Looking at a trip to the beach this Sunday with the family and can’t decide where to go. I live in Herts so anywhere 90 mins minimum.
Southend / Westcliffe
Brighton / Hove
Frinton-on-sea
Little Holland
Margate
I’d prefer to get the train because parking is going to be difficult, stuff to do/eat and preferably not stupidly busy.
Any advice/recommendations?
Debating cycling there and meeting the family but not sure asking the Mrs to get 3 kids somewhere on the train is going to go down well…
What’s your nearest station? I only know East Anglia beaches so probably can’t help much (but do know most of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex beaches pretty well) but what sort of stuff to do are you after?
I’m on the Thameslink, it’s about 20 mins to Kings X and then go anywhere.
Young kids (7,5,2) so anything related to the sea and having fun. They’d probably appreciate sand, the wife hates sand but put’s up with it for me.
I’ve been to Frinton before and it’s really lovely, could just do that again but was thinking that a pier might be nice.
Brighton - shit hole. Pebbly beach. Full of Trustafarians, drunks and stuck up middle class types. Getting in and out, not easy. Parking a disaster. Train not so bad as Thameslink goes there, not sure about weekends though. I grew up in Eastbourne, my wife went to Uni in Brighton and lived there for a bit. She liked it, I despised the place.
Camber sands is a great beach, but if the weather is good it can get rammed, not sure about train links either.
Can you reach West Wittering (near Chichester?)
Fab beach if you can
My parents always went to and enjoyed west wittering. Easy to park if you go early - before 9/10am. With young kids I suspect you may fall into that category so may be an option.
Another vote for west wittering.
It’s not near a train station though and only has one road in and out. If you do get there late the tail backs can get so bad they reach the roundabout at the A27!
They did have a booking system last year and slots went quickly. You can park a bit further out and walk in for free but that’ll be a pain with kids.
Can also get v windy and is quite popular with wind surfers
I’m thinking of trying Broadstairs on Friday
Margate looks really nice from photos. My plan would be to leave home at 7.30 to get there around 9 ish before it gets too busy.
Southend.
Let us know how it goes.
Just go to Box End at Bedford instead. Beach-type clean water lakes with inflatable ninja course, cable wakeboarding, SUP, swimming, restaurant, free parking etc.
Bemused to see that people consider places like Bolton & Bedford a destination to spend their leisure time at the moment.
Thanks for all the advice, ended up at Broadstairs. Cracking day so far, no traffic, parked 10m from the sand and now having a ice cream at Morellis, the beat ice cream I’ve had in ages.
Manky trotters on show. Minus 10 points.
Umm, that’s the sea Bongo. Beaches are part of the land. Nice water though 
West Wittering only really gets a wave in winter, pretty flat otherwise, so I’d skip it. 
spent many many many happy hours there GB!
I windsurfed there twice a week for a good few years, had a uni friend with house on the cliff at Bantham over looking the bay, and absolutely love the place!
…and for a finalé, Mrs MC once fell asleep on the beach, and ended up in casualty with sunstroke…
and for FP, undoubtedly the best surfing wave in Devon IMO… where the river runs out of Bantham, it has created a bar, and when that meets the groundswell, a fantastic hollow and powerful wave is created… I’ve been absolutely rinsed there more than once…
