Beside the seaside: The best UK coastal resorts

Not long ago, Britain's coastal resorts were a byword for shabbiness and neglect. Now, says Oliver Bennett, they're some of the hottest destinations in the UK. We reveal how 12 of the best were put back on the map 9 Shell Island Merioneth

Last summer's heat wave was epic. And as the sun beamed down on Britain, it seemed like an excellent idea to take a holiday here. On the baking beaches of Cornwall, Dorset, Wales and Norfolk, you could hardly move for parents and their hoards of Boden-clad offspring. Self-catering cottages were booked out, B&Bs non-vacant, campsites crammed.

This year looks like another bumper summer, and hopefully Britain's traditional seaside towns will benefit. For they deserve a break. Around the country, there are coastal resorts that were once tourist honeypots, which have come through a testing time in the last few decades. After the 1960s, as generations of Britons began to choose Marbella over Margate, our homespun resorts faded. Beaches became deserted. Donkey rides dried up. Once grand hotels had little choice but to cater for the welfare-dependent.

It was not just the competition from overseas package holidays that did for them, but poor transport links and even the local government reorganisation of 1974. Lack of investment didn't help. "The problems go back to the 1990s and beyond," says Peter Hampson of the British Resorts and Destinations Association, which represents 60 British resorts, including many coastal towns. "The seaside towns have sorely needed development for years. No-one wants to come to a place that's worse than their own home town."

So forsaken were these struggling resorts that last year, a report by the Communities and Local Government select committee recommended that the Government do more to help. "If you were to study a map of deprivation you would find pockets all around the coast" says Fred Gray, author of Designing the Seaside, published last year. Great Yarmouth, Bridlington, Margate, Folkestone, Morecambe, Bexhill-on-Sea, Lerwick, New Brighton, Skegness, Rhyl, even Blackpool. Such towns conjured a coastal world of lost leisure that was yet to find a new role. Hastings particularly became a byword for a tendency that became known as "dole-on-sea". With an end-of-the-line decrepitude, fashion had left them stranded.

But now in many of these resorts, there is a mood of renewal, and VisitBritain, the UK's tourism agency, is understandably delighted. " Britain's beaches and seaside resorts have been going through a transformation in recent years," says chief executive Tom Wright. " Feedback from the industry indicates that seaside destinations have been growing in popularity with domestic visitors recently."

There are various factors driving this rediscovery of the British resort. The good weather helps, as does a dollop of baby-boomer nostalgia. " There are a huge number of domestic tourists who have fond memories of their own seaside breaks, and as they grow older want to recreate this with their own families," adds Wright. There is an expectation that environmental concern will help British tourism, as holiday-makers eschew the airport and head off on carbon-friendly British breaks.

Equally, it is apparent to many that Britain's tourism industry, previously of curmudgeonly mien, is upgrading beyond greasy chips, 99 Flakes and grotty arcades. "We've definitely noticed a bit of a boom," says Alistair Sawday, publisher of The British Bed and Breakfast Guide, "The whole proverbial rude Blackpool landlady has long gone."

The move from dwindling bucket-and-spade markets to a more cultural and foodie market has helped to drive the change, and towns have responded with series of policy reports bearing titles such as "Shifting Sands" and "Turning the Tide". Public-realm work has helped lure private investment to the benefit of the old resorts. Earlier this week in Weston-Super-Mare, I saw a building site on the town's historic Knightstone Island. In Weymouth a couple of weeks ago, the town was abuzz with chat of how it will benefit from being the venue (with Portland) of the sailing events for the London Olympics 2012.

Gentrification has already had an effect in certain towns, often helped by far-sighted entrepreneurs. Padstow's renaissance owes much to Rick Stein, while Whitstable in Kent became a exemplar of the gentrified seaside town over a decade ago when the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company started a restaurant in the picturesque old Oyster Stores, complete with upturned boat outside. Folkestone's current regeneration plan is driven by Roger De Haan, who created the Saga group, and is now involved in reinvigorating his home-town with a Sculpture Triennale to be held in June next year, a City Academy opening this September in a £40m Foster & Partners building, and a "creative quarter" nearby.

It's interesting how residents of these traditionally conservative seaside town have responded to, and actively encouraged, even the most challeging contemporary architectural projects.

Take Littlehampton, where the East Beach Café ­ a kind of oyster-shell-textured cave ­ by fêted designer Thomas Heatherwick ­ is just about to open. "Heatherwick responded to the brief like no other architect," says Jane Wood who commissioned the café, "and he got the job. But I must admit the first time I looked at the design I thought, oh, my God, how are we going to get that through planning? In fact, people love it. We only got letters of support." Tom Wright of VisitBritain agrees, citing a new generation of "dynamic attractions and innovative, contemporary architectural projects" as being crucial to this new perception of the British seaside. The food and drink expectation also helps, and following the game-raising efforts at Whitstable and Padstow, came Jamie Oliver's branch of Fifteen at Watergate Bay in north Cornwall and Damien Hirst's restaurant, 11 The Quay, in Ilfracombe. Meanwhile Bridport and West Bay in Dorset is ­ perhaps absurdly ­ being called "Notting Hill-on-Sea", renowned for its seafood.

