Brighton has come out on top and been crowned the UK’s most nostalgic seaside town by researchers at Buzz Bingo, following a new data index made up of nine qualities that make a town nostalgic. With search demand for ‘beach staycation’ up by 120% across the last 12 months, there’s a huge appetite for Brits visiting their favourite seaside this summer.
The data index was created by measuring each town’s quantity of the following: bingo halls, amusements (including arcades), seaside piers, fish and chip shops, ice cream shops, old fashioned sweet shops, retro cinemas, caravan parks and the number of seagulls identified by the number of times they were mentioned in TripAdvisor reviews at each location.
To create the final ranking, amusements and ice cream shops’ scores were given a 25% weighting of the overall score, and the other metrics shared the remaining 50% weighting equally to create an overall nostalgic score out of 100 and ranking.
Brighton is the most nostalgic seaside town in the UK
Brighton has once again secured its reputation as a staple seaside destination and is well-loved by all who visit. Its victory comes from its impressive array of nostalgic amenities: 14 amusement parks, 76 sweet shops, 83 fish and chip shops, 4 bingo halls and even 1 retro cinema. With a nostalgia score of 81, it’s hard for other towns to beat, with a full 20 points between first and second place. Watch out for the seagulls, though, as there have been 124 mentions of them in TripAdvisor reviews, and they’re not always the most friendly!
Blackpool misses out on the top spot and ranks second
When people think of old-fashioned seaside towns, Blackpool springs to mind. While it leads in amusements (21 venues), it falls short in other categories, with just nine ice cream shops and six bingo halls. The good news? With only 31 seagull mentions on TripAdvisor, your fish and chips from one of 72 restaurants are safer here.
Scarborough’s charm sees it ranked as the third most nostalgic seaside town
As the UK’s first seaside resort (dating to the 17th century), Scarborough earns its third-place ranking with three piers, five old-fashioned sweet shops, and Yorkshire’s oldest ice cream parlour, Alonzi’s Harbour Bar, serving since 1945 and is one of only two Northern seaside towns (the other being Whitby) to make it into the top ten ranking. With 121 reviews mentioning seagulls, and 73 fish and chip shops in total, there’s plenty of opportunity to enjoy a traditional meal whilst sharing your chips (willingly or not).
The seaside towns left behind
With the oldest ice cream parlour in the UK, which opened in 1932, Broadstairs seafront in Kent ranks 26th. Minehead ranks last, coming in at 37th place in the ranking. Despite only having one lot of amusements, two old-fashioned sweet shops, there are still 20 fish and chip shops and seven ice cream shops to fulfil the nostalgia element of a seaside trip here. There are also ten caravan parks, making it an ideal place for a seaside family trip.
