Seaside Treats

I grew up in Torquay and sent most of my childhood and teens on various beaches. I loved swimming and splashing in the waves. Then buiding huge sandcastles and watching the sea wash them away. And then eating our picnic...
usually covered in sand. And always an ice cream.

Macallum anyone??

Ice cream with raspberry sauce on top......

As change from the beach we would walk inland across the fields to a farm where the farmers wife would give us milk frothy and warm straight from the cow.

Margate for me... I had a gran near there and visited her all thru childhood and until she died. Great fish and chip shop, a bit of a walk with a 'special' bag to carry home booty... then there was the polystyrene box that fitted a block of icecream for Sunday treat. She had no fridge until 1970's. So icecream in its box was put in cellar til needed. Milk was kept in pail of water at back door. Another treat was to go to nearby pub and get a bottle of perry, I presume non alcoholic!

We lived in Ireland then so there were all the great sweets not available at home such as spangles, maltesers, mars bars, topics etc.

Margate had a place called Dreamland for big dipper etc and the seafront lined with cafes ... ah yes candy floss, knickerbockerglories

I loved candy floss, which my mother hated and could never be persuaded to let us have, as it left dirty marks round our mouths.

We had an uncle who could be persuaded to treat us to it though.

My treat was just the sound of crashing waves and seagulls calling.
It still is.

Fish and chips. They always taste better at the seaside.

I enjoyed all your posts and they brought back many memories of my own. One of yours about Barry Island made me think of this
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1wHVKRq8E8&list=RDh1wHVKRq8E8&start_radio=1

Oh the ice cream wafers! But only my dad was allowed to eat ice cream like that!
What about the shell shaped wafers from the ice cream van ?
We used to go on caravan holidays on the East coast - there always seemed to be someone that we borrowed/ rented a caravan from and can still remember the smell of the gas lights , certain songs on the radio (no tv) , those pull down beds or making a bed up from the dining table/seating! Sterilised milk and those little boxes of cereal.
Our treats were a bucket and spade ( pocket money was spent on those little paper flags on sticks) and of course a kite - that never lasted longer than the holiday !

Banana splits at Barry island S. Wales
Ice cream soda, when visiting my grandmother in Cardiff happy days ?

"CHERRYTREE" We used to buy pineapple tarts in Fergussans restaurant in Glasgow before buying my school winter coat in Goldbergs.+

Knickerbocker glory, candy floss, and a bag of chips.

Freshly made ring doughnuts at Blackpool's fairground followed much later with strawberry and icecream at Pablo's Icecream Parlour. Early 1950's Sunday outing treats.......hmmm

Sharps banana split toffee. 3d a bar which took hours to stretch, chew and eat. Did my teeth no good at all, but I can still taste it.

Hockings ice cream
Candy floss

After a day on the beach, a knickerbocker glory in Bobby's, Bournemouth! A rare treat but very memorable.

Buckets and spades were made of metal and wood in those days, not plastic.

Oh, and I had a little sailing boat with a long piece of string, used to 'sail it' on the sea.

I have a photo of me 'sailing' my boat, wearing my knitted swimsuit.

We always had a summer holiday, even though we didn't have much. I can remember that every morning mum would send us with my Dad to the beach, and she would follow us down at lunchtime with flask of soup, sandwiches and drinks. What I most remember though is my Older Sister, loved swimming and they always had trouble getting her out of water to go back to our flat for tea.

My dad has a photo of me entered into some kind of god awful "beauty" (I say the word very loosely) competition at Butlins. I was never a beauty or even remotely cute. I am about 5 years old and have very short hair (probably courtesy of my dads razor) and all the others contestants have long hair and I am wearing a hand me down bridesmaid dress. My number is upside down and I look like a complete dope !

We lived in Southport but went on holiday to either the North Wales coast (Gronant/Talacre) and had fabulous fresh meat pies baked in a little bakery on The Warren or... We went to Mablethorpe on the east coast and had wonderful sugar ring donuts and a pot of tea on the lovely sands near Trusthorpe. My grandparents and extended family were always with us, happy, happy days. Wherever we went though we had what always seemed to be the best fish and chips in newspaper.

Fish and chips in newspaper from Frankie’s near the beach in South Shields where my granny lived,just the best

Gaunt, what a wonderful thread, thank you ??

Egg and cress butties, but they had to be cut in half and wrapped in foil so when you got them out they were sort of floppy.

Candyfloss! Pink on a stick. I still love it and now that we live by the coast I buy it whenever I get the chance.

Eating chips out of newspaper walking along the seafront.

Crab sandwiches.

A Cream Tea on our last day before we went home.

Hazelgreen, that's funny - while you were enjoying the different English sweets on your holidays, we were excited by the Irish ones, big bars of Urney's chocolate, different iced lollies, Club Orange, et al in Donegal and West Cork.
One common thread here is that we all seem to agree that fish and chips tasted great at the seaside?!