Places: The Seaside.

There's a reason why there is a song which has the lyrics "OH I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE...OH I DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEA!" Despite doubting the integrity of many popular songs, I don't doubt this for a second. The seaside, in whichever country, surely has to be the country's highlight? The soft, warm sand, the smell of seafoam...DONKEY RIDES. With a childhood full of seaside trips, and a love for splashing my siblings when they wern't looking, the seaside has always had a place in my heart.

So, here is the complication of my reasons and opinions as to why I think THE SEASIDE is good.

20 REASONS WHY I THINK THE SEASIDE IS GOOD

1. Running off the end of a pier and jumping into the sea may sound a little too extreme, but it is amazing. (Please Note: Only do this if ALLOWED by beach security...many coasts are rocky and shallow, and you must be aware of the health and safety risks involved).

2. Seaside rock is a great childhood nostalgia- I used to love brining back the candy canes for classmates and friends after a few weeks away.

3. Despite the, frankly, muiserably weather conditions, surely British seasides have to be some of the best in the world? Built on heritage, and surrounded in our little Island Nation, we really do have pick of the bunch!

4. Fish and chips on the seafront- another childhood great from trips to see my Grandparents in Devon. Sure, I may have become Vegetarian since those days, but the smell still brings back great memories.

5. The first dip of a toe into a cold sea is a nostalgia to be treasured.

6. Skimming stones is awesome. Don't pretend you don't love doing it.

7. I'm fortunate enough to have been to some gorgeous parts of the world. I recently jumped into a cold springs in Turkey...so cold that after spending ten minutes in there, you apparently come out looking ten years younger. Sure, I might be looking nine now...but for some people that saves them a facelift and £billion in face creams...maybe.

8. I don't know about you, but being by the seaside just makes me...happy.

9. Walking on sand is great excercise for your leg muscles due to the impact compression- get toned while you play!

10. At seasides, there's something to keep everyone amused- water sports, sailing, games, arcades- the list is endless.

11. Let's admit it...a windguard falling over when someone is getting changed is pretty darn funny.

12. Seasides are a great day out for both young and old- there is something for all of the family to enjoy.

13. Don't tell me that making sandcastles isn't the greatest thing ever. Because it truly is.

14. Burying your siblings under sand whilst they sleep is free fun.

15. Digging holes in the sand so big that you can sit in them is amazing and you know it. Until the tide comes in...ABORT, ABORT!

16. I live at the point in the country which is furthest away from a coast (smack bang in the middle). Therefore, a bit of a seaside trip is an ultimate luxury and rare experience which I relish.

17. Everybody has a real excuse to walk around half nekkid. Horray! However...this can work either way on the disgusting-delightful scale.

18. Fishing is a great tourist pull for many country on seaside and beach resorts, as well as other entertainment- such as boat rides, jet ski trips and cruises.

19. The sand that gets in between your toes and you find it two months later in the soles of your shoes. You've got to start liking or lumping the seaside, because it's not going to leave you alone once you've gone.

20. DONKEY RIDES. Need I say more?

20 FACTS ABOUT THE SEASIDE

1. A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.

2. The coast has always been a recreational environment, although until the mid-nineteenth century, such recreation was a luxury only for the wealthy.

3. During the early nineteenth century, the Prince Regent popularized Brighton, on the south coast of England, as a fashionable alternative to the wealthy spa towns such as Cheltenham.

4. Later, Queen Victoria's long-standing patronage of the Isle of Wight and Ramsgate in Kent ensured the seaside residence was a highly fashionable possession for those wealthy enough to afford more than one home.

5. Nowadays, many beach resorts are available as far afield as Goa in India.

6. It was in the mid-nineteenth century that it became popular for people from less privileged classes to take holidays at seaside resorts.

7. Improvements in transport brought about by the industrial revolution enabled people to take vacations away from home, and led to the growth of coastal towns as seaside resorts.

8. Recreational fishing and leisure boat pursuits can be big business these days, and traditional fishing villages are often well positioned to take advantage of this. For example, Destin on the coast of Florida, has evolved from an artisanal fishing village into a seaside resort dedicated to tourism with a large fishing fleet of recreational charter boats.

9. The tourist appeal of fishing villages has become so big that the Korean government is purpose-building 48 fishing villages for their tourist drawing power.

10. As the nineteenth century progressed, British working class day-trippers travelled on organized trips such as railway excursions, or by steamer, for which long piers were erected so that the ships bringing the trade could berth.

11. The popularization of the seaside resort during this period was nowhere more pronounced than in Blackpool. Blackpool catered for workers from across industrial Northern England, who packed its beaches and promenade.

12. Other northern towns (for example Scarborough, Southport, Bridlington, Cleethorpes, Morecambe and Skegness) shared in the success of this new concept, especially from trade during Wakes weeks.

