Judge Roma Backhouse tells us about her favourite seaside spots

THE BRITISH SEASIDE AT ITS BEST

'Wow... just a quick read of the Coast Awards short list whets the appetite for a trip round the UK, and is a reminder of the huge assortment of great places to stay and eat by the sea, as well as the variety of wonderful land- (or should that be sea-) scapes we Brits are blessed with.

It’s brilliant to see a strong showing for resorts such as Blackpool, Margate, and Southend – all doing a great job of re-inventing the traditional British seaside town for the 21^st Century, and also standout places to eat emerging in unlikely settings such as Seasalter.

I’m off to North Yorkshire this week, so will be taking in Woodlands in Sandsend, which is new to me (thanks to my fellow judges for that tip-off), alongside more familiar haunts on the Cleveland Way, including Scarborough, which, astonishingly, hasn’t made the list... providing an interesting reflection of just how many great contemporary seaside haunts there now are.

Here’s to some blustery out-of-season seas, and salt spray. The British seaside at its best, as far as I’m concerned!'

Roma Backhouse is Director of Hidden Cities and Co-Founder of the Seasider campaign, www.seasider.co.uk.