Great Yarmouth South Beach

The southern stretch of Great Yarmouth's seafront is where the town actually feels like a proper seaside destination rather than a faded postcard. You get two miles of golden sand, the kind that stretches wide at low tide and gives you proper room to breathe - no shoulder-to-shoulder deckchair wrestling here.

It's a straightforward beach day: paddling, sandcastles, a walk along the promenade, maybe fish and chips from one of the numerous stands. The water's cold but swimmable in summer months. Families with young kids will find it busy enough in school holidays without feeling rammed in. Older children might get bored after a couple of hours unless they're the rock-pooling type.

There's no entrance fee - you just turn up. The seafront has proper facilities: toilets, cafes, amusement arcades if the weather turns grim. On a clear day you can see across to the horizon properly; on a grey day it's moody but still pleasant for a bracing walk.

For a park holiday, it works well. Haven Seashore Holiday Park sits just 2.5 miles north, Haven Hopton is 3.7 miles away, and several other Haven parks cluster within five miles. You're not marooned - the beach is a genuine draw rather than just something to fill an afternoon. The town centre has shops and restaurants within walking distance or a short drive, which takes some pressure off relying solely on park facilities. Worth building into a longer coastal break, though don't expect anything revolutionary.