Bridlington (England)

...do during the day.
Bridlington has it all!


Why choose Brid?
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Brid (as it is commonly abbreviated to) has a vast range of accomodation to choose from that will suit all types of travelling groups. Self catering flats to guest houses to hotels, camp sites and caravan parks. Just outside the resort are the council run South Cliff caravan park and South Shore holiday village. To the north, Thornwick ...
.../> Accessibility
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Bridlington lies in East Yorkshire close to the North Yorkshire border. Its illustrious neighbour Scarborough lies 18 miles north and is approximately 30 north of the city of Hull, therefore 34 miles from me! To give a perspective, it is 40 miles or so east of York.
Nearest motorway is the M62, some 45-50 miles away! So a good route planner is required to get you along all the country roads.
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Scenic views, divers attractions, thriving nighttime, enough to see and do during the day.
Bridlington has it all!

Why choose Brid?
==============
Brid (as it is commonly abbreviated to) has a vast range of accomodation to choose from that will suit all types of travelling groups. Self catering flats to guest houses to hotels, camp sites and caravan parks. Just outside the resort are the council run South Cliff caravan park and South Shore holiday village. To the north, Thornwick Bay Caravan village at Flamborough and Reighton Sands Holiday village.
A Victorian resort that retains its Victorian charm. Anyone who has yet to sample the delights of Brid are truly missing something and I hope to highlight the best bits in this op!

Accessibility
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Bridlington lies in East Yorkshire close to the North Yorkshire border. Its illustrious neighbour Scarborough lies 18 miles north and is approximately 30 north of the city of Hull, therefore 34 miles from me! To give a perspective, it is 40 miles or so east of York.
Nearest motorway is the M62, some 45-50 miles away! So a good route planner is required to get you along all the country roads.
It is advisable to stick to the A15, A165 from the south, A614 or A166 from the west or the A165 and A64 from the north. It is well signposted though, being a primary destination.
If not travelling by road, Bridlington lies on the Hull to Scarborough rail line and also has connections to York.

Main Attractions
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Beach
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Understandably, need and use of attractions will vary from group to group. There are miles and miles of award winning sandy beaches, divided in to by the harbour. The south beach has the breathtaking South Promenade, ideal for families as modern beach huts can be hired for that sunny day on the front. The North beach is slightly more inaccesible for the less able as there are steep steps down the sea wall onto the sands. It is more secluded due to the high walls but you cannot get away from the sound of the seafront funfair here. It does however has a breathtaking panoramic view of the cliffs past the village of Sewerby round to Flamborough Head.
You can take a cliff top walk which is by far the safer option!
Both beaches are patrolled by lifeguards during high season.
Both beaches have blue flags awarded.

Harbour
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Brid's harbour is,like the beaches, essentially split in two. The town side has shops and eateries whilst the 'other' side has the working side of the harbour. You can ascend the flights of steps to see returning trawlers unload their catch if you can stand the smell! During the summer, the harbour wall is lined with anglers, amateurs and more serious, aiming to catch something other than floating drinks cans. If you do fish here, beware the weaver fish as it has a sting in its fins that is particularly nasty.
It is also possible to take a trip out into the bay on a speed boat or a pirate ship aimed at the little ones. Fors those slighly older, you can board the Yorkshire Belle and cruise to the Head and back or take a slightly longer cruise some evenings when tides allow.

Free Activities
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The front on Brid is a ramblers paradise. A quiet cliff top walk from the bustle of the harbour all the way to Sewerby village can be made. If you wish, a visit to Sewerby hall and Zoo can be had for the nominal £3.50 per adult. Nearby Bondville Minature Village is also worth a browse.
For those who take a liitle longer to recover from a long walk, you can get the Land train along the stretch from Leisure World to Sewerby.

Out and About
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Other attractions include the afore mentioned Leisure World, the Old town which is full of character and antiques shops, Old Penny Memories which is smack bang in the town centre allowing the current generation to see what kept holidaymakers amused in the 50's and 60's and it even has a sixties themed diner!
The 'Beside the Seaside' museum takes you on an informed trip through the centuries from when Brid was finding its feet to the current times. You can steer a boat through the harbour here and also play some old machines.
Beside the Seaside is fully accesible to the disabled with a lift to the upper floor and is a steal at £1.50 They suggest you allow 2 hours for your visit!
Old Penny Memories has free admission and you only pay if you play! The downer here is that it is housed in the Victorian front and has numerous steps to climb to gain entry.
One frequently overlooked jewel, in my opinion, is on the top floor of the department store, Boyes. Here is a small museum giving you an insight into how a shop worked at the turn of the 20th century. Well worth 15 minutes break from shopping in thos superb store and if you get hungry, the store cafe is just next to this museum!

Just outside Bridlington are the John bull rock Factory tour and shop at Carnaby and the Cruckly Animal farm. Also, Hornsea Freeport village is down the coast about 10 miles in the town of Hornsea.

Shopping
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The indoor Promenades shopping centre houses most of the recognised names, whilst Woolies and Marks n Sparks also have a prescence here. Independants are abundant including some local chains which include The Yorkshire Clothing Company and Boyes. The town centre is not too compact to see it all in 1 hour. A word of warning though, at least 4 independant shops have closed their doors since last season, including a quaint traditional tobacconists come gift shop where all the stock was kept in wooden drawers behind the counter. Another piece of golden shopping consigned to the history books.
If you go self catering, Tesco and Somerfield have stores and the Safeway store has just been converted to a Morrisons. Corner shops are still evident aswell but are starting to dwindle in numbers.

