SWANAGE has been declared the fourth best seaside resort in Britain,by Which? magazine.A mixture of laid-back atmosphere, dramatic scenery and Blue Flag beaches has earned Swanage its spot in the top 10."Saucy postcards and penny slot machines evoke the past on the restored Victorian pier," the article continues.
"And boat trips run to the soaring Old Harry Rocks or further afield to Bournemouth, Poole or Brownsea Island. The Durlston Country Park trails offer stunning views, as well as a chance to spot bottlenose dolphins."
The top spot in the Which? poll went to Whitby in Yorkshire.
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So if they like it so much Keith where are they all? The Which report was very contradictory and based on personal opinion. We all agree Swanage is quaint, but take this quote: "For every resort riding a wave of renewal, with funky bars, trendy restaurants and boutique hotels, there’s another stuck in the doldrums of ageing infrastructure, tacky amusements and uninspiring B&Bs." So how bad are the others? Remember Which? Guides (Good Food Guide etc) do not see fit to recommend a single B&B in the Town, not an hotel or pub, and Swanage doesn't even get a full listing for a restaurant. Modernity is not an issue. Tourists travel many miles to visit the modern, take the Spinnaker in Portsmouth for example. It’s getting the Town off its backside and marketing the place which is necessary.
With regard to the last comment, I don't know how you get the Town off its backside, but 'marketing the place' is easy, as I prove with the Blues Festival. Consider this:
Swanage Tourist Information Centre said: "The Blues Festival increased visitor numbers tremendously. This year on the 4th March we had over 650 visitors to the tourist information centre... comparable to a busy day in August"
The participating venues that put on live music over the festival were packed both Friday and Saturday evenings, with the Kings Bar's extra sessions bringing it crowds throughout Saturday and Sunday afternoons too. "Like New Year's Eve,” reported the Dorset Echo, "on a weekend out of season when they would otherwise have been virtually empty."
How much did the hotels and guest houses make out of it, the restaurants, take-aways, shops etc? (One lady alone told me she had spent £50 on secondhand books.)
Why do I do it? To thank the town for being so kind to me when I moved here five years ago, not to make a profit myself. In fact this year (when the various contributors pay up), I will break even. Last year I lost £105.
But at least I prove that it is possible - for one person working from home on his own.
Perhaps all those businesses that stand to make money out of a busy Swanage should get together and pay somebody to make it busy.
Nick please dont insult the hard working B&B/ resturant and pub owners tehres a lot of quality establishments in this town (agreed some c**p ones) some of the guides that these places could be in you have to pay for or have very strigent rules I know one place (not this town) that was marked down because they served home made marmalade/jam in a ramikin not little sachets and also the wastebins in the bedrooms were not upto standard... so praise these people dont give em a hard time.... or why not open a B&B yourself ?
seaside tat was not the original seaside fish n chips and penny arcades if im not wrong you used to get the charabang to the seaside for all those things so wheres the problem, perhaps we could turn everything into art galleries and internet shops, i will pass on your comments to the hard working people of these establishments... i do agree about the mess but thats down to 1) the people taking personal responsibility to look after the area 2) realistic cleaning by the council............. quick theres a pink elephant .... i think not so we dont have the jurrasic coast corfe castle near by lovely beaches, golf course, nice pier.. old harry just tat. nasty ehhhh
There isn't an original seaside in the sense of there being a single model of how a resort should market itself. Some resorts have always been cheap and cheerful and tried to pack in the maximum number regardless and others have aimed at a smaller and better off public. Swanage started off as the latter but has remorselessly positioned itself further and further downmarket with the results we now see.
No doubt this is all very egalitarian but it does have drawbacks. The last comment draws attention to the surrounding area, but that is precisely the point. Why cant Swanage attract the people who stay in thousand pound a week holiday lets in Worth? Because its brim full of kiss me quick tat.
StIves does OK out of art galleries. So do various resorts in France. Hay on Wye prospers on second hand books, an example being followed by Wigtown, north of the border. Its the cafes, b&bs, hotels and pubs that benefit. Does Swanage have what the marketing people call a unique selling proposition? Not a hope.
was having a chat with a guy tonight he said your so lucky living here we come down as much as possible, yes there are problems but its also a great place to live if you think its so negative bu**er off somewhere else, you could allways live in the spinickar tower. there seems a lot of people who want second/holiday homes here, so it cant be all bad. and when you are talking about a holiday location its unfair to just say swanage you have to include teh whole area, swanage is just somewhere to stay or camp and people do beleive it or not travel around when they are on holiday.
More art galleries. Splendid idea. Like St.Ives.
Keith Roker
Thank you, the Panglossian tendency, for reminding us that Swanage is the best of all possible places and has the best of all possible tat.
Improvement- impossible.
The fact that the average spend of day visitors to almost every location in Purbeck- even Kimmeridge- is higher than in Swanage- irrelevant. It couldn't be better.
Tell anyone who thinks we can do better to move away- brilliant.
swanage does ok just its beauty is just so great....... then again we better all close at 930 pm or the old farts in the new retirement flats will complain shhhhhhh dont enjoy your self or the horlicks will get knocked over tehe
we didn't even make it into the Idy's top 50 beaches.
I took a posters coments and walked from the stone jety to the mowlem it was a pleasnt walk pavements were fairly clean (why do people kep dogs) not a lot of liter it semed a reasonable smal seaside town. Varied shops and busineses. question for the poster who caled amusment arcades tacky, if the are so tacky why are they here..ie they are making money ergo they are sucesful can a lot of bussines in swanage say that? suply and demand ?
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