Getting a beach and fish n’ chip fix in England

Anyone who knows me well, will know how much I miss the beaches in New Zealand. So, whenever I get an opportunity to see and smell fresh ocean air I jump at the chance!

I’ve been to the Cornwall area to get some chilly Easter ocean air, Brighton and Whitstable/Herne Bay for some stony sunny beaches and more recently Bournemouth for sun, sand and a WordPress conference.

Bournemouth is a nice area, warm and breezy in summertime and not too busy either. It definitely has a population, but it can be a nice reprieve from busy London in just two hours by train.

Each Friday in summer they let off fireworks by the pier which gives you reason to dip out of the pub at 10pm on a Friday night to see some pretty lights and colours in the sky.

While I didn’t get to walk on the sand or dip into the water this time around, I did manage to get my fix of fish n’ chips. The Goat and Tricycle pub did a stellar dish at a very reasonable price and they have a nice beer garden there, but unfortunately it is not that close to the ocean.

So, take two – next night I had to eat near the ocean. This brought me and a few of my new friends to Harry Ramsdens restaurant. Serving fish n’ chips for over 75 years I expected this place to be super. Excellent views right on the beachfront and pretty good fish n’ chips. I’m not one for the soggy English style chips that they have, but they were still tasty. (Note: I always leave the mushy peas, I don’t believe in that accompaniment.)

So there we have it, if you’re in need for a beachy weekend in the UK or for some decent fish n’ chips, Bournemouth could be an option. It has sand (rather than stones) and isn’t too cold which is a huge plus when it comes to UK beaches.

If you would like to hear about the WordPress conference I attended and presented at header over to my designack blog post: http://designack.com/review-wordcamp-bournemouth-2014/.