If you’re thinking of escaping to the coast soon, Kiddie Zone has pulled together a list of favourite family friendly beaches.
West Wittering, West Sussex
This beautiful sandy beach is a firm favourite with Kiddie Zone and is a great option if you’re looking for family friendly beaches. Near to Chichester, there’s ample parking and a long stretch of untainted sand. You won’t find much here in the way of shops, restaurants and activities, but that’s part of its beauty. So, pack a picnic, bring a kite, buckets and spades and settle in for a day of beach perfection.
Swanage Beach, Dorset
A gorgeous beach that have fantastic walks in the surrounding area. You can come across to Swanage on the little chain ferry from Sandbank which the kiddies will love. The beach itself is a calm and sheltered sand and shingle beach making it perfect for families. There’s a Victorian pier where you can go crabbing and loads to keep little ones entertained as well as a great selection of places to eat and traditional fish and chip restaurants.
Just across the road from the main beach you’ll find a little amusement park which makes for a good hour or so. You can also get the quaint Swanage Railway Steam Train from Swanage 6 miles up through the Purbeck Valley and past the stunning ruins of Corfe Castle. Corfe Castle is National Trust and well worth a visit, the kiddies will love exploring the castle ruins and the views from the top are stunning.
Highcliffe & Avon Beaches and Mudeford, Dorset
A must-do for families is this lovely stretch of beach, partnered with crabbing at Mudeford. You can park up at Highcliffe Castle and walk down to the huge sand and shingle beach where there’s plenty of space and a relaxed atmosphere. There’s also a nice tea room at the castle if you fancy a little stop on the way back. Closer to Mudeford you’ll find a small car park at Avon Beach with space for 100 cars, here the beach tends to be busier and stonier but plenty of fun for the kiddies and a short stroll along the promenade takes you right into Mudeford.
Famous for its fantastic crabbing, Mudeford is a great place to spend an afternoon. There’s a shop selling buckets, spades and all the crabbing gear, plus a café and toilets. You’ll also find a great fish shop, just about as fresh as it gets.
Brighton, East Sussex
Brighton has been Londoners favourite beach escape for years, and it’s easy to see why. There’s so much to do here you’ll need more than just a day. For starters, there’s a long stretch of stony beach great for walks and no better sitting when eating fish and chips straight out of the paper.
For children, there’s plenty at the beach to keep them entertained. There’s the Brighton Aquarium, the world-famous Brighton Pier with its numerous rides and attractions, the Lanes for even the fussiest of shoppers and loads of restaurants to boot. The sea can be rough and the pebbles don’t make for the most comfortable of sunbathing, but for many this is the quintessential British beach, and one that needs to be experienced.
Bournemouth Beach, Dorset
With 7 miles of golden sand this is renowned as one of the best city beaches in the UK and has long been one of the south coast’s most popular family beach destinations, and with so much to offer it’s easy to see why. The soft sand beach and tonnes of space make it the perfect destination for families, even if it can get pretty busy in the peak of summer.
Away from the sand, Bournemouth has plenty to shout about. Last time we went we had a go on the adrenaline fuelled PierZip, the world’s first pier to shore zip wire! Also at Rock Reef there’s loads for kids to do including indoor climbing walls, indoor caving and high ropes – perfect for adventurous little ones!
Littlehampton, West Sussex
Littlehampton consists of two award-winning, sand and shingle beaches which are a great spot for families to set up camp on a summer’s day, specifically East Beach is great for kiddies. As the tide goes out the perfect sandcastle making sand will be revealed! Littlehampton is probably best known for its entertainment off the beach though and has a great child-friendly funfair, the world’s longest bench, Stage by the Sea and a miniature railway.
