Glimpses of a bygone era

British seaside holiday heydey dates back to Victorian times

SHALDON, England — They are simple pleasures that hark back to analog, unplugged summer days: a book and a picnic blanket, a bucket and spade, fish and chips.

They are also the traditional trappings of the great British seaside holiday that is making a comeback amid foreign travel concerns during the covid-19 pandemic.

Some years ago, as the eagerly awaited school summer break loomed on the horizon, one question dominated the playground: “Where are you off to on holiday?”

The British seaside holiday’s heyday stretches back to Victorian times and probably peaked in the post-war years of the 1950s and 1960s. Full employment and annual paid leave gave the working and middle classes the financial clout to take a break on the coast each summer.

For people in southern England, that meant heading to Margate, Camber Sands, Brighton, Weymouth or other coastal towns. A longer drive west took people to the English Riviera. Elsewhere, holiday towns like Blackpool on the northwest coast or Clacton-on-Sea on the east were flooded with visitors during school holidays.

The glory days began to wane with the arrival of cheap airline travel and package tour holidays that whisked families to resorts dotted around the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, where sunshine was almost guaranteed.

Visiting the fishing village of Shaldon in Devon, a small cluster of mainly Georgian houses and shops at the mouth of the River Teign, is like stepping back into a bygone era of simple pleasures. Even as a recent heat wave sent Britons flocking to the coast to cool off, Shaldon retained an effortless tranquility.

The ingredients are simple: Two nice beaches, a handful of pubs, a shop selling the quintessentially British holiday fare of fish and chips (though the meal is no longer wrapped in old newspapers), and a pitch-and-putt golf course with lovely views across the Teign estuary.

Take a cool dip between small fishing boats and less traditional stand-up paddleboards. Cast a line into the estuary at low tide as the day’s last rays of sun illuminate green seaweed-covered stones. Finish things off with a pint in a pub beer garden.

For those Britons seeking a staycation destination, Shaldon ticks many boxes for a great British seaside stay.

(AP/Tony Hicks) People walk down the steps of Smugglers Tunnel that lead to Ness Cove beach July 22 in Shaldon, Devon, England.

Riders take their horses into the sea July 22 in Shaldon.

A man walks along the beach July 20 in Shaldon.

A man fishes July 19 next to the beacon in the Teign estuary.

A boy jumps off a jetty into the Teign estuary July 21 in Shaldon.