Sooner or later, everywhere has
its moment. A poll for Which?
magazine in 2020 named
Cleethorpes as one of the worst
seaside destinations in the
UK; the survey’s respondents
were resolutely unmoved by
the charms of the Lincolnshire
town. This didn’t go down well
with local MP Martin Vickers.
“Going by the thousands of
visitors who come to Cleethorpes
and keep returning, they have
a different judgement,” he said.
Vickers wasn’t the town’s only
cheerleader. In February 2022,
it was revealed that big-name
designer Wayne Hemingway had
a plan to turn the town into a
fashionable resort. “Cleethorpes,”
he said, “has probably got more
opportunity than any other place
I’ve worked before.”
Is opportunity what comes
to mind when you think of the
British seaside? Or is it a 99
Flake ice cream dripping down
your fingers as you seek a spot
on a deckchair-rammed beach?
Perhaps a remote bay where the
open sands and Atlantic wind
are yours alone? An age-old
harbour full of lobster pots
and fishing boats? End-of-pier
amusements? Edge-of-the-world
campsites? There’s a lot to picture.
According to Ordnance Survey,
which maps every inlet, islet and
crag around the UK shoreline,
the British coast measures more
than 19, 000 miles (including
islands), making it not so much
a destination as a giant salty-
aired jumble of different places,
experiences and ideas.
It’s why the old music hall song
still rings true for so many of us:
we really do like to be beside the
seaside. From Tynemouth and
Torbay to Tenby and Tobermory,
with due reverence to every
cliff and cafe in between, our
coastline has enough variety,
tradition and dynamism to cater
for wildly differing tastes, even if
the weather can often be a lottery.
On an island nation where you’re
never more than 70 miles from
the coast, the waves have always
had a hold on us. “I am quite
convinced,” wrote Jane Austen
in Persuasion, published in 1817 ,
“that with very few exceptions,
the sea air always does good.”
She was far too early to see the
cycle of decline and regeneration
that many of our coastal areas
have since witnessed, but there’s
a permanence about their appeal.
In recent times, the British
seaside had been undergoing a
well-documented renaissance
beginning long before Covid-19,
and its popularity is clearly no
passing fad. Surfers, wildlife-
lovers and gourmets all have their
preferred coastal spots — as do
paid-up members of the bucket-
and-spade brigade.
“Some people love the nostalgic
kiss-me-quick holiday image, but
many visitors are seeking more,”
says Samantha Richardson,
director of the National Coastal
Tourism Academy (NCTA). “Good
accommodation and dining,
sustainable travel, experimenting
with a new watersports, getting
back to nature and cultural breaks
are all increasing.”The pandemic, and the
curtailment of overseas travel that
came along with it, led to bumper
bookings at coastal resorts up
and down the country. Photos
duly appeared of unpleasantly
jam-packed beaches with barely
enough space to swing a stick
of rock, although those images
weren’t always representative
of the wider picture. Research
carried out by the NCTA in 2021
showed that 7 4% of visitors to
the coast during the pandemic
had plans to return in the next 12
months. In other words, for every
honeypot beach that turns into a
real-life scene from Where’s Wally
at the first hint of sunshine, there
are countless trips spent enjoying
secluded bays, exploring new
coastal greenways and checking
into smartly updated hotels.
“Covid-19 has provided an
opportunity for coastal areas to
re-engage domestic audiences,”
says Richardson. “In lockdown,
some businesses took stock,
refurbished, created new
products and now offer a superior
experience, gaining repeat visits
from consumers who wouldn’t
previously have considered a UK
coastal holiday.” Accordingly, in
August last year, the Guardian
reported on a surge in advance
bookings from domestic visitors
for summer 20 22, everywhere
from Pembrokeshire to Norfolk.
However, with a coastline as
diverse as the UK’s, the real story
might just be that it took us so
long to wake up to the wonders
of what’s on our doorstep,
regeneration or no regeneration.