a pony for me which I took over some little jumps in the field. On one it threw back it's head and hit me on the face causing damage.. I had to have plastic surgery when I returned home. It didn't put me off riding though.. and I got my own pony at aged 14..

Oh yes! Walking to Hawthorn Hive beach with my dad and our dog on a lovely warm sunny sunday afternoon. Taking a little picnic. Building a fire on the beach. Eating our crisps, chocolate and drinking the pop with my lovely dad. The dog loved to swim in the sea and he would be exhausted when we finally got home. Mam would have the kettle on and we sometimes had jam roly poly with custard or some rice pudding. Sadly dad died when I was 19 years old but i will always have those special memories.

Oh yes I forgot, family holidays to Ingoldmells, Skeggie. What fun we had, no expectations other than what we got.

We went on a seaside holiday every year either in a caravan or,(when dad got a better paying job), a chalet.

Holidays meant a new cardigan for best and last years now outgrown cardigan for the beach. I also got a new plastic mac (just in case). We had a windbreak for Mam and only two folding chairs. Children sat on the sand not in chairs.

I'm amazed when I think how much freedom children had. I used to wander all over on the beach. Dad would point out something that was near where they were and I'd use that as a guide to find my way back. Sometimes it was harder to find them than others. Mam and Dad sat reading papers and books. I don't think it crossed their minds to play with me although Dad did take me rock pooling (he liked winkles). I was an only child.

When I was little (3 or 4) we went to Thornwick Bay. Caravans didn't have bathrooms so we had to go to the toilet block. My older sister (7/8) went with me and I somehow managed to trap myself in the toilet. I couldn't undo the bolt. I was hysterical and a lady on the other side of the door was so nice. My sister ran to get my mam. She arrived to find half a dozen ladies trying to help me to open the door. Mam snapped my name and told me to shut up. I shut up instantly and eventually they got me out. Then Mam told me off for causing a fuss.

I also suffered from sun burn because it was pre-factor days.

But my worst incident was somehow walking into some fly papers and getting them (along with a million flies) stuck in my hair.

We never knew if we'd be able to stay the full holiday because Dad had to phone the office every morning at 9am and there was always a possibility that we'd have to go home so that he could go to work.

That said, holidays were amazing and wonderful. We counted the days to them and loved every minute. Sand, sea, ice cream and trips to places we'd never been.

Growing up in Liverpool the seaside all had a promenade.
Ferry to New Brighton Train to West Kirby. Summer holidays in Morecambe
Countryside of North Wales
When I was about ten we visited my aunty in Plymouth
I can remember standing on a beach with the country behind and being absolutely amazed.
I can still picture in my mind where it was. Well maybe

We often went to a caravan site near Conwy. Dad on the train with the dog and us 3 girls with mom on the coach. One year the wind was that bad that some peoples tents blew away. The caravans were tethered by steel wires. Us two eldest girls went out all day "up the mountain" . It was quite remote and noone worried about us, such a wonderful change from living in a town.

Growing up in the Midlands - literally the furthest place from the sea, I have memories that are treasures beyond measure of family holidays to Cornwall.

My parents didn't have much, but were hard working and saved up every year to take us for a caravan holiday to St.Minver.

We used to go to the beach every day, have lovely picnics and went to the holiday park clubhouse in the evenings or stayed in the caravan playing board games.

Simpler times, happy memories and I must go back to Cornwall sometime to see it now.

Blackpool, Whitley Bay, Scarborough, Bridlington. We got a coach from the town we lived in and it was just for a week as mum and dad could not afford any longer. We stayed in lodging houses where we got breakfast, lunch and tea. In my and my sister's teenage years we went to Blackpool, dancing at the tower ballroom and jiving on the central pier. We had to stay at the same lodging house so the landlady could keep an eye on us, but we found there were boys in the lodging house on the top floor and a good time was had by all. We were good girls, a few kisses here and there and we always cried when we had to go home again as we knew it would be a year before we went back. I can still remember the lads in their kiss me quick cowboy hats. What a wonderful era the late 50's and early 60's were for teenagers.

In the late 50's there wasn't any sunscreen to talk about, I don't remember it being a sunscreen at all, it just helped you tan so we made our own sunscreen out of olive oil and vinegar and put it in a bottle and we fried. The day after I could not straighten my arms they were so red and sore.

Until I was 6 we lived in London and holidayed at my grandmother's in Broadstairs and then we moved from London to Ramsgate where I lived until 18 and my parents lived until they died.

