Is The Great British Beach Hut Back For Good?

Donkey rides, Punch & Judy huts, helter skelters, glittering piers and cracking your teeth on striped rock: the Great British beach holiday often seems like a sepia-tinged memory. While the likes of Weston-Super-Mare, Blackpool and Rhyl certainly aren’t in their heyday, nostalgia combined with the rise of the staycation is leading to a renaissance of one lost feature: the traditional British beach hut. With BeachHuts.com reporting soaring prices, could this summer solidify the wooden hut’s revival?

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The Revival Of The Great British Beach Hut

‘For years, the traditional beach hut seemed as much a part of a lost seaside holiday era as end-of-the-pier shows and Punch and Judy,’ says Lily Smith, a travel and holiday expert at BeachHuts.com. ‘But BeachHuts.com’s latest research has revealed huts and chalets are now soaring in popularity as the sunbather’s equivalent to glamping.

‘Where else can people be right on the beach but able to change in privacy, store their stuff, eat sandwiches minus the sand, chill a few cheeky Pinots and relax with a paperback or their Switch?’ says Lily. ‘Our latest analysis reveals beach huts soured in value by 100.5 percent between 2022 and 2023 in some coastal areas, costing a hefty £123,524 on average. Yet holidaymakers can book a week in a hut in, for example, Dorset’s beautiful Branksome Chine from as little as £49 a day this month. That’s amazing value.’

Wells-next-the-Sea © Getty

What Is A Beach Hut?

Ever spotted a row of small, colourful wooden huts at the back of a beach? You’re looking at a row of beach huts, small cabins that sit above the high tide mark, used by beach-goers for storing their beachy belongings (think deck chairs, parasols, buckets and spades, bodyboards and even surfboards), as a changing room, or to take shelter from the sun or wind. Some huts are even equipped for food preparation, whether using bottled gas or connected to mains electricity.

Some of the earliest beach huts were constructed at Bournemouth Pier in 1909, with more than 20,000 standing proud on British beaches. The little wooden huts were a firm staple on the British beach scene until the 1970s, when cheap overseas package holidays started stealing the crowds and many fell into disuse and, eventually, disrepair. ‘For years, many beach huts seemed to be standing empty and peeling, with sand building up to their windows,’ says Lily. ‘Today, however, most have been restored to their former glory as Brits realise the amazing value they represent.’

What’s The Point?

Like flairs, corduroy trousers and big collars, ‘70s beach huts are firmly back on the scene – but why? For staycationers, beach huts provide a perfect storage base, meaning going on holiday is as simple as packing up your clothes and travelling down – even by train with so much less luggage. With recent travel chaos wreaking havoc among holidaymakers, the security of a British beach holiday is evermore appealing – this year, it’s just a shame about the weather.

‘It’s not only today’s sixty-somethings, nostalgic for their 1970’s childhoods, who are rediscovering the Great British beach hut,’ says Lily. ‘Our research has revealed the average age of beach hut users has plummeted in recent years, as increasing numbers of young people realise the attractions of a home-from-home by the sea.

‘Events such as beach hut picnics, complete with balloons and cushions to match the colour of the hut, are some of the new experiences trending with kids and young adults alike,’ Lily adds. ‘Beach huts are also increasingly popular as a second, truly relaxing holiday. People frustrated with their foreign holiday, with passport queues, delayed flights, lost luggage, Customs strikes and tummy upsets often find themselves in need of a second, genuine holiday. Relaxing by the sea, sipping tea or something stronger and colder, walking the dog and occasionally sheltering in cosy comfort from the traditional British rain is actually the real holiday many families were all craving.’

Can I Rent A Beach Hut?

Not ready to invest in your own? No worries. ‘From the sands of Sandbanks in Dorset and Sandown on the Isle of Wight, to being right next to the sea in Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk, BeachHuts.com has been the UK’s number one beach hut booking website since 2005,’ says Lily. ‘It’s true to say, however, that it’s never experienced the surge in demand seen in the last few years.

‘Many people now find themselves returning to the same hut several summers in a row to recharge their batteries or enjoy more active seaside experiences, from Bournemouth Pier’s zip wires to water skiing and surfing,’ Lily adds. ‘With huts available from as little as £20 a day and the increasing availability of overnight hires, they are now seen as glamping by the sea.’

EXPLORE

For more information about the huge range of beach hut locations available across the UK, visit beachhuts.com