Entertainment
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The usual range of amusement arcades are found near the sea walls, and the seaside funfair. Plenty of pubs for the serious drinker and a first class entertainment venue in the Spa theatre. So highly rated that top name acts regularly visit including Ken Dodd and Daniel O'Donnell. they also host the big autumn Darts championships that are live on the telly.
Those who like a gamble other than the odd ten pence in a slot machine, there is a Gala Bingo hall in the town centre. Any non members will have to join 24 hours before they want to play though.

Accommodation
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As said earlier, plenty of choice whether you self cater of want pampering! We go self catering and find it increasingly difficult to find a flat for 5 people where 3 of the party are walking inpared, 2 in electric scooters and 1 in a wheelchair! The best area for Wheelchairs in around the North bay, mainly Trinity road and Vernon Road areas. The south Bay has holiday accomodation in abundance and many places also offer you the chance to hire mobility scooters if you wish.
If you want the beach and amusements, stay in the North bay area. For the Spa theatre and touring, choose South beach.

Parking
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A big Bee in the Bonnet this one!
During the winter, which the East riding Council decree is October to March for Parking, it is 50p per hour in council parks. In the summer, this rises to 70p per hour. Up to date charges can be found at the council's website; www. east-riding.gov.uk

There is a no longer a free park as the council, in their infinate wisdom(!), has decided to put a flat rate of £2 per day on this previously well used site. It is located on Quay Road, near the Level Crossing. If you travel from town, go towards the station, over the crossing them immediate right by the car showroom.
If you are entering from Hull or York (or from Scarborough via external ring road/bypass) negotiate all roundabouts you encounter, but after the B&Q roundabout, there will be a set of lights. Turn left here, over the bridge to another roundabout. Take 3rd exit signposted Town Centre and follow the road. Just before the level crossing, after passing the car showroom, turn left signposted long stay parking and Hey Presto, toll free parking!!!

In the harbour area, the council car park and the harbour car park are side by side so you need to ensure you buy your ticket from the right machine otherwise you will receive a slightly more expensive ticket!

On street parking is allowed in certain areas although there is now a controlled parking zone (CPZ). This zone is about to be extended to include some streets that house popular holiday flats and guest houses.
According to the council, residents only can apply for a permit. To ensure this, one rule is that you need to be resident in the property in the zone. There is an initial free period of 1 hour on the affected streets, then the charge kicks in. Try to find a car park as this would be cheaper, just! If you are unfortunate to stay over the hour in the CPZ it will cost you, from this year (2005) as the council has in their infinate wisdom decided to raise it from £25, it is now £60 PER DAY. Yes, that is not a typing error, to park on the street in the town centre for more than an hour will set you back £60. But fear not if you are staying in a guest house or holiday flats. At the beginning of your stay, ask the proprietor about a guest permit. They will ask for a few details and enter your car registration on a scratchcard style permit. The date of purchase is scratched off and the card valid for a week. The cost is just 100 which, when told I thought was reasonable considering £60 over 7 days equals £360, so £100 i thought was good even though it would cost less but inconvenience more to park in council parks. Then I was told the true cost, 100 PENCE. The same price as a lottery scratchcard. At last, a scratchcard that has come up trumps for me!!!!

If you are on a day outing, the coach must have a permit to enter the town centre, otherwise it will have to drop off and pick up from the coach park near the train station, a good 5 minutes walk from the main shopping street and 10 minutes from the harbour.

The Future?
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Nothing would radically change Brid's victorian charm, could it?
There are plans for a marina that would dramatically alter the harbour area and include plans to refurbish the Spa theatre. New car parking spaces are desperately needed (see below) and my humble opinion would see the fairly new shopping centre being redeveloped with a car park on top to alleviate parking problems, to a certain extent. The old chapel near the centre has just fallen down, could this see a new shop there? time will tell on all of these!

The coucil seem to be doing their best to deter visitors to the resort. if you don't beleive me when I say that, look at the car park charges and the fact buses need permits to enter the town centre streets to drop off and pick up its excited and exhausted day trippers. The sooner East Riding of Yorkshire council look after visitors, the sooner its parking revenue will increase and business rates too from increased businesses in the town wanting a piece of the action.

Other Relevent Info
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I have included this just incase I have missed anything!

Best website to see if Brid is for you is www.visitbrid.co.uk and you can request a brochure from here.
The town got a gold award in the Britain in Bloom award for the seaside town category in 2004 and it is no surprise when the town was at its glorious floral best when we took our hols last August.
Bridlington is the ideal base to explore the surrounding area. Not too far away are the racecourse at Beverley for hardened gamblers and Heartbeat country north of Scarborough. Don't forget that 'The Royal' is filmed in parts of Bridlington and Scarborough.

If you do visit the town by car, come early as all the town centre parks fill very quickly (You are looking at full parks around 9.30 am on a sunny Sunday in season in the popular areas, and I am not kidding!)

I hope that I have not spoiled any planned visit to this beautiful town and surrounding countryside, but I have got to try and sell it to you haven't I!?!
We have been going to Brid for our annual hols for 4 years now and have always visited on day trips for years since the Humber Bridge opened.
Come and have a look for yourselves, the Yorkshire folk make all visitors very welcome.

Thanks for reading - enjoy Brid!! 

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