Wonderful to live by the sea and wonderful to holiday in Broadstairs before we moved. Donkeys candyfloss Punch and Judy, Morellis Ice Cream Parlour, rock pools, beach huts,buckets and spades sold in a shop selling all things seasidey, trays of tea on the beach. I can see it all now

My first holiday was at Butlins in Bognor and we got a coach there as my parents didn’t have a car . I remember the chalets had very noisy creaky plumbing which frightened myself and 2 siblings and my parents had to come back as we were crying , I think they had some system for monitoring the chalets , so kids were left alone in the chalets .
I learnt to swim at Butlins and broke a baby tooth on the dogems .
After that we had several years in Cornwall staying on a farm . Corned beef and tomatoes sandwiches always remind me of those holidays and getting sunburned as no one used sun cream .
We then had a few years in Northumberland where the beaches were stunning but cold and windy .
And then discovered West Wittering in West Sussex , my mums boss had a second home there. This was the mid 70s and it was a locals secret, the dunes at East Head were deserted . Now it gets mobbed in the summer .
I love the sea and the beach wherever I am and whatever time of year . Definitely prefer the beach to a pool

We used to stay in a boarding house in Worthing. If the tide was in we went on the pier and played the slot machines. When the tide was out we fished in the rock pools.

When I was 8 we went to Felixtowe because my mother had happy childhood memories of holidays there. I hated it. Nasty shingle beaches and no rock pools. Nevertheless we went back the following year. I immediately went down with pneumonia and had to spend the whole week in bed. One parent had to stay with me so they didn't have any time together at all. To cap it all the doctor said I shouldn't travel home on a coach, so they had to buy more expensive train tickets.

We went back to Worthing the next year!

Cei Newydd, tomato sandwiches a bit gritty with sand and my Dad with a hankie on his head. 😍 Very happy days.

On one of my childhood holidays we stayed in a boarding house in Weston-Super-Mare. You had to be out after breakfast - no matter the weather- and had to stay out all day! I do remember enjoying though - I'm not sure if my parents did?

For many years we went to a caravan park in Wales - a place called Towyn near LLandudno. We kids used to go wandering around all day, as some posters upthread have remarked.

There were a lot of amusement arcades and I used to spend my pocket money in them. I dont remember winning anything. I also enjoyed walking among the rock pools and poking about in them.

I cant remember what my parents were doing but they never worried about us. They would tell us to come back for our tea/dinner and we always did. We grew up having to use our imagination and invent games and amusements. We were self reliant and learned how to organize our own time.

When I think of how much freedom we had in contrast to todays supervised and mollycoddled kids I feel really sad for them. If children were brought up today as we were there would be some snitch of a neighbour to call in a busybody from social services.

We every year went to Orkney to visit my granny. I remember wearing my swimsuit with my cardigan on top. It never seemed to be warm and the sea was always freezing! Loved climbing over the rocks trying to catch things in the rock pools. The jellyfish put me off going in the water. No fairground amusements or candy floss or theatre shows just sea and sand. It didn’t put me off Orkney though I still love it. It is my “Happy place”

BigLouis
This park is on my daughter’s doorstep. My grandchildren can’t go to this park for the reason given in this link.
Btw, this park is a spit away from Southend police station.
My grandchildren can’t ride their bikes now because of the brand: the county lines scrotes would love them.
Forget Southend town centre: drug dealer central.

www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/south_essex_news/17699317.young-woman-robbed-gunpoint-priory-park-southend/

My childhood home was right on the promenade in Hoylake, on the Wirral, so sand, sea and sunshine was my life!
I could walk out of the front door, down the drive, across the road and straight onto the beach!
I don't think I fully appreciated it at the time, it was just home.
Our DS lives in our old house now, with his own growing family, and we're on the edge of Chester, so can get to his house in twenty five minutes or less, which we do three times a week for after school care!

Juggernaut

My childhood home was right on the promenade in Hoylake, on the Wirral, so sand, sea and sunshine was my life!
I could walk out of the front door, down the drive, across the road and straight onto the beach!
I don't think I fully appreciated it at the time, it was just home.
Our DS lives in our old house now, with his own growing family, and we're on the edge of Chester, so can get to his house in twenty five minutes or less, which we do three times a week for after school care!

I was brought up near there, we used to walk out to Hilbre Island.. and ride along the beaches.. heaven

Yes I remember our sandie sandwiches lol if you dropped on sand my parents would wipe them off and say just eat you will be fine. When I think about it now you don’t see ppl doing that nowadays

Sandwiches always had sand in them.
Then not allowed back in the sea for "ages" after eating, in case the food weighed us down and we drowned.

We weren’t even allowed a bath in case we got cramp after eating!

We had to let the food "drop off the shelf" inside us, so my mum said.