Nice places to stay in Broadstairs and Ramsgate - wouldn't touch Margate with a barge pole despite the investment as it's weekends only and other than the immediate Old Town, it is largely unsafe post about 7pm. Thanet is far from being a dump and I would much rather there than Folkstone or Faversham. Rye is a good bet. Whitstable is OK but boring.
Sandwich isnt a sea side resort. Though the Samdwich Bay Resort is fairly posh some lovely properties, especially if you like windy golf links.
Deal is getting quite upper middle. When I grew up there people got killed in pub fights or beaten up by drunk miners and squaddies. Now its all art stores and delis. Quite remarkable transformation tbh.
The seaside towns they forgot to burn down - mostly in Kent - were always going to get a second life as soon as tech killed journalism and the music biz 20 years ago and nobody could afford to live in London anymore. It all follows from that. There’s lots of history there, just the weather is shit. Obvs the proper middle class places in Cornwall are an entirely different proposition. Harder to get to unless you can leave early Friday to get there.
I will give you a curveball as it's not in England at all but there's a fair number of City lawyers with a place in Portballintrae in NI. Worth a look I think
PS heh at Margate being “largely unsafe” after 7pm.
Honestly … middle class lawyers and their vapours when they have to go too near the working class or the “Dungeness experiments” as FF so delightlfully puts it.
Never understood why London types will spend 10 hours getting to Cornwall to "enjoy" massive tides making being on the beach a total pain in the arse, restaurants booked out by loud w**kers and bang average scenery bettered in Dorset, Wales and Scotland to avoid admitting in the office that they went to Tenerife for two weeks and actually Siam Park is magic.
Whilst i disagree obvs;, I did enjoy a guilty heh at FFs 22:47.
Putting aside for a moment the bigotry towards the working classes (which is by far the most significant and harmful prejudice in the UK) the primary reason it is so pathetic is because the sorts of people the bigotry is aimed at tend to be unhealthy, unfit, and not especially dangerous to anyone but themselves.
Kent isn’t grim Cookie don’t be ridiculous and contrary just to be pseudy and oh I’m soooo much better than Kent with my London postcode. How can you be better than a place anyway
Kent is like anywhere it has laafly gentrified quaint parts which londoners love to buy their sourdough from and waft around in linens or pretend to be hip and then other places less ‘aesthetic’ per CW’s post.
OB you’re the biggest cocking pseud on here and as usual inventing things I haven’t said. If Kent is so great why did you spend so many years escaping it to lefty liberal North London? You utter hypocrite.
The Social geography of Britain is interesting. Increasingly (and this was a pre covid trend but has accelerated since as more money moves out of London etc) it is breaking into enclaves. The Increasing wealth inequality is increasingly concentrating in specific areas/towns. It was ever thus I guess but it is more and more noticeable now and some towns are becoming unbalanced as wealthy people avoid them and local middle classes leave. Meanwhile other places boom once theh get a bit of middle class momentum.
These trends have driven Brexit and it is continuing to drive worsening social inequality/opportunities.
Meanwhile rhe middle class (generally rightly) freak out over racial/gender slights … but merrily describe the people left behind in these places as “Dungeness experiments” “toasters” whatever.
Hopefully it will diminish if the next Labour govt can bring stability/growth and redistribute in the right ways. But Im doubtful they will tbh. And the next wave of populism after that could be worse than Brexit. It will be our own fault tbh.
If you want to get away from snobs, get thine hiney over to Ireland. Tramore, Co Waterford, is lovely. Or my personal favourite, Westport, Co Mayo, is gorgeous but it's not the same as Salcombe etc, think small Irish towns. You might be a bit shocked by one or two of the war memorials though... And in the north of Ireland, Portstewart and Portrush are terrific. If you're a biker, the road from Galway up to Westport via Leenaun and the R335 is truly breathtaking, in the north the road from Derry along Co Antrim coast down into Belfast is fabulous, stop off at Dunluce Castle and at Bushmills. Google them, it's all good.
