Why we do like to be beside the seaside...
From the basket of a hot air balloon, the panoramic views are breathtaking. Gleaming golden sands stretch for miles, sunshine glints off the brilliant blue sea, and the bright lights of a bustling town shine below us.
We could easily be looking down on one of Florida’s famous beachfronts. But this is our own Miami – Bournemouth.
With more than £100million of investment ploughed into the area in recent years, the Dorset resort is really giving the Sunshine State a run for its money.
New upmarket hotels have been built, as well as a multimillion pound entertainment complex, and the infrastructure on the seafront has been upgraded.
But Bournemouth has lost none of the charm that has made it a quintessential British seaside spot for so many years. Today, locals and tourists alike are lapping up the charm and beauty of the sunny resort.
David and Diana Cox are visiting from Kettering, Northants.
They rent a beach hut every summer, for £170 a week. David, 79, a retired engineer, says: “I’ve been coming here for more than 20 years.
“It’s a truly fabulous place. There is sea and sun, a diverse population – the good, gritty stuff that makes Britain great.
“We come to swim in the sea and eat grilled fish and watch a pretty world roll by. The shops aren’t too shabby, either.”
His wife, Diana, 72, who used to work for Sainsbury’s, agrees. “Bournemouth is a proper little idyll. There’s something here for everybody.”
From Scarborough to Blackpool, and Weymouth to Bournemouth, the UK has a proud tradition of fabulous seaside resorts. And, frankly, they knock the socks and sandals of our European rivals, as we highlight here in the first of our series on the Great British seaside.
The food is – these days, finally – better, the loos are cleaner and the beer is definitely colder. What’s not to like?
And, at last, we also have good weather. The on-off heatwave has – despite this weekend’s dip (don’t worry, we will be back on track by August 1) – seen Britain matching Miami’s temperatures.
In balmy Bournemouth, the beach – the most photographed in the UK – is only part of the draw.
There are also two historic piers to explore. Bournemouth Pier boasts adrenaline-fuelled adventures, with a zip wire running from pier to shore, and an indoor high wire and climbing centre. Boscombe Pier is a less white-knuckle affair, offering a charming musical trail and mini-golf with edible golf balls that drop into the sea on the final hole and feed the fish.
Psychiatric nurse Margaret Butler, 56, who owns a beach hut and lives locally, says she is here “to swim in Britain’s best
weather”. She said: “All of us are better people, I think, when we’re beside the seaside – the sounds, the views, the smell of it all.”
And she adds: “And Britain is underrated as a holiday destination. Why? We are brilliant. We are a kind and generous people with a fabulous coastline and a properly decent spirit.”
Summer trips to the seaside have long been a British tradition, and nearly seven million people visited Bournemouth last year.
But tourism is booming across the whole of the UK, and is worth £127billion annually to the economy. Nearly 40 million foreign visitors are expected this year – a record high. The UK has become cheaper for foreign tourists to visit, since the pound dropped in value after the Brexit vote.
Tourism promotion agency VisitBritain predicts overseas trips to the UK will increase 6% to 39.7 million, with spending up by 14% to £25billion, in 2018. During the first six months of 2017, there were a record 23.1 million overseas visits to the UK – up 8% on the same period in 2016.
The figures for July last year topped four million for the first time. And Britons are holidaying at home in record numbers. And, with temperatures due to beat the 2003 record of 38.5C next month, you can see why many of us are choosing a staycation.
Back on Bournemouth beach, Natalie Walford, 24, Fii Smith, 23, and Lauren Sturgiss, also 23, are probably the youngest people on the beach.
Natalie, who is down from Brixton, South London, says: “This is the best place in the world. Who would argue?”
Certainly not local Terry Keenan, 68, a dedicated Mirror reader.
There is a copy of today’s paper in his beach hut. He is here with his daughter Johanna and son-in-law Tim, both 37, and his grandchildren, Sebastian, six, and Zara, four, who are all visiting from Hampshire .
Terry says: “Bournemouth is freethinking but wild and, yes, just free.”
The area has some of the safest beaches in the country, stretching for seven glorious miles. And four of them have Blue Flag status: Alum Chine, Durley Chine, Fisherman’s Walk and Southbourne.
It’s the ideal backdrop for outdoorsy types who enjoy walking, cycling, surfing and sailing.
Dexter Gibson, 20, who manages a beachside bike rental shop, says: “Bournemouth is brilliant. We have weather, I mean good weather, and surfing possibilities. It’s the best town that I know.”
For those who prefer a more leisurely pace, there is the famous land train that runs along the beach, and the resort’s legendary cliff lifts.
The mix of traditional British seaside resort and contemporary, trendy town is irresistible.
“Bournemouth just does it for me” says grandmother Elsie Jones, 87, who is visiting from Gloucestershire with her family. “The beach is fabulous but not pretentious. It’s very British, but slightly cool.”
With the weather we have been having lately, Elsie clearly does not mean the temperature. And she is right – regardless of what the thermometer says, Bournemouth is cool.