There are signs that the populace is being renewed, too. Although many of our seaside resorts have become retirement zones ­ and nothing wrong with that ­ others are attracting younger incomers. Bournemouth is aiming for the "stockbroker surfer" market with plans to build an artificial surf reef at Boscombe. Scarborough's Spa Complex is being cleaned up and the town promises an "urban renaissance" ­ one of half a dozen multi-million-pound projects happening around the UK coast.

This optimistic mood means that the resorts are offering new pursuits, sometimes alongside the old kiss-me-quick gimcrackery. Morecambe now promotes itself as a place for bird-watching, and its architectural jewel, Oliver Hill's Art Deco Midland Hotel, is to reopen after a refurbishment led by fashionable developers Urban Splash. Skegness ­ famously " bracing" in John Hassall's 1908 "Jolly Fisherman" poster ­ is doing well in the short breaks market. Rhyl has a £3.8m project called Drift Park, five themed gardens and an open-air theatre. Bridlington is re-building a £15m concert hall and theatre. Southport has had a £55m injection, and nearby, Antony Gormley's figures on Crosby Beach, collectively called Another Space, have been pulling the public in droves since they arrived in 2005.

Of course, allowing the seaside resorts to fall into decrepitude was always a waste of an amazing cultural and architectural heritage: the wrought-iron piers, the Art Deco lidos, the multicoloured lights twinkling along wide promenades. "All that Victorian and Edwardian heritage is wonderful," says Hampson. "But I think the regeneration works best when it is modern, and forward-looking. It renews the whole idea of these places."

Nonetheless, some of the old Eric Gill postcard seaside will remain. Blackpool Pleasure Beach is still the most visited attraction in England. "The great thing about our resorts is that they have can offer things on every level," says Hampson. "They were made for mass tourism, and I think they've got the capacity to take that idea to a whole new generation." s

The tide turns: Helen Brown on the towns that are making waves

1. Cromer, Norfolk

There's been a pier or jetty in various forms in the seaside town of Cromer on the north Norfolk coast since 1391. Severe storms in this highly exposed part of the UK has left the structure badly damaged on various occasions. Most recently however, it was a 100-tonne rig which collided with the structure and left it quite literally out to sea. Fortunately this provided a fine excuse for the local council to inject a bit of much-needed cash and today it survives in glorious form and continues to operate very much as it would have done in its heyday. If this isn't enough, there's always the blue-flag beach or the large, red Cromer crabs which the town is famous for.

2. Margate Kent

The fortunes of the Kent resort have ebbed and flowed since Turner produced seascapes there in the 19th century. Tourism dwindled and unemployment swelled in the second half of the 20th century, but recently Margate has made a comeback, not least thanks to local-girl-made-good Tracey Emin. There are plans for city-centre renewal and a new arts centre, The Turner Contemporary, designed by David Chipperfield. There's also the Shell Grotto, where, in 1835, one James Newlove lowered his young son, Joshua, into a hole in the ground. He emerged describing 70ft of winding passages leading to an oblong chamber, its walls decorated with strange symbols and mosaics.

3. Folkestone Kent

Severely damaged during both world wars, depressed Folkestone is now the beneficiary of a raft of development initiatives being rolled out by local boy and former Saga chairman, Roger De Haan. Look out for the all-new sculpture park, City Academy and "bohemian quarters". From the Leas promenade ­ a mile of manicured lawns ­ visitors can gaze across the Channel to France. Blue-flagged Sunny Sands beach is popular with families and sun worshippers, while the Lower Leas Coastal Park is for those who like to scramble about in the rock pools. A few miles west, you can picnic on the Romney Marsh, and hike across the nature reserve and solitary beaches at Dungeness. And don't forget to get your ticket for the classic mini Romney Hythe and Dymchurch steam railway.

4. Bexhill-on-Sea East Sussex

The site of the UK's first mixed-bathing beach, Bexhill-on-Sea was a popular resort from the 1890s. The ninth Earl De La Warr, Herbrand Sackville, persuaded the council to commission architects Eric Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff to create the De La Warr Pavilion -- the first example of modern architecture in a public building. With its vanilla-ice cream curves and sleek, subcontinent-influenced tower, the famous building opened in 1935, "just in time to be bombed" quipped Spike Milligan, who set an episode of The Goon Show there titled The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea. The recipient of a £6m restoration project, the Pavilion opened as a major contemporary arts centre in 2005. The town's two-mile promenade (where deck chairs can be hired out) is a good place for a stroll after a shopping trip in the town's lively centre.

