September 17, 2007

Bathing Beauties has run a design competition to re-imagine the beach hut. Nine winners will be available for hire. (Alas, I don't think the winners are necessarily the best designs, apart from 'Jabba').

British beach huts have a long history and remain a topic of intense interest. In recent times, prices have rocketed (£140,000 in Mudeford, for some reason the most desirable location) and the huts have become trendy, with Tracy Emin inevitably turning hers into a work of art.

posted by Plegmund 17 years ago
  • Another great post, Pleg. I loved our old seaside holidays, although we never hired a beach hut. No, we chose instead to carry deckchairs, windbreak (essential), bucket, spade and hamper down winding paths to the beach from the caravan site, while wearing flipflops. Nice as some of the new designs are, I'd be happy with a nice painted traditional one, with kettle and LW radio. "Quick dip in the briny, dig up a lugworm, then back in the car before you catch pneumonia."
  • Bathing machine. LOLBRITS
  • Can I have them all?
  • Full-size, of course.
  • It's mad, but despite us always having family holidays in the UK when I was a kid, we never seemed to go the places where they have beach huts. It's just the garden/allotment shed moved to the seaside essentially, isn't it?
  • Yeah, but sort of crossed with a tree-house and a tent. At least that was the way it seemed to me when I small enough to wish we had one...
  • Incidentally, at Osborne House you can see Queen Victoria's own bathing machine, massive but austere as you would expect.
  • It's a tent that's hard enough to survive British summer drizzle. Hence the costumes.
  • Nice post, Pleggers! Some much more interesting designs among the non-winners, as you say. But £140,000 is nuts. Reminds me of where some people drag their huts out on to frozen lakes and fish for ice.
  • Not huts, but some nice sheds here.