Where is Hinckley’s nearest beach?
Can you guess?
THERE is nothing better than spending a sunny day with sand between your toes, listening to the sound of waves crashing onto the beach and smelling the fresh sea air up your nostrils. And don’t forget the crunching sound as you bite into your ice cream which is covered in sand whipped up by the force-10 gale winds and rain.
Yes, a day trip to the beach is a wonderful thing for all the family - even if the kids will probably just moan about the lack of WIFI these days.
Apart from a bit of sand at Bosworth Water Park, and in bags for sale at B&Q, we are not exactly handily placed for a quick trip to the seaside, writes Simon Holden.
But where exactly is the nearest beach to us and how long would it take you to get there?
Well, we have done some extensive scientific work - we typed Hinckley into Google - to see what the answer is.
But do we base our results on journey time or distance?
We think time is most important so we will go with that.
And this is a crucial factor in deciding the winner as we are in the middle of the east and west coasts and can go either way.
But transport links to the west are much better than the east. So the closer beaches in the east can take longer to reach.
Many will think they know who the contenders are and have probably been to most of them. But here goes... The winner is perhaps a slight surprise.
It turns out the closest beach to our town is...Clevedon near Bristol at 2 hours 11 minutes and 125 miles away from Hinckley - as long as you don’t get stuck in traffic at Cribbs Causeway on the M5.
The little-known town has a rocky and pebbly beach and is not necessarily that popular or big.
But it does have a pier and a chip shop or two.
In second place, with the nearest sandy beach, is Skegness at 2 hours and 21 minutes and 110 miles.
This is a popular old-fashioned seaside resort with plenty of chip shops, a mountain of rock to buy and loads of amusement arcades and rides for small children.
And its beach is also very large and nicer that you perhaps imagine.
Also known as Skeggy, this has always been a popular place for Hinckleyans.
Next on the list is Westonsuper-Mud...sorry, super-Mare which is 2 hours and 24 minutes away and 134 miles.
Some people swear by it while others swear at it. It is a Marmite town.
Next is the less-well-known Heacham which is near Hunstanton. Heacham is 2 hours 29 minutes away and 113 miles. It does have a big beach and a caravan park so does qualify for this list.
Hunstanton, just up the road, is better known and a bit bigger. This is 2 hours and 34 minutes away and 115 miles.
Every time I go to this place it rains so it is one of my least favourite places on the planet.
If you prefer to head south for some sunshine, Bournemouth beach is 2hrs 49mins away and a whopping 164 miles while Brighton is 3hrs 01mins and 170 miles away.
Turning towards Wales, we have Rhyl at 2hrs 41mins and 140 miles and the beautiful Harlech beach at 3hrs 15mins and 142 miles away.
And if you thought Blackpool was in this kind of range, you would be right. The king of the northern seaside towns is a mere 2hrs and 41mins away and 141 miles - although that is via the M6 toll road.
More details about our top three destinations Clevedon (population
21,281) Clevedon is situated among a group of small hills. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book but grew in the Victorian era when it became a popular seaside resort. It was served by a short branch line from the main railway at Yatton, between 1847 and 1966. The Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway, which opened in 1897 and closed in 1940 also served the town.
The seafront has ornamental gardens, a Victorian bandstand, and other visitor attractions. Salthouse Field has a light railway running round the perimeter and is used for donkey rides during the summer. The shore is a mixture of pebbled beaches and low rocky cliffs, with the old harbour at the western edge of the town at the mouth of the Land Yeo. The rocky beach has been designated as the Clevedon Shore geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Clevedon Pier, opened in 1869, is one of the earliest surviving examples of a Victorian pier the United Kingdom. On October 17, 1970, two outward spans collapsed when the seventh set of legs from the shore failed during a routine insurance load test. After protracted considerations a trust was formed and the pier and its terminal buildings were restored and reopened on May 27, 1989, when the Waverley paddle steamer berthed and took on passengers. Other landmarks include Walton Castle, Clevedon Court the Clock Tower and the Curzon Cinema. Skegness (population
19,579) The town is popularly known as Skeg, Skeggy, Skegvegas and has a famous mascot, the Jolly Fisherman designed by John Hassall in 1908 for the Great Northern Railway. It has a slogan - “Skegness is so bracing” - a reference to the chilly prevailing north-easterly winds that can and frequently do blow off the North Sea.
At the end of Lumley Road is the town’s clock tower, built in 1898-99 to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, and funded through public subscription.
Skegness had a 614-yard long (562m) pier which was opened on Whit Monday 1881 at a cost of £20,840 and was at the time the fourth longest in England. It was a T-shaped pier with a saloon/concert hall at the pier head. Steamboat trips ran from the pier to the Wash and Hunstanton in Norfolk from 1882 until 1910.
Today the pier is only 129 yards (118m) long and no evidence remains of the old pier-
head and shelters but what remains of the landward pier deck walkway has since undergone major refurbishment and is now once again a tourist attraction. Though a tiny amount of the structure still stands from the sand, with a triangular sign warning of the piece of iron’s presence. Despite its much reduced length it is a major landmark along the beach as far as Gibraltar Point to the south and Ingoldmells to the north.
Weston-super-Mare (population 76,143)
Although there is evidence in the local area of occupation since the Iron Age, it was still a small village until the 19th century when it became a seaside resort, and was connected with local towns and cities by a railway, and two piers were built.
The growth continued until the second half of the 20th century, when tourism declined and some local industries closed. A regeneration programme is being undertaken with attractions including the Helicopter Museum, Weston-super-Mare Museum, Grand Pier and an aquarium.
The Paddle Steamer Waverley and MV Balmor- al offer day sea trips from Knightstone Island to various destinations along the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. Cultural venues include The Playhouse, the Winter Gardens and Blakehay Theatre.
Owing to the large tidal range in the Bristol Channel, the low tide mark in Weston Bay is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the seafront. Although the beach itself is sandy, low tide uncovers areas of thick mud, hence the colloquial name, Weston-super-Mud.
These mudflats are very dangerous to walk in and are crossed by the mouth of the River Axe.