5. Littlehampton East Sussex

With a population of 25,000, this East-Sussex seaside town recently seemed to be sinking further into coastal depression when its big annual regatta was cancelled, but the watersports event was saved this month and things are now on the up. The Thomas Heatherwick-designed East Beach Café is attracting design enthusiasts from across the country to admire its mumification by rollershutters, while nibbling on homemade crumpets and sipping proper coffee. The town also has a blue flag beach.

6. Weymouth Dorset

Popular with tourists for its wide sandy beach, the Dorset town is currently the focus of frenzied redevelopment as it prepares to host the 2012 Olympics sailing events. Work will include a new permanent slipway, more race-boat parking, and lifting and mooring facilities for use during the Games and afterwards. There are also plans for a new 560-berth marina at Osprey Quay which will include retail and industrial development and bring enormous social and economic regeneration to the area.

7. Bridport Dorset

This fishing port's long association with ropemaking led to the hangman's noose being nicknamed "a Bridport dagger". But today you're more likely to find it full of sabatiers and cheesewires. Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall helped put the rich wholesome food of the Jurassic Coast on the map with his River Cottage series, and lately it's been dubbed "Notting Hill on-Sea". Whatever, the views from Bridport harbour are gorgeous ­ whether gazing across the fossil beaches and the remains of the old jetty or perusing the menus of local lobster and scallops.

8. Ilfracombe Devon

The site of St Nicholas' Chapel (built 1361 and reputed to be the oldest working lighthouse in the UK) has seen more than its fair share of deprivation over the past 20 years, but things have changed recently. There's now a famous farmers' market, a literary group and, of course, Damien Hirst's 11 The Quay restaurant, with its curved window-framed views across brooding sunsets. Perhaps Hirst was drawn there by its eccentric museum, which opened in 1932 and gained early fame for its pickled bats and two-headed kitten.

9. Shell Island Merioneth

Also known as Mochras, this increasingly trendy peninsula (only connected to the mainland by a causeway when the tide is out) is an invigorating mixture of "wild camping" (ie a long walk to the loos) and festival-party atmosphere. Aside from spectacular views across Cardigan Bay, visitors will be wowed by the mollusc and crustacean casings for which the place is famous. It also makes a great base for exploring the Snowdonia National Park and trekking up those dark, brooding mountains. It's important to remember to bring the right gear along, as the rescue teams are constantly exasperated at the hoardes of tourists thinking they can scale to the summits in T-shirts and flip flops. And, if you do make it down, there's always a Welsh cream tea, with a buttered slice of fruity bara brith to be found.

10. Crosby Beach Merseyside

This flat, wet sloop of sand stretches from Seaforth docks to the south ­ where it separates the sea from the marina ­ up beyond the coastguard station in Blundellsands and on to the estuary of the River Alt. It was often utterly desolate on murky days, but now tourists and locals flock to see artist Antony Gormley's spectacular installation of 100 iron men. Each figure is 189cm tall (nearly 6ft2in), weighs around 650kg and was cast in the image of Gormley's own body. "When I have been down on the beach, the majority of people have been intrigued, amused and sometimes very moved," he says. The figures were originally intended to be relocated across the Atlantic last year, but it looks like local support will see them permanently standing and disappearing in the Crosby tides. It is possible that some of the tranquility may be shattered by the building of a multi-million pound watersports centre nearby.

11. Morecambe Lancashire

Morecambe has been declining over the past few decades, losing both its piers and being subjected to a dreadful renovation moment when Noel Edmonds attempted to plant his Crinkley Bottom theme park there in the mid-1990s. It closed only 13 weeks after opening, with the ensuing "Blobbygate" scandal leading to a legal battle between Lancaster City Council and Edmonds. But that's long been forgotten, and now a £6m restoration of the landmark Midland Hotel, pier and pavilion should bring back some glamour to the town. Built in 1933, the hotel was the first Art Deco hotel to be built in Britain, and in its heyday attracted the wealthy middle classes. It's now in the hands of hip design company Urban Splash.

12. Lerwick Shetland Isles

Lerwick's 1830s waterfront and pier is virtually unrecognisable following a £10m refurbishment, which includes a bold new museum and local archive. Beyond Lerwick, the Shetland Isles offer some of the most dramatic and unspoilt scenery in the UK. Aside from the ruins of Scalloway Castle, there are always the fabulously isolated old crofters houses and wonderfully craggy clifftops which go on for miles, and are populated by guillemots, puffins, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars. Wildlife fans are pretty much guaranteed a close encounter of some sort, with common and grey seals are there in large numbers all year round. And they really do sing in unearthly mournful moans.