ENGLISH SEASIDE RESORTS

A seaside resort is a resort located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.

As the nineteenth century progressed, British working class day-trippers often travelled on organised trips such as railway excursions, or by steamer, for which were erected long piers so that the ships bringing the trade could berth.

The popularisation of the seaside resort during this period was nowhere more pronounced than in Blackpool. Blackpool flourished, catering for workers from across industrial Northern England, who packed its beaches and promenade. Other northern towns (for example Scarborough, Bridlington and Skegness) shared in the success of this new concept, which spread rapidly to coastal towns along all English shores.

The fortunes of Brighton, which has neither holiday camps nor end-of-the-pier shows, have grown considerably, and, because of this, the resort is repeatedly held up as the model of a modern resort. However, unlike the Golden Miles of other British resorts, the sea is not Brighton's primary attraction: rather it is a backdrop against which is set an attitude of broad-minded cosmopolitan hedonism. The resulting sense of uniqueness has, coupled with the city's proximity to London, led to Brighton's restoration as a fashionable resort and the dwelling-place of the affluent.

Other English coastal towns have successfully sought to project a sense of their unique character. In particular, Southwold on the Suffolk coast is an active yet peaceful retirement haven with an emphasis on calmness, quiet countryside and jazz. Weymouth in Dorset offers itself as 'the gateway to the Jurassic Coast', Britain's only natural World Heritage Site. Newquay in Cornwall offers itself as the 'surfing capital of Britain', hosting international surfing events on its shores.

The Isle of Thanet, with its 24 mile coastal path, sandy coves and bucket-and-spade seaside towns is like the land that time forgot.

Broadstairs is where Charles Dickens spent several years.

Margate was Britain's first ever seaside resort.