seaside towns

COASTAL LOCATIONS ARE UK FAVOURITE

Posted on August 2, 2022

COASTAL LOCATIONS ARE UK FAVOURITE

BRITS PREFER to be beside the seaside, a McCarthy Stone survey confirms.

With the British Isles boasting some of the most beautiful beaches and breath-taking sea views, there is a clamour to enjoy some of the UK’s 7,700 miles of coastline. Brits have named their favourite seaside towns in the UK, with Salcombe ranked the number one destination whilst holidaymakers remain wary of overseas travel. With many holiday-goers opting to stay in the UK, Google trends data found that searches for UK holidays had increased by 56% in April 2022, compared to a year earlier when restrictions were in place.

The survey by McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, saw 2,700 surveyed to find which of the most popular seaside towns came out as the UK’s favourite. The south coast’s gems came out on top overall, with Salcombe, Weymouth and St. Ives scoring highly, there were also top 10 selection across the country, with Yorkshire’s Whitby and Northumberland’s Bamburgh featuring in the top 10. Salcombe, with its pastel-hued, picturesque harbour, came out on top, with almost a fifth of the vote (18.5%); it’s not hard to understand why when you witness the nautical beauty of South Devon.

Weymouth in Dorset came second with 16 per cent, boasting several enviable beaches, it was announced as the number one beach in the UK in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2017, and has also previously been ranked ninth best beach in Europe. Third place was given to Whitby in north Yorkshire (12%), which boasts ties with Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the imposing Abbey ruins which look over the highly-voted harbour below. St Ives on the Cornish coast came fourth with 11.7 per cent of the voting with Bamburgh (10.4%) in the North East of the country completing the top five.

Record Funding For Coastal Attractions

Posted on April 17, 2015
coastal

Suffolk Coastal district council is one of the areas set to benefit from £36 million of funding from the Coastal Communities Fund. Pic: VisitBritain / Rod Edward.

Record Funding For Coastal Attractions

Seaside towns across England and Scotland are set to benefit from a cash injection of over £45m to boost growth in coastal areas.

A total of 27 coastal towns and villages across Scotland will benefit from £9.58m of UK government funding through the Coastal Communities Fund and a further £36m has been allocated to seaside towns in England. The money will support projects that will create nearly 3,000 jobs and almost 1,500 apprenticeships and training places.

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the treasury, said: “I created the Coastal Communities Fund because, as someone who grew up on a small island, I know how much difference targeted investment can make to people’s lives. It’s already supported scores of coastal communities from the Highlands of Scotland to the south coast of England.

“Overall, hundreds of communities across the UK will benefit, creating jobs and making sure that some of our most remote and fragile communities share in the economic recovery.”

Among those to benefit will be Blackpool’s world famous illuminations which will receive nearly £2m to help create new light shows that will become a major tourist attraction and create and support nearly 550 new jobs. Tate St Ives will get £3.8m to help extend the art gallery so it can welcome 76,000 new visitors a year and Scarborough’s historic market will get £2.7m to refurbish the market and create space for 30 new businesses creating more than 80 jobs and apprenticeships.