For anyone with any faith left in the British weather and thinking about a UK beach holiday or day-trip, here are my top 10 favourites for babies and toddlers:
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- Wells Beach, Norfolk: our favourite. Easy parking, lovely soft sand, a great cafe and space enough for everyone. Only problem is finding the sea at low tide!
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- St Brelade’s Beach, Jersey: for me, this place is just about perfect. Miles of flat sand at low tide, calm, shallow water and backed by a lovely prom with restaurants and cafes (including the fabulous Oyster Box. And Pizza Express for dough ball fanatics).
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- Camber Sands, East Sussex: easily accessible from London with the softest sand on the South Coast, we try and go once a year. Avoid on hot weekends and bank holidays though, it is rammed.
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- Oxwich Bay, Gower: not taken the kids here yet but will be making a beeline for it next time we are in the area. Peaceful and massive – they can run like the wind.
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- Plemont Bay, Jersey: Not the most easy-to-get-to (plenty of steps down carting baby stuff) but utterly stunning when you get there – flat, white sand, azure sea; and you’ll likely have it to yourselves. Check the tides though – at high tide there’s not much left.
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- Embleton Bay, Northumberland: how can you make a beach better? Put a ruined castle at one end of it. Thoroughly dramatic and totally gorgeous. Park and have lunch in the cute pub at Low-Newton-by-the-Sea.
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- Rock Beach, Cornwall: super-trendy and swarming, in season, with teens in Jack Wills sweatpants, there is no denying this is a gorgeous spot. White sands and safe estuarine waters, plus the passenger ferry over to Padstow makes for a fun excursion.
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- Southwold, Suffolk: ah, the favourite of the middle classes and ex-Prime Ministers. Sandy beaches, no tack and pretty beach huts, plus a town where you don’t have to worry about your kids’ diet. Practically everything is fresh and organic.
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- Ferring Beach, West Sussex: Ok, so I am biased here as this is our local. But it’s the best in the area. Easy, free parking, a cafe to buy ice creams and, at low tide, miles of flat sand with rock pools to splash and fish in. Happy days.
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- Dungeness, Kent: a surprise entry. Bleak and humming with nuclear power lines, this spot has one major kiddie advantage: the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. A pint-sized train trundles along the coast and deposits you at this curious spot for ice creams and lighthouse-watching. An experience.
The Trunki Files 
Can’t believe you missed out Frinton!!!
I know! What was I thinking? I love Frinton.
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