british beaches: weymouth

Weymouth must've once been a lovely place. The upper crust probably spent summers there; the handsome men and women of society going for jaunts along the promenade, enjoying picnics on the pier, spending long sunny afternoons in tearooms, going sailing in the wide calm bay, whilst children rode donkeys along the beach in between Punch & Judy shows.

A faint whiff of this history still wafts through the streets of today's Weymouth; the crooked harbourside townhouses that were once the lairs of grizzled old sea-dogs, the narrow cobbled streets and bakeries, the grand architecture of the Esplanade, the seafront hotels that used to be the favourite hangouts for the cool rich kids of bygone days...

Somehow my photos have managed to make Weymouth look prettier than it is. Sadly all that's left of any glamour the town once enjoyed are dilapidated old hotel signs, weathered and peeling pediments, and the feeling that the upper crust of the twenty-first century prefer to spend their summers soaking up the sun in the Seychelles. The over-abundance of tacky billboards, cheap fast-food restaurants and squalid-looking pound shops only reinforce the strong suspicion that  Weymouth is not in its heyday any more.

Still the beach there is sweet, especially for children, with its gentle blue waves lapping at long stretches of golden sands. (Got to admit I'm more suited to the wild, rugged coastlines of Cornwall and Devon...)

Despite my Weymouth experiences I'm sure that the Great British Seaside Holiday still exists somewhere. And I still believe that the British should fly abroad less and enjoy Britain more. Does anybody else agree? It's a greener approach, and Britain's got gorgeous countryside, breathtaking coastlines and cities full of life and colour. (Just remember to pack a raincoat.)

Have you ever had the perfect British seaside holiday? Is there somewhere special you and your family return to and love? What's your favourite British beach?