13. The concept spread rapidly to other British coastal towns including several on the coast of North Wales and notably Rhyl, and Llandudno, the largest resort in Wales and known as "The Queen of the Welsh Resorts", a title first implied as early as 1864.

14. Another area notable for its seaside resorts was (and is) the Firth of Clyde, outside Glasgow. Glaswegians would take a ferry "Doon the Watter" from the city, down the River Clyde to the islands and peninsulas of the Firth of Clyde, such as Cowal, Bute, Arran, and Kintyre. Resorts include Rothesay, Lamlash, Whiting Bay, Dunoon, Tighnabruaich, Carrick Castle, Largs, Millport and Campbeltown. In contrast to the fates of many resorts,many from the Firth of Clyde have continued to enjoy prosperity thanks to their becoming middle-class commuter towns.

15. Some resorts, especially those more southerly such as Bournemouth and Brighton, were built as new towns or extended by local landowners to appeal to wealthier vacationers. The south coast has many seaside towns, the most being in Sussex.

16. From the last quarter of the twentieth century, the popularity of the British seaside resort has declined for the same reason that it first flourished: advancements in transport. The greater accessibility of foreign holiday destinations, through package holidays and, more recently, European low-cost airlines, affords people the freedom to holiday abroad.

17. Despite the loyalty of returning holiday-makers, resorts such as Blackpool have struggled to compete against the favorable weather of Southern European alternatives.

18. Now, many symbols of the traditional British resort (holiday camps, end-of-the-pier shows and saucy postcards) are regarded by some as drab and outdated; the skies are imagined to be overcast (although British summers from the late 1980s onwards have often been warmer and sunnier than at any other time in living memory) and the beach windswept. This is not always true; for example Broadstairs in Kent has retained much of its old world charm with Punch and Judy and donkey rides and still remains popular being only one hour from the M25.

19. Many seaside towns have turned to other entertainment industries, and some of them have a good deal of nightlife. The cinemas and theatres often remain to become host to a number of pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Most of their entertainment facilities cater to local people and the beaches still remain popular during the summer months.

20. Although international tourism turned people away from British seaside towns, it also brought in foreign travel and as a result, many seaside towns offer foreign language schools, the students of which often return to vacation and sometimes to settle.

20 WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SEASIDE

1. Donkey
2. Sea
3. Sand
4. Pebbles
5. Beach
6. Fun
7. Pier
8. Arcades
9. Shells
10. Rocks
11. Grey
12. English
13. Holiday
14. Abroad
15. Suncream
16. Tans
17. Burning
18. Hats
19. Swimming Costumes
20. Family

20 OPINIONS OF THE SEASIDE
(In response to the previously posted question 'What do you like best about the seaside?' by Banekeko, via Yahoo Answers)

1. The chip stall and ice-cream !- Champagne 3 Suspended Again, via Yahoo Answers.


2. Sticks of rock- taxed til I die, and then some, via Yahoo Answers.


3. Splashing in the sea with my kids and rolling down the sand dunes- oh deary me, via Yahoo Answers.


4. The good old British weather and the Chips- Lozy, via Yahoo Answers.


5. Cockle pickers- ?, via Yahoo Answers.


6. Chips, donuts, the sea air- lisa_b, via Yahoo Answers.


7. South west coast, the cool fresh air breeze, sound of the waves, the sun sets and the storms at sea- leon, via Yahoo Answers.


8. Being beside it watching and listening the brass bands play diddly omp pom pom....and people watching whilst sitting in a deck chair- Nettie, via Yahoo Answers.


9. You can come home no matter how far away you live and still have sand everywhere ..shoes,car bags,clothes .....just love the seaside and you just cant leave it all there lol- RICHARD H, via Yahoo Answers.


10. The quality of the air , and salt spray- LordLogic, via Yahoo Answers.


11. Boarding surf or body- uh huh huh, via Yahoo Answers.


12. Doughnuts on the pier...warm fresh doughnuts...yummmm- Razzle, via Yahoo Answers.


13. The atmosphere !- Debs, via Yahoo Answers.


14. Watching the waves and eating ice creams- muse9488, via Yahoo Answers.
 
15. That is so funny, i was at the beach today, and the best bit was when i had fish and chips on a bench, the seaguls and the breeze while stuffing greasy chips, Can't beat it- johnston1, via Yahoo Answers.


16. Living by it!- Freakin, via Yahoo Answers.


17. The sound of the sea x- Tjay, via Yahoo Answers.


18. Just lying back and smelling the salty air and listening to the sound of the waves lapping onto the shore.

Feel really relaxed just imagining it!!!!!!!'

PS You're right Leon - it has to be the south west coast of course - nothing like it- TECHNOPH, via Yahoo Answers.



19. Seagulls- Julia H, via Yahoo Answers.


20. Being buried in the sand and having my feet tickled- happyhawkeye, via Yahoo Answers.

20 IMAGES OF THE SEASIDE