Sand Bay facts for kids
Sand Bay is a beautiful coastal area in North Somerset, England. It has a long beach and is located between Worlebury Hill to the south and Sand Point to the north. Sand Bay is about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the popular seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Across the Bristol Channel, you can see South Wales. The village of Kewstoke is also very close to Sand Bay.
The Beach and Its Plants
Sand Bay is known for its long, sandy beach. However, a special kind of grass called spartina grass has been growing a lot here since the 1950s. This tough grass was first planted further up the Bristol Channel to help stop the riverbanks from washing away. Over the last 20 years, it has spread quickly and now covers much of the north end of Sand Bay beach. It's even starting to appear in other parts of the beach.
In the 1980s, some parts of Sand Bay beach were made higher to help stop flooding. This was done by pumping sand from the Bristol Channel onto the beach. Because of this, the beach now has two different levels:
- One level is closer to the sea, at its original height.
- The other level is higher up, next to the road. This higher part of the beach has also become covered in grass, but it's not the same spartina grass that grows closer to the sea.
Sea Water Quality
The water quality at Sand Bay is important for swimmers and wildlife. Like other beaches in North Somerset, Sand Bay has never received a special award called a European Blue Flag. This flag is given to beaches with very high environmental and quality standards.
However, the DEFRA (a government department) has said that the water quality at Sand Bay has been good since 2005 and 2006.
A group called the Marine Conservation Society helps look after the beach. Since 1999, they have checked the beach four times every year. In 2004, they found that the beach had more litter related to sewage than the national average, especially many cotton bud sticks. This shows how important it is for everyone to help keep our beaches clean!
A Fun Holiday Spot
Sand Bay has been a popular place for holidays for many years.
A holiday camp called Pontins opened here in 1947. It was a very popular place, with 300 small holiday homes spread across 17 acres (6.9 ha) of land. Pontins owned the camp until 1999. After that, it was owned by another company and was known as Sand Bay Holiday Village. It offered fun activities like cabaret shows, tea dances, comedy, and music, making it a popular place for people to visit.
In 2008, the holiday camp changed its name to Sand Bay Leisure Resort. However, in 2013, the company that owned it closed the park. But good news came in 2014 when it was announced that the site would open again as a Pontins resort, now owned by Britannia Hotels.
Besides the main holiday camp, there are also several places where people can stay in static caravans (like small homes that don't move) in the Sand Bay and Kewstoke area. Even though many people visit for holidays, Sand Bay also has homes where people live all year round.
For visitors, Sand Bay has some useful places:
- A bar and a fish and chip shop.
- Tea rooms.
- A snack bar with public toilets.
- Two car parks.
You can even get to Sand Bay easily by bus! The First West of England route 1 bus goes between Sand Bay and Weston-super-Mare town centre. Sometimes, they even use open-top buses when the weather is nice, and they run all year!
