Whether you’re splashing in the waves or rock-pooling on the beach, eating an ice cream or building a sandcastle, nothing compares to a trip to the English seaside.
But if you don’t live by the coast, and you’re not able to travel, you can still experience the best of England’s top seaside spots with Let’s Discover IT.
Special thanks to Robin Birch who recommeded many of these videos from A Virtual English Seaside Trip – Armchair Travels (armchair-travels.com).
Let’s start our holiday with “I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside” Song.
Build a sandcastle in Dover
All you need to build a simple sandcastle is sand, water and a bucket and spade – so if you’re on a sandy beach, it’s kind of obligatory to make one! In this video for English Heritage at Dover Castle, Jamie Wardley of sandcastle experts ‘Sand in Your Eye’ shares his top tips on how to build the perfect sandcastle.
Eat fish & chips in Scarborough
Every English seaside resort has at least one chippy, and enjoying takeaway fish and chips, seasoned with salt and vinegar and wrapped in paper, is an essential seaside tradition for many. Scarborough in North Yorkshire claims to be Britain’s first seaside resort, and is home to several fish-and-chip shops. The town’s Harbour View Cafe, where regulars include the local fishermen, is a favourite of author Kevin Rushby. In this video Kevin visits the Harbour View Cafe to find out what makes a good chippy.
Enjoy an Ice cream in Blackpool
Blackpool offers a traditional kind of seaside holiday and is famous for its tower, its three piers and its Pleasure Beach amusement park. The resort is also home to one of the country’s best ice cream parlours, family-run Notarianni Ice Cream. Their vanilla ice cream is freshly made every day with local farm milk, using a secret recipe which Luigi Notarianni brought from southern Italy over 70 years ago. You can see how the ice cream is made at Notarianni’s in this video.
Go rock pooling in Newlyn
Rock pooling is a great way to get a close look at a wide range of sea creatures. This short video from the Natural History Museum shows you the essentials of how to go rock pooling.
Hunt for fossils in Charmouth
The coast around Charmouth and Lyme Regis in Dorset is famous for its fossils. Fossils wash down from the cliffs here and can be found amongst the gravel and shingle on the beach. You can watch a video of a fossil-hunting trip to Charmouth beach here.
Play on the pier in Brighton
The Victorians built pleasure piers around Britain’s coast, and many still remain today. Grade II listed Brighton Palace Pier is home to a variety of attractions, including a large amusement area with roller coasters and a helter-skelter. Millions of people visit Brighton pier every year, and you can go on a virtual tour of it here.
Take a virtual walking tour of Whitstable, Kent (June 2020).
Enjoy!!
We’ve been to meet the Seaside Donkeys on Blackpool Beach – the adorable animals who patiently carry children along the sands in the time honoured tradition of donkey rides. Come with us to have a look at Blackpool beach and meet the owner and some of his faithful pals.
Hanton’s Punch and Judy Show from Pleasurewood Hills – another tradition for young and old alike!
Walk along the beach in Poole
The beautiful golden sands of Sandbanks beach in Dorset are on a small peninsula at the mouth of Poole Harbour. Sandbanks is known as the UK’s most expensive coastal property location. You can go on a virtual walk along Sandbanks beach here.
Visiting 5 Seaside Towns And Villages In A Day UK
The Yorkshire Coast
Victorian Britain – Seaside Holidays
Incredible footage from the Mitchell and Kenyon archives of late-Victorian and early-Edwardian seaside holidays.
Listen to the waves in Cornwall.
The sound of the sea is so calming and relaxing that some people even use it to help them go to sleep. You can watch and listen to ocean waves breaking gently on a rocky Cornish beach here.
Let’s Discover IT hopes you enjoy this and all the virtual English Seaside Holiday videos.
Try these websites for more fun facts!
That’s the way to do it – a history of Punch and Judy from the Victoria and Albert Musem
Punch & Judy: Harmless fun or trivialising violence? We look back on the puppet show’s controversial history and how it’s changed over the past 350 years.
The seaside piers around the coast of Britain stand as a powerful reminder of the achievements of Victorian engineers and entrepreneurs. At the turn of the last century, almost a hundred piers existed: now only half remain and several face an uncertain future. The National Piers Society was founded in 1979 under Sir John Betjeman, at a time when some of the finest piers were threatened with demolition.
What is a 99 ice cream all about?