In England, going to the beach is something that is looked forward to at any time of year. This little island off the western tip of Europe has some of the widest range of beach scenery you will find in a single European country. Spending a day at the beach in England is not so different to participating in the same activity on any American beach, but there are some subtle contrasts between the two cultures.

Anywhere that the British decide to spend time on a beach, whether in England, the rest of Europe, or America, will almost certainly involve sunbathing as an activity. The only real difference between England and America on this is that in England we pretend to sunbath even when the sun is hidden behind dark rain clouds.

Public holidays attract the British to their beaches more so than Americans to theirs. This could be because Americans tend to have larger back yards or further to travel to get to a beach just for one day. Americans also tend to have more swimming pools in their gardens than the British do. On an average weekend, you can get to the sea from anywhere in the UK in less than 4 hours driving.

On a summer bank holiday in England, chances are the roads leading to all of the south coast will be heavy with traffic heading for the beach. The British endure hours of travel chaos, just to spend an afternoon on a portion of beach roughly the size of a postage stamp. American beaches generally have more space per user. Thankfully, British beaches are rarely pay-to-use, unlike much of the rest of Europe. The British are used to paying for car parking space however, and for the privilege of sitting in a hired deck chair on the sea front.

Beach food differs slightly between America and the UK. While many people from both countries take home made sandwiches and pre-packed snacks to have a picnic at the beach, the British have a few traditional seaside foods as well. Fish and chips, possibly one of the best known contributions that Britain has made to world cuisine, is practically a must at some point during a day at the beach. For Londoners who travel down to the beaches of Kent and Sussex, other seafood is equally regarded as a necessity such as cockles and jellied eels.

If your chosen British beach has a pier, then candy floss and ice cream are almost certainly going to be on offer. Americans usually reserve eating cotton candy to when they are at the funfair or at any of the State Fairs that operate during the summer months.

Clothing on many European beaches is optional. It is hard to imagine any American beach where topless or nude bathing would be permitted. In a country famous for its pornography industry, it seems almost hypocritical for Americans to be shocked at, or to criticise European’s unabashed desire to soak up as many rays as possible during our limited sunny days. In England, nudist beaches are clearly sign posted, and it is illegal to expose oneself on a non-designated nudist beach.

Finally, a peculiar habit of the British that does not appear to be shared with our American cousins, is that of spending winter days at the beach as well as summer. It is not uncommon to find people on any beach in Britain, even on Christmas Day. As an island race, our love affair with the seaside is ingrained into our collective consciousness in a way unlike many other countries who have stretches of coastline but also land borders.

Spending a day at the beach in a foreign land is a great way to observe some of the more subtle differences between your own culture and the one that is playing host.