Whitstable is ridiculous. It used to be a regular town. Most people from Whitstable don’t live there now, they’re in surrounding suburbs. It’s just streets and streets of airbnbs and expensive cheese shops for Londoners.
English beaches are full of chavs and their horrid brats.
But if more Brits are taking hols in the UK, that's good because it means encountering fewer plebs from Ingerland in the S of France.
But I don't take beach hols anyway. But at least fewer of those types will be in the restaurants. Anyway, the Brits eat too early, around 18:00 (pizza and chips and lager) . Locals in the Med go out to eat at around 21:00.
English beaches are good. Embleton Bay, Northumberland, Gwynver and Godrevy, Cornwall, Polly Joke, Cornwall, Harlyn Bay and Fistal Cornwall to name but a few.
ROF adventure at Siam Water Park, Tenerife and Fishing trip. Register your interest below.
In the summer much nicer to sit on a beach in England than the stifling heat of Southern Europe where you cant even walk on the sand (admittedly you can only do it about 50% of days though)
Cromer?
Good thread. It will be handy to have a list of places to avoid in the summer.
Southwold?
The OP of course means "upper" or "upper middle".
Ordinary middle class folk don't go to Rock ffs.
Abersoch? That's pretty fvcking English imo. "Abersock".
Cowes (note, not East Cowes)
Threepwood and I can finally agree on something - Southwold strong positive.
Whitstable
west wittering
Ordinary middle class people do go to Cowes tbf.
And West Wittering.
West Wittering
Brancaster
Heh at we middle classes all logging on to say WW
St Mawes
West Wittering. How can a place with so many disposable barbecues in the car park be middle class?
St Mawes
Crantock
Polzeath
Helford beach
Lulworth Cove
Good shouts all, interesting that with one or two exceptions rivers feature strongly in resorts favoured by the well to do.
Rrrrrrrrrock
Dartmouth obv
Aldeburgh
Budleigh Salterton
Sandwich
Is it because it’s pretty easy to sail the yacht on Guy? Stormless fun?
i've always thought of budleigh salterton as more a home for retired vicars and college dons
Sandwich isn’t ‘on sea’ so not sure it qualifies
Margate is quite trendy with the art crowd now but let’s face it it’s still Thanet
Studland is fairly posh
Overy Staithe
I almost booked a holiday for summer 23 in Budleigh Salterton!
if budleigh was on your list, try frinton
Mine was more a list of seaside refuges for civilised folk in retirement.
Weston super Mare
Scarborough
Skegness
QED
Mr Woo vetoed the UK for 23. Mebbeh 24.
assuming it's not a skiing holiday why leave the UK?
oh, thingy
in norfolk
Overstrand
There's no beach at Burnham Overy Staithe. It's about 2 miles inland from the actual beach.
At Studland I imagine you'd find sons of wealthy cockneys there with tattoos.
Chesil Beach seems quite middle class.
Is anywhere on the east coast of England actually middle class though? All seems a bit UKIPpy…
Is Padstow as bad as it sounds? A shrine to Rick Stein.
We would be travelling to the UK. Will now stay on mainland Europe.
ftaod North Norfolk is shite and none of you would like it; stick to the South West chzthnx
Overy Staithe is on a creek.
Deauville
Le Touquet
Nice
Studland is hardly a seaside town, it's a pub and some houses next to a (really quite awesome) beach.
the best seaside town is nearby swanage for hust enough but mot too much chavviness. Whitby works too for this
Chesil beach is a big turd pile of gravel
Southwold +1
Lyme Regis. Full of little boys called Milo going fossil hunting.
Oh we forgot Isle of Wight, plenty there
Absersoch has more white range rovers than Esher. It's remarkable
Most of West Wittering is a private road isn't it, for the residents of the seafront mansions.
Polzeath is the same as Rock. Public school kids, surfer dudes and young royals. The Oystercatcher pub there attracts them all.
Scarborough is rough as ****
Robin Hood's Bay
Some of those places are lovely
not Thanet obvs
Wang there's that posh hotel somewhere down near the Studland that a few people I know frequent so that probably counts.
Glad to see that the correct answer is yet to be mentioned.
