​Best Traditional Seaside Resorts for Kids

Everyone remembers those glorious family beach days as a child. We're not talking about the perfectly manicured beaches in places like Alcudia, Tenerife, and the Costa Del Sol (although we do remember those too); we're reminiscing about British beach resorts. Sandcastles, donkey rides, and paddling, followed by a stroll along the promenade clutching a bag of 2 pence pieces- ready to hit the arcades. Cashing in tokens for the funfair rides was a favourite feature of the day, followed by fish and chips and candyfloss.

So, where is the best place for kids to experience a traditional British seaside resort this summer?

We've analysed a variety of different data metrics to see how some of the most popular seaside towns perform through the eyes of a child.

The top 3 Seaside Resorts

Bournemouth came out on top with an overall score of 80/100.

With its huge sandy beach and high water quality (perfect for paddling), parents also can relax in the knowledge that there are lifeguards on duty and toilets nearby. What's more, there's also plenty of activities available on the beach itself for older children to try, including surfing, kayaking, windsurfing, and more.

Away from the beach, Bournemouth has plenty of other family-friendly attractions to offer, including amusement arcades, Bournemouth Pier, Mighty Adventures Crazy Golf, Whitecliff Play Area, and Splashdown. When crunching the data, we found 64 child-friendly attractions within 20 miles.

According to Tripadvisor, there are also lots of choices when it comes to eating out, with 179 family-friendly restaurants and takeaways to choose from.

In second place is Brighton, with an overall score of 72.7.

Interestingly, in terms of Brighton's beach performance, there's room for some improvements. You can expect a shingle beach rather than sand and with a water quality of 3 out of 5 it's not the cleanest- but it's far from the dirtiest either!

What elevates Brighton to second place is the number of family-friendly attractions it has to offer. There's SEA LIFE Brighton, Upside Down House, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, and much much more; perfect when the British weather proves to be unpredictable.

Brighton has always been highly regarded for its dining scene. The good news is that kids are welcome! With 240 child-friendly restaurants, finding a place to eat is easy in Brighton.

Closely behind Brighton is Southend-on-sea, with an overall score of 71.7.

Sandcastles at the ready! Southend-on-sea is home to beautiful sandy beaches, the cleanest of waters, and a lifeguarding facility. While it may not have a huge list of beachfront activities to offer, it has the favourites, including swimming, arcades, and crazy golf.

With 45 family-friendly attractions within a 20-mile radius, there's a good number of things to do which is why it scored 71/100.

Child-friendly eateries aren't hard to come by either, with 200 listed on Tripadvisor.

You can take a look at the traditional seaside resorts that made it into the top 10.

Methodology
To calculate an overall score, we analysed three key data metrics; beach performance, family-friendly attractions and family-friendly restaurants.

Beach performance.

Beach performance includes multiple data strands; beach type (sand, sand & shingle, shingle & pebble), water quality, lifeguarding, nearby toilets and beachfront activities.

(X/53)x100=X

Family-Friendly Attractions.

The family-friendly attractions score awards highest points to resorts that;

- Have a traditional funfair

- Have a large number of child-friendly attractions within a 20-mile radius

(X/34)x100=Y

Family-Friendly Restaurants.

The family-friendly restaurants score the most points to seaside resorts that have larger numbers of restaurants listed as 'child-friendly on Tripadvisor.(X/34)x100=Z

X+Y+Z/300= Overall Score