Tuesday 15 May 2012

Points make prizes


The Coast Awards Ceremony is on Wednesday 16 May. Canapes and wine are ordered, invitations sent,  speeches written. Chef, broadcaster and self-confessed fish man, Valentine Warner will be handing out the gongs along with the Ed, Coast Clare and our lovely sponsor, Joules. 

You can read all the results - as voted by you - in the July issue of Coast (on newsstands 28 May or buy it at the Apple newsstand for ipad and iphone).

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Time's up!

Voting has now closed for the Coast Awards 2012 and we're pleased to announce that more than nearly 5,000 of you have voted - that's just under 50,000 votes cast. Thanks so much to all of you who have taken the time to say who you wanted to win. We'll be announcing the winner of the Joules voucher soon along with the winners of each category. Thanks again! The coast team

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Keep on voting!

Nearly 3,000 have voted in the Coast Awards so far! Keep at it! Only three weeks left, so remember to tell everyone you know to vote for their favourites too…

Monday 19 December 2011

Judge Patricia Yates on putting together her short list


MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES
'I’ve had so many happy memories of time spent at the British seaside and it is wonderful to see its renaissance and the birth of new boutique hotels, classy cafés and exhilarating experiences. My own short list was hard to pare down – but I couldn’t forget learning how to kite surf at the Extreme Academy in Newquay, lazy days jumping over the dunes at Camber Sands, an indulgent meal watching the waves at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in Cornwall or a weekend escape with a warm welcome at the Scottish baronial Isle of Eriska hotel, on its own island.

The British coast continues to be a draw for our overseas visitors, who come to it afresh perhaps from reading the novels of Rosamunde Pilcher! For more ideas of places to explore around Britain, do look at our website visitbritain.com.'

Patricia Yates is Director of Strategy & Communications at VisitBritain. 

Tuesday 6 December 2011

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 21st 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

Keep them coming!

We've been having an amazing response to the Coast Awards 2012! Still another month to go and we've had 2,259 votes already. It's great that everyone feels as passionately about the UK coast as we do. Spread the word and make sure your favourite has a good chance of winning!

Thursday 17 November 2011

Judge Richard Harrington on our shortlist


A WINTER WALK
'All of the candidates for best resort and best beach categories are great – I’ve visited almost all of them! Every nominated beach is a beautiful sandy stretch. Makes me think of spring and longer days already, though I fancy a wintry walk as soon as the weather really sets in, and there’ll be wave-washed beach finds to encounter.'
Richard Harrington is communications manager of the Marine Conservation Society (mcsuk.org).   

You've been voting!

Amazingly we've had 502 votes already – that's in just four days! A fantastic response! Keep them coming in, everyone.

Monday 14 November 2011

And we're off!

Welcome to our brand-new blog about the Coast Awards 2012, in association with Joules, which officially launches today.

This is the place to come to find out more about the people and places on this year’s short list. From pictures and potted biographies, to posts from our expert panel of judges, we hope to spread the word about our fantastic nominees – so keep coming back to this site for updates throughout the month.

We’re particularly impressed by the short list this year – which, we think, represents all that is timeless and progressive about the British seaside. We’d also love to hear what you think of the finalists, too, so please post your comments on the home page.

What’s more, don’t forget to vote for your favourites in each of the ten categories, by logging on to coastmagazine.co.uk/coastawards2012. You could be in with a chance of winning £250 to spend at Joules.

Let the voting commence!