What better way to enjoy a summer’s day in Britain than with a traditional seaside day trip? However, while the nation is home to countless stunning beaches and seaside resorts, experts from Which? have named a “traditional bucket-and-spade resort” as one of the worst seaside towns in the entire country.

The largest town on the Essex Coast, Clacton-on-Sea is an affordable seaside resort which offers all of the attractions you might expect from a seaside town, including a pleasure pier, arcades, and of course a stretch of sand.

However, based on the research conducted by Which? visitors to the seaside town were less than impressed with the offering.

Clacton-on-Sea scored just 48 percent in the ranking, coming at the bottom of the list of seaside towns included in the survey alongside Skegness.

According to the Which? Report: “They were rated an average three out of five stars for their beaches, but visitors were less impressed with their run-down seafronts – with Skegness mustering just one star in this category. Both were also rated just one star for peace and quiet.”

On Tripadvisor, some previous visitors to the seaside town have described it as being “underwhelming”. One Briton left a review in August 2023 saying: “Came down expecting a bit more with it being a seaside town, everything was just a bit underwhelming. Could do with more things for the children.”

However, it’s not all bad news for the seaside town, with several respondents highlighting the positives of Clacton-on-Sea which shine through. The Which? report notes that some respondents commented on Clacton’s “lovely” seafront gardens and its “fantastic” annual airshow.

On Tripadvisor, Clacton-on-Sea’s beach also has a very good score of 4.5 out of a possible five stars. Previous visitors have commended the beach on how clean it is and have even gone as far as to describe it as the “jewel” of Essex.

A visitor who left a review in 2022 said: “Clacton-on-sea has a lovely clean sandy beach with palm trees and is a great place to visit while on holiday or just a day out the kids will love it as there is so much to do.”

Another visitor added: “It’s sunny, has a sandy beach, there are patrol on hand in [an] emergency. People are coming [from] all over the place. Lots of attractions and places to eat and buy fish and chips and ice cream. The jewel of Essex.” [SIC]