I enjoyed a sunny day in Redcar with just £20 and came home with change

Redcar beach
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


It is often said that £10 will not get you far these days.

And I said exactly the same to my editor when they dispatched me to Redcar for the day. So despite his Yorkshire deep pockets he buckled and said I could spend £20 and no more.

The first thing of course that I had to pay for was parking. By thinking of everything that I needed to do in the town, I thought that the best place was to park in Majuba Road Car Park - which is right in front of the beach, shops and only a short walk into town.

It did take a few minutes for me to decide how long I would stay in Redcar and I was only given 1, 3 or 10 hours (1 day). Deciding a day would be enough, I paid £5.10 - which wasn’t the worst or best price but I didn’t mind.

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After dipping my toes in the water, I decided to take a quick walk down to the Redcar Beacon. It is a free structure and you can go up three floors and see a 360 degree view of Redcar. Going up was quite easy as there weren’t too many stairs but what unnerved me was the row of birds watching me as I moved up each level. It reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

Thankfully they got spooked when I reached the top and flew off, so I was able to just look at the views instead of worrying about being pooped on.

Row of birds watching me as I walked up the levels of the Redcar Beacon
Row of birds watching me as I walked up the levels of the Redcar Beacon -Credit:Samantha Teasdale

After walking back down from the Beacon, I walked around the town centre until I became hungry and knew there was only one place to try - Seabreeze. The chippy that has become locally known is where a police officer parked on yellow lines during his food break.

Not wanting to wait around for fish, I decided to go for a large sausage and chips with batter on (or scraps) as the server called it. The total was £7.95 with a bottle of Fanta and two ketchup packets - which I thought was quite cheap since the prices of fish shops have reportedly increased.

A 'cheap-ish' meal at Seabreeze in Redcar
A 'cheap-ish' meal at Seabreeze in Redcar -Credit:Samantha Teasdale

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Now to end the perfect seaside visit, of course, I had to get an ice cream from Frosty Penguins Putty next to the beach -as the sun continued to stay out all day. The delicious treat was £3 and was the perfect way to end the afternoon before heading home.

An ice cream on the beach to finish my day in Redcar
An ice cream on the beach to finish my day in Redcar -Credit:Samantha Teasdale

As I drove back, I was pleased to know that I had some change left from £20 note from my visit to Redcar. Some of my visits around North Yorkshire recently have proven that £20 does not get you very far, but with parking, a meal and an ice cream - that is the start of a perfect cheap day out to the beach.

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