People like to travel the world.....me being one.. But right on your doorstep are some great beaches..shame the sea is full of ****e mind.... Now if some mega moneyman was to invest a very large sum, and decided on making the sea front a place to visit, could it work, could he make a whole lot of money.......you have the air show, but what if there more... Now i was born in Fulwell, so used to spend a lot of time down the beach, but what could attract more people to it? ............................................................................... BEACHES on Wearside are today named as some of the best in the country. Keep Britain Tidy has announced the results of the annual Blue Flag and Quality Coast Awards and Roker and Seaburn beaches are on the list. The international scheme is run every year and acts as a guarantee to tourists and visitors that the beach they are visiting is of a high standard. It is awarded for high standards of water, facilities safety and the environment. Seaburn and Roker beaches both received Blue Flag awards. Phil Barton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: âWeâre absolutely thrilled that England has more Blue Flag beaches this year and we urge more holiday-makers to take advantage of the North Eastâs award-winning seaside resorts this summer. âItâs great to see that more beaches along our coastline have achieved high standards of excellence for visitors. âWith eight beaches in the region receiving both Blue Flags and Quality Coast Awards, what better way to holiday in the North East than to visit one of these award-winning beaches. âThe continuing high standards of our beaches are testament to the hard work carried out by beach managers throughout the year in order to provide clean and safe beaches for everyone to enjoy, whether you live on the coast or are a visitor.â Councillor John Kelly, Sunderland City Council cabinet member for culture, said: âIt is always great news for everyone in the city and all our many visitors that Blue Flags continue to fly proudly over both Roker and Seaburn beaches this summer. âThe Blue Flag is the internationally recognised benchmark standard for beaches and is based on accessibility, cleanliness and lifeguard services, as well as water quality. âThese flags also recognise the hard work of city council staff in maintaining the seafront and beaches for residents and visitors. âI think that everybody who respects and acts responsibly when theyâre at our seaside has also contributed to this yearâs Blue Flags. âThe announcement is particularly welcome as the council is continuing with its improvement works along the Roker and Seaburn seafront as part of the Seachange programme. âAdditionally, while we welcome the ratings and are proud of this high-profile recognition, we are not complacent. We work closely with the Environment Agency as it monitors our beaches and we continue to inspect the seafront every day of the year.â Other beaches in the North East that won Blue Flag awards were Seaton Carew, Sandhaven, Tynemouth King Edwards Bay and Longsands, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay. Across the country there were 142 award-winning beaches with 79 Blue Flags and 99 Quality Coast Awards
Since I moved back to Sunderland, have had mates up to visit who are stunned - in a good way! - when they see our beaches - and very envious that I'm only 5 mins walk from Roker beach.
They are cracking, if only we had a hole in the ozone layer above us and we got tropical weather wed have the best players in the world clamming to play for Samba Sunderland. The real shame is that no one in the country knows about our beaches. We arent great at promoting ourselves. If all our tax wasn't wasted on the tyneside they could really make it special down there
I used to work for the council over the summer holidays and was based in the little office on Roker front. The lads who worked the beaches used to take great pride in keeping the them clean and did a cracking job. I worked there for the first 3 years of the illuminations before leaving for university and life beyond Sunderland. It always seemed such a shame that they were scrapped as they brought a lot of tourism to the area. Most people were amazed that Sunderland even had beaches. I met one old couple who'd been coming to Sunderland every summer for 30 years because they loved the seafront so much. They always hoped it would never become like Blackpool and be spoiled by amusement arcades etc. I just wish we'd got some sort of happy medium to keep people coming back.
Wonderful place to come from, spent my childhood down Roker and Seaburn, the Blockyard was always my favourite, later years The Seaburn Hall, saw Moody Blues there, terrific. then came The Bay Hotel, under Geoff Docherty, saw some great bands. The Who etc. now the pub on the beach " Smugglers" are making a good name for themselves. Always nice to go home, And I never leave without a trip to the beach, its in the blood.
