The sad decline in small seaside resorts, on the East Coast of Yorkshire, England

"Withernsea pier was built with wood, steel and iron, back in 1877 at a cost of £12,000 and stood 1,196ft long. The admission price back then was 1 old penny.

In October 1880 the ship Saffron hit the centre of the pier taking out a 250ft section. This was repaired using just wood.

The Saffron was refloated and can now be found in the Withernsea Lifeboat Musem.

An unnamed ship then hit the end of the pier in February 1888, and then it was hit again by a Grimsby fishing boat this reduced the length of the pier to 300ft. In 1893 the Henry Parr hit the Pier and left just 50ft, then when the sea wall was replaced in 1903 the final 50ft was removed.

Today all that is left of the 1,196ft pier is the two towers that were at the front of the pier. There is a memorial at the front of the towers, where this information came form".

In my lifetime I have only known the old pier towers as a familar Withernsea landmark. 

The East Coast of Yorkshire, England has many small seaside resorts. Some such as Whitby, Scarborough and Bridlington still manage to attract a fair number of visitors during the year, especially the summer months. However many of the traditional Yorkshire seaside resorts of my childhood have all but vanished into the sea. In fact some are actually in danger of disappearing into the North Sea as coastal erosion, global warming and climate change takes hold.

Two small resorts that attracted their fair share of visitors in years gone by are Hornsea and Withernsea. As children of the past, whose travel was limited, these two resorts where often the destination for a day trip to the coast or even a two week stay in a caravan.

Amongst all of the modern changes which helped dig the graves of small seaside resorts such as these the main cause was the death of the East Coast train services. As Dr Beeching, in the sixties, cut train services up and down the countryhe sealed the fate of these two resorts.As children we would often travel to Hornsea or Withernsea by train. When we were very young it was on an uncomfortable steam train. Boy that makes me feel really old. We would often set off from one of the small sub railway stations, Botanic Gardens, in Hull. This was not really any nearer to us than the main, Paragon Station. However it was a little further down the line and so gave us a little more time to get ready. Both Hornsea and Withernsea stations were dead ends and I guess this was one of the reasons that they were closed.

Small seaside resorts on the south coast of England have flourished mainly because they still have train links. In the 21st Century most people have their own transport but it is just too late for many small seaside resorts. When Withernsea and Hornsea first lost their train services, transport links to these two towns were left in a sorry state. With less visitors various businesses went to the wall. Within a few years British people fell in love with foreign travel and suddenly had the means to satisfy this love affair.

Over the years these two resorts declined and planned improvements are perhaps too late. Still you never know as the British start to holiday in the UK again perhaps small places such as this will see an increase in visitor numbers.

Hubby and I would still visit Hornsea until a few years ago as there was a Pottery which had an attached Freeport selling goods. There was also plenty of other attractions on site. Ultimately the Pottery closed and there seemed little to attract us to this resort. Even for families there was little at Hornsea apart from the sea and the beach.

We had not visited Withernsea since our childhood and one day I had a yen to visit. We took the bus, the only option for those visitors that do not have a car. As children the excitement would arise as the bus approached Withernsea. The town has a decent sized Lighthouse and local children travelling on the Withernsea bus would strain their necks to be the first one to spot this pristine white tower in the distance. This lighthouse is unusual as it is situated well away from the coast. The adjacent museum is dedicated to one of Withernsea's most famous folk, actress Kay Kendall.

Withernsea had a hospital come convalescent home and I had visited as an Adult, when my Mum was having respite care there. This was in the early seventies and I had not looked around the town. However Withernsea's sea air has always had a reputation of being the freshest around. Suffice to say though, that as winds come off the North Sea it can be bracing.

As Hubby and I approached Withernsea on the Bus, one August day, we passed an old caravan park where my family and I would stay in the Summer holidays. Memories of the old railway carriage that had been converted into a sort of caravan came flooding back. The site now though holds a fishing club.

The last lap through the countryside that surrounds With, as it is called locally, seemed familiar and the town initially looked much as always, but it was not. We walked around the place in less than an hour and that included Fish and Chips, a look at the shops and a walk to the sea front.

The landmark towers are still situated almost on the beach at Withernsea. Even these though looked less resplendent. This was not just as I am more worldly now but due to changes on the beach. In an attempt to slow down coastal erosion the beach has been built up and so the towers in effect looked smaller. Years ago they stood high over the beach and to us looked magnificent.

After a walk along the front we realised that nothing was left of the attractions. The well kept flower beds and children's rides had all gone, the miniature golf and Valley Gardens looked sad and neglected and even With’s best Fish Restaurant was closed and in disrepair.

Despite the fact that the weather had been glorious when we left home a sea mist was covering the beach at Withernsea and there was a distinct lack of visitors.

As we stood on the promenade Hubby said to me “ look to the left and the right and tell me what you see?”.

I did not know what he meant but looked both ways and strained my eyes to see what he had observed.

I said “Nothing”.

“Exactly” he said “Shall we go home?”

The journey on the bus had taken us a couple of hours in total to get there and within 11/2 hours we were on the bus heading home. It was sad to think of all the attractions that Withernsea held in the past and its sorry demise now.

Still as I have said there are plans in the offing. Let’s just hope they are not too late. When we visited Withernsea it looked closed to visitors and this could be its future, unless this town fights back.