General Chat

I've never heard of Arnside :-S I just looked it up on the internet and it looks quite nice. I might have to pay the place a visit some time. ;-) It sounds like the sort of place Raymond Burr might go for his holidays. :-D

We get used to water splashing around beneath our feet in Somerset. ;-) Perhaps you could stick to the beach or promenade Amokavid. :-)

Oh I forgot Clevedon, yes lovely pier, ages since we went there though. Another very short pier mainly to walk on and sit is at Arnside.

it was the 2 brighton piers,that I and a cousin used to spend our time on ,used to go down by train on a Wednesday afternoon . mind you ,I am talking about 55years ago. (was I ever that young).

Yes, it is a lovely Victorian Pier....... 2 of the spans actually collapsed in 1970 during stress testing but after much local fund raising and heritage grants it was re-opened in 1989. I must say I did feel sorry for One Direction when they were filming on the pier, it was a really cold, windy day in March and they must have been really chilled. :-(

I like Clevedon. I haven't been there recently. John Betjeman called Clevedon Pier the most beautiful pier in England. :-)

We have a lovely pier here in Clevedon opened in 1869 and the only fully intact Grade 1 listed pier in the country. One Direction filmed their new video in March on the pier causing great excitement amongst the young ones :-D <3

I used to like walking on the wavy sand left behind once the tide went out, even though it hurt the arches on little feet.
I also liked standing on the little wormy mounds of sand.
Hated the left-behind Jellyfish !!
:-D

I like to stand on a pier when the tide's in and look between the floor boards and see the waves splashing about.

When the tide goes out you can barely see the sea here in Somerset; because it goes out so far. It's like somebody's pulled the plug out. :-)

What we call jetties here are usually small, simple piers that are used mainly for launching boats. Fishermen often use them as well. :-)

Before my mobility was restricted, I enjoyed visiting both Southend Pier and Brighton Pier, went on the amusements, played the machines, enjoyed an ice cream or two ;-), then a meal somewhere on the seafront.

But my favourite memory of seafronts, has to be, when I lived up home in Scotland, visiting Arbroath Harbour - you could buy an Arbroath Smokie (a type of smoked haddock) straight from the smoke pit, and enjoy eating it as you walked round the harbour, they even wrote a poem about them

To A Smokie

For haggis some wad live an’ dee,
For Cullen skink or partan bree,
For Athole brose or kedgeree,
Or hokey-pokey;
Gie me that treasure o’ the sea,
An Arbroath Smokie.

The end of ilka month’s first week,
To Doubledykes just see me streak,
The Farmers’ Market there to seek,
An’ in twa blinks,
I’ll hae a haddie at its peak,
Hot-smoked by Spinks.

First, heidless, gutless fish they wale,
Tied up thegither by the tail,
An’ hing them ower a wooden rail
That then they steek,
To cook them through, frae bane to scale,
In vats o’ reek.

Then frae the smoke the fish are whipped,
An’ each oot on the coonters tipped,
Whaur frae the flesh the banes are ripped
By fingers nifty,
Till ane inside my poke is slipped,
For twa pund fifty.

Mony there are wha canna wait,
But pree theirs in the market straight;
I like to set mine on a plate,
Warm frae the grill;
Then royally I dine in state,
An’ eat my fill.

O Smokie, when I see you there,
Your riggs o’ ripened meat laid bare,
An’ scent your fragrance on the air,
I bless them both:
The fisherfolk wha bring sic fare,
An’ thee, Arbroath!

The piers I am most familiar with are Blackpool and Llandudno.
We visited Blackpool a few years ago on a very windy day, so it wasn't the experience I had hoped for.
Llandudno pier is more of a childhood memory - we had a caravan in North Wales and a day out would nearly always involve a trek up to Happy Valley!! I seem to remember there was an outdoor show there.

Back at the caravan, I used to like climbing the sandhills, then running or rolling down again - and spent a good amount of time doing it :-S ....... I must have been really easy to please !! :-D

No pier near me.

As you can see on the pic on the left ~ that's where I live.

They're often called jetties in Oz.

:-D

My Favorite Pier is the Mornington Pier in Australia.
A Favorite fishing spot for many including me.
Brenda, you might like it while visiting Mornington.

http://www.discovermorningtonpeninsula.com.au/fascinatingfacts/mornington-pier.php

PS. They wrote a well known song about Mornington. It was "Morning Town"

Bill in Oz

I just remembered a time when I was young. I went on a school trip to Lulworth Cove in Dorset. After lunch we were told we were going to hike over a hill to get to Durdle Door. I persuaded this mate of mine that it would be quicker and easier to clamber over the rocks along the coast. Half way along we got cut off by the tide. We ended up climbing up a cliff face and dashing across somebodys garden. We got there just as our teacher was starting to look around for us. :-D :-D :-D

Fond memories. :-)

I used to love piers but it is many years since I have been on one. In the past living near Portsmouth and working just up the road from Clarence pier I visited Southsea pier and Clarence, used yo go to shows on Southsea pier. Also been on the piers at Blackpool, Paignton, southend, Eastbourne, Brighton, Bournemouth and Ryde.

I just love the seaside and walking on the beach or along the promenade. Love the rockpools and sitting people watching.

Westward Ho! is a bit run down these days :-( And there's no pier there; but the beach is okay. The best beaches in North Devon are at Saunton, Croyde Bay, and Putsborough. ;-)

There aren't any pleasure piers in North Devon. There's a pier in Ilfracombe; but it's just a big car park. :-S Although you can get boat trips from there to Lundy Island or cruises along the coast. ;-)

I grew up by the beach and loved every minute I spent down there.I never did like sand in my toes though.Rock pools were a big favourite finding all sorts and looking for coloured glass and shells amongst the shingle.
We often visited family in Bideford and spent many a happy day at Westward Ho!.That is where I had all the donkey rides.
As for Piers I think the only one I have ever been on is Southwold and that was just a couple of years ago.I really miss living near the sea.It must be a good couple of hours at least to get to the coast from where I live
, :-S

I spent some of my childhood near Portsmouth, so the 2 piers there are most familiar to me. South Parade is the 'posher' of the two and has suffered not one, but three fires. The most recent was in the 1970s during filming of 'Tommy'. Clarence Pier is more like a square, sticky-out bit than a long, elegant pier and houses the funfair. Many happy memories :-)

The last one I walked on was at Brighton, and that must have been over 20 years ago!

What do we like doing at the seaside? Probably sit on the prom or may be on the sand on our folding chairs and eat our sarnies and flasked coffee. If we're feeling energetic, we'll have a wander along the Front and may be buy an icecream.
(Sheesh - that makes us sound just like our parents!)

I live close to southend.... Last time I went on it to the end was 2003 which was also the anniversary of a fire that occurred that day, according to a plaque I read whilst there....At that time I was living in West Sussex so Brighton was also visited on nice days.... Yep used to like playing the machines

We get quite a few different birds on the beaches around here; oyster-catchers, curlews, sandpipers, even the occassional heron. :-)