A beach hut (also known as a beach cabin, beach box or bathing box) is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, changing into and out of swimming attire and for the safe storing of some personal belongings. Some beach huts incorporate simple facilities for preparing food and hot drinks by either bottled gas or occasionally mains electricity. [1]
At many seaside resorts, beach huts are arranged in one or more ranks along the top of the beach. Depending upon the location, beach huts may be owned privately or may be owned by the local council or similar administrative body. On popular beaches, privately owned beach huts can command substantial prices due to their convenient location, out of all proportion to their size and amenity. A pre-war wooden beach chalet at West Bexington, Dorset sold at auction for £216,000 in 2006, [2] and a beach hut on Mudeford Spit sold for £170,000 in 2012, where prices have risen above £270,000 by 2017. [3] However these were exceptional as in both cases overnight stays were possible. [4] Prices in 2009 for typical huts around the UK started from £6,000 in Walton on the Naze and typically up to £35,000. [5] In January 2016, a beach hut was sold in Brighton, Victoria, Australia for a record $285,000.
An April 2021 report provided an update on this category: "the average asking price for a beach hut in Britain has shot up from £25,578 to £36,034" in a single 12-month period. [6]
Today there are believed to be around 20,000 beach huts in the U.K. Locations where beach huts can be seen include Lowestoft, Southwold, Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea, Abersoch, Langland Bay, Rotherslade, Rustington, St Helens, Isle of Wight, Tankerton Slopes and Mersea Island. Locations in other countries include Wimereux, France, spectacular colorful picturesque in Cape Town, South Africa, Nesodden, Norway and Brighton and elsewhere around Port Phillip, Australia.
Holhuashi are small Maldivian resting places usually found only in the Maldives. These small beach huts can be found near beaches or harbours. [7]
The noted bathing boxes at Brighton in Australia are known to have existed as far back as 1862. [8] The bathing boxes are thought to have been constructed and used largely as a response to the Victorian morality of the age, and are known to have existed not only in Australia but also on the beaches of England, France and Italy and Cape Town at around the same time. [9]
They had evolved from the wheeled bathing machines used by Victorians to preserve their modesty. George III gave royal approval to the new fashion when he took a medicinal bath at Weymouth to the musical accompaniment of 'God Save the King', while Queen Victoria installed one at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight in the 1840s.
Felixstowe in Suffolk is believed to have had beach huts from at least 1891. [10]
In the early 20th century, beach huts were regarded as "holiday homes for the toiling classes", but in the 1930s their image revived, George V and Queen Mary spent the day at a beach hut in Sussex, and other owners have included the Spencer family and Laurence Olivier. [4] During World War II all UK beaches were closed, the reopening in the late 1940s and 1950s led to resurgence of the British beach holiday and the heyday of the Beach Hut.
While many beach huts were former fishermen's huts, boat-sheds or converted bathing machines, some of the earliest purpose built beach huts in the UK were erected at Bournemouth, either side of Bournemouth Pier in 1909[ citation needed ]. Designed by F. P. Dolamore, Bournemouth's Borough Engineer, they were offered for hire for £12 10s[ clarification needed ] per year. Before World War I, 160 huts styled like bungalows were initially built. Today, Bournemouth features around 520 Council-owned and 1200 privately-owned huts. Their style varies from traditional, wooden, shed-like constructions to ultra-modern concrete terrace huts such as the 1950s Overstrand beach huts at Boscombe. These redesigned by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway, founders of the Red or Dead label, as Beach Pods for the Surf Reef opened in Autumn 2009.
The Queen's beach hut in Norfolk, England, had been owned by the Royal Family for 70 years and was known to be much loved by the Queen before its destruction in a fire in 2003.
Artist Tracey Emin sold her Whitstable beach hut to collector Charles Saatchi for £75,000. [4] This hut was also destroyed by fire when the warehouse where it was stored burnt down. [11]
In April 2011, Bournemouth Council obtained planning permission to site a beach hut "chapel" on the sand to host wedding and civil partnership ceremonies. The "super beach hut" is located on Bournemouth's beach under the West Cliff lift. [12]
The Truck Surf Hotel is a five-room bed-and-breakfast built onto a truck, which serves the surfing community by moving from beach to beach along the coasts of Portugal and Morocco in a weekly cycle. [13] [14] [15]
Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, including New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Surf lifesavers in Australia are colloquially known as "Clubbies".
Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 11 miles (18 km) south of Lowestoft, 29 miles (47 km) north-east of Ipswich and 97 miles (156 km) north-east of London, within the parliamentary constituency of Suffolk Coastal. At the 2021 Census, the population was 950.
The bathing machine was a device, popular from the 18th century until the early 20th century, to allow people at beaches to change out of their usual clothes, change into swimwear, and wade in the ocean. Bathing machines were roofed and walled wooden carts that rolled into the sea. Some had solid wooden walls, others canvas walls over a wooden frame, and commonly walls at the sides and curtained doors at each end.
A seaside resort is a city, town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements such as in the German Seebad. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.
Felixstowe is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 72 miles (116 km) northeast of London.
Walton-on-the-Naze is a seaside town on the North Sea coast. It is part of the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district in Essex, England. The town is located north of Clacton and south of the port of Harwich; Frinton-on-Sea lies to the south of the town. The town has a population of 12,054, according to the 2011 census; in 1931, the parish had a population of 3,071. The town attracts many visitors; The Naze and the pier are the main attractions.
Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne.
Brighton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Bayside local government area. Brighton recorded a population of 23,252 at the 2021 census.
Torquay is a seaside resort in Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point Danger and Zeally Bay. At the 2021 census, Torquay had a population of 18,534.
Bundoran is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy since the 18th century. Bundoran is a surfing destination and was listed by National Geographic magazine in 2012 as one of the world's top 20 surf towns.
Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 17 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Manly has a long-standing reputation as a tourist destination, owing to its attractive setting on the Pacific Ocean and easy accessibility by ferry.
Felixstowe railway station is the eastern passenger terminus of the Felixstowe Branch Line, in the east of England and is the only surviving station serving the coastal town of Felixstowe, Suffolk. It is 15 miles 51 chains (25.2 km) down the line from Ipswich and 84 miles 30 chains (135.8 km) measured from London Liverpool Street; the preceding station on the line is Trimley. Its three-letter station code is FLX.
Sea bathing is swimming in the sea or in sea water and a sea bath is a protective enclosure for sea bathing. Unlike bathing in a swimming pool, which is generally done for pleasure or exercise purposes, sea bathing was once thought to have curative or therapeutic value. It arose from the medieval practice of visiting spas for the beneficial effects of the waters. The practice of sea bathing dates back to the 17th century but became popular in the late 18th century. The development of the first swimsuits dates from the period as does the development of the bathing machine.
Pullman trains in Great Britain were mainline luxury railway services that operated with first-class coaches and a steward service, provided by the British Pullman Car Company (PCC) from 1874 until 1962, and then by British Railways from 1962 until 1972. Many named mainline service trains have subsequently used the word 'Pullman' in their titles, but most of these have been normal trains with increased first-class accommodation. Since 1982 however, some railtours have been operated by companies using Pullman coaches dating from the 1920s to 1950s to recreate the ambience of the heyday of Pullman travel.
Boatsheds are generally lockable wooden sheds, often brightly colored, that were originally built to securely store small private boats and bathing materials directly on beaches. They are similar in appearance to beach huts, with the main difference being an integrated boat launching ramp directly to the beach. Many boatsheds also incorporate heavy-duty winches, which are used to winch a boat up from the water and back into the boatshed.
Mudeford is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England, fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach.
The Brighton Fishing Museum is a registered independent museum established in co-operation with the local fishing community in 1994. This museum is dedicated to Brighton's fishing and seaside history. It is located a short distance to the west of Brighton Pier within an area known as the Fishing Quarter, occupying two of the arches on the Kings' Road, which runs along Brighton's beachfront. Admission is free and donations appreciated.
North Beach Precinct is a heritage-listed precinct at Cliff Road, North Wollongong, City of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It includes North Wollongong Beach, the North Beach/Wollongong Bathing Pavilion, Puckey's Salt Works, the Tram Cutting, Battery Park and Smiths Hill. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 17 June 2005.
The Brighton Bathing Boxes are 93 beach huts on Dendy Street Beach in Brighton, Victoria, Australia, in the City of Bayside. They are a significant tourist attraction for the area. In November 2019 a bathing box was sold for $340,000 and historically they have been valued at about 15% of the median Brighton house price.
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