Nice places to stay in Broadstairs and Ramsgate - wouldn't touch Margate with a barge pole despite the investment as it's weekends only and other than the immediate Old Town, it is largely unsafe post about 7pm. Thanet is far from being a dump and I would much rather there than Folkstone or Faversham. Rye is a good bet. Whitstable is OK but boring.
Saunton? Croyde?
Anywhere on the Dorset coast in late spring.
Faversham isnt actually on the coast. Unless you’re going swimming in the creek (not recommended) you’d be better off trying your luck in Herne Bay.
But can you get fish and chips and eat them in the car in these places?
PS Appledore
Sandwich isnt a sea side resort. Though the Samdwich Bay Resort is fairly posh some lovely properties, especially if you like windy golf links.
Deal is getting quite upper middle. When I grew up there people got killed in pub fights or beaten up by drunk miners and squaddies. Now its all art stores and delis. Quite remarkable transformation tbh.
Upper Dogging
The seaside towns they forgot to burn down - mostly in Kent - were always going to get a second life as soon as tech killed journalism and the music biz 20 years ago and nobody could afford to live in London anymore. It all follows from that. There’s lots of history there, just the weather is shit. Obvs the proper middle class places in Cornwall are an entirely different proposition. Harder to get to unless you can leave early Friday to get there.
No, Deal is still quite rough. Some of the people you see on the high st look like they’ve escaped from a hidden experiment facility at Dungeness
Actually, weather on the Kent Coast in summer is usually about 5 degrees centrigrade warmer than North Cornwall.
Yeah but that’s driven by ready brek (they meant poor south not the north)
https://youtu.be/Yt1Jd4stPFQ
Where does St Ives fall on the class spectrum?
Full of gawping Emmets.
I think St Ives would fit into this. However it’s also got an Arts scene, locals and some wild beaches nearby more hikers etc rather than 4x4s.
Watergate Bay can be added
I will give you a curveball as it's not in England at all but there's a fair number of City lawyers with a place in Portballintrae in NI. Worth a look I think
PS heh at Margate being “largely unsafe” after 7pm.
Honestly … middle class lawyers and their vapours when they have to go too near the working class or the “Dungeness experiments” as FF so delightlfully puts it.
🙄
Heh they think this board is “largely unsafe after 7pm” ffs
’PS heh at Margate being “largely unsafe” after 7pm’
Yeah that is pretty much bollox, Margate offers a low-level threat of violence 24/7
That's the Pig on the Beach Sailo. Not uber posh. Uber priced. Pretty good food.
still doesnt make it a seaside "resort" in my traditional english interpretation of the phrase, it's just a hotel near a beach and a pub.
Margate is completely fine what tosh
Never understood why London types will spend 10 hours getting to Cornwall to "enjoy" massive tides making being on the beach a total pain in the arse, restaurants booked out by loud w**kers and bang average scenery bettered in Dorset, Wales and Scotland to avoid admitting in the office that they went to Tenerife for two weeks and actually Siam Park is magic.
Studland is waay posher than Swanage - have you seen the houses?!
It’s snob value nana. Life’s too short. Obvs Kent is grim though. What to do ?
Aldeburgh
Trevose
Is Margate’s safeness after 7pm attributable to the entire population being stoned by 6pm?
Bananaman I thought Siam Park looked good. I am going to go myself as I love waterparks.
Whilst i disagree obvs;, I did enjoy a guilty heh at FFs 22:47.
Putting aside for a moment the bigotry towards the working classes (which is by far the most significant and harmful prejudice in the UK) the primary reason it is so pathetic is because the sorts of people the bigotry is aimed at tend to be unhealthy, unfit, and not especially dangerous to anyone but themselves.
Although I did notice they had imprisoned a few sea mammals which is unnecessary.
Murder rates victim unknown Margate?
Kent isn’t grim Cookie don’t be ridiculous and contrary just to be pseudy and oh I’m soooo much better than Kent with my London postcode. How can you be better than a place anyway
Kent is like anywhere it has laafly gentrified quaint parts which londoners love to buy their sourdough from and waft around in linens or pretend to be hip and then other places less ‘aesthetic’ per CW’s post.
Ffs yes studland is posher than swanage, no1 is arguing it isnt u melt.
Oh c’mon north Kent (apart from maybe Whitstable and Broadstairs) is rough.
its nicer further South (not inc Ashford) though
OB you’re the biggest cocking pseud on here and as usual inventing things I haven’t said. If Kent is so great why did you spend so many years escaping it to lefty liberal North London? You utter hypocrite.
The pier at deal servers lobster eggs Benedict. I mean that's ultra middle class....
The Pier at Deal was better when it stuck to fry ups tbh.
Tbf OBs post is the most sensible on here.
The Social geography of Britain is interesting. Increasingly (and this was a pre covid trend but has accelerated since as more money moves out of London etc) it is breaking into enclaves. The Increasing wealth inequality is increasingly concentrating in specific areas/towns. It was ever thus I guess but it is more and more noticeable now and some towns are becoming unbalanced as wealthy people avoid them and local middle classes leave. Meanwhile other places boom once theh get a bit of middle class momentum.
These trends have driven Brexit and it is continuing to drive worsening social inequality/opportunities.
Meanwhile rhe middle class (generally rightly) freak out over racial/gender slights … but merrily describe the people left behind in these places as “Dungeness experiments” “toasters” whatever.
Hopefully it will diminish if the next Labour govt can bring stability/growth and redistribute in the right ways. But Im doubtful they will tbh. And the next wave of populism after that could be worse than Brexit. It will be our own fault tbh.
Salcombe has so many turbo cmuts it is beyond belief
Ah places for snooty English people...
If you want to get away from snobs, get thine hiney over to Ireland. Tramore, Co Waterford, is lovely. Or my personal favourite, Westport, Co Mayo, is gorgeous but it's not the same as Salcombe etc, think small Irish towns. You might be a bit shocked by one or two of the war memorials though... And in the north of Ireland, Portstewart and Portrush are terrific. If you're a biker, the road from Galway up to Westport via Leenaun and the R335 is truly breathtaking, in the north the road from Derry along Co Antrim coast down into Belfast is fabulous, stop off at Dunluce Castle and at Bushmills. Google them, it's all good.
Salcombe has so many turbo cmuts it is beyond belief.
I've only been there a couple of times and I thought it was lovely. I bought myself a coat from Joules.
Whitstable is ridiculous. It used to be a regular town. Most people from Whitstable don’t live there now, they’re in surrounding suburbs. It’s just streets and streets of airbnbs and expensive cheese shops for Londoners.
Once saw Geri Halliwell and her then beau in Salcombe.
Anyone mentioned Dartmouth and Wells-Next-the-Sea?
Tenerife is great. The touristy bits aren't, but you don't have to go there. I'd rather two weeks there than anywhere in the UK.
Tenerifeeeee oi oi saveloy
sounds absolutely awful
English beaches are full of chavs and their horrid brats.
But if more Brits are taking hols in the UK, that's good because it means encountering fewer plebs from Ingerland in the S of France.
But I don't take beach hols anyway. But at least fewer of those types will be in the restaurants. Anyway, the Brits eat too early, around 18:00 (pizza and chips and lager) . Locals in the Med go out to eat at around 21:00.
English beaches are good. Embleton Bay, Northumberland, Gwynver and Godrevy, Cornwall, Polly Joke, Cornwall, Harlyn Bay and Fistal Cornwall to name but a few.
ROF adventure at Siam Water Park, Tenerife and Fishing trip. Register your interest below.
Uk beaches compare with most countries. The weather doesnt
In the summer much nicer to sit on a beach in England than the stifling heat of Southern Europe where you cant even walk on the sand (admittedly you can only do it about 50% of days though)
We don’t want you near our local beaches, ruddy tourists! *shakes fist* seriously tho. Effing PITA when you lot pile in. 🤪
ps Siam Park is AMAZING. We obviously didn’t stay in Playa de las Americas tho. Obviously.
Hey great! No I will stay in a shack somewhere wild and surfy.
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