THE joys of the seaside can be found in landlocked Swindon for the next week.

The Urban Beach returned to Wharf Green in the town centre yesterday after a successful debut summer holiday outing in 2018.

Organised by inSwindon BID, the attraction aims to provide children with free activities and events until next Friday as part of a wider August festival in the shopping area.

Katie Oaks, from north Swindon, was one of the first visitors yesterday alongside her two young daughters.

She said: “I think the beach is an excellent idea, we’re so far away from a beach, it’s great to come along and spend half an hour here rather than having to spend the whole day taking them to the beach somewhere.

“It’s nice and clean, you’ve not got any bits of rock or rubbish and it’s something free. Something free to do during the summer holidays is always a great idea.

“It also brings people into the town, we’ve already spent money in the shops so it’s a nice day out.

“We’re not too worried about the weather, we’ve got coats and a towel to wipe off after. So long as my kids are happy I’m happy.”

Di Powell, chief executive at inSwindon BID, said: “This is the second year we’ve brought the urban beach into the town centre. It was such a hit last year and so not only have we brought it back, but we’ve extended the experience to eight days.

“It’s part of our August Summer Festival, with 30 events across the town centre and masses of activities taking place across the days of the Urban Beach.

“For the parents, the beach is a lovely opportunity to sit and relax while their children are enjoying playing in a very safe and friendly environment. Not everyone can afford to go on holiday, or they don’t always go away.

“Ultimately the driver of the business improvement district is to support our businesses. Events like this attract footfall into the town centre and people stay longer, so hopefully they spend more money at the shops here.

“It’s difficult to give an exact number of how many people will be visiting the beach but there is 30 to 35,000 people who visit the town centre on an average day.

“Managing the weather is the trickiest bit. Hopefully the weather gods are going to be kind to us over the next eight days and hopefully the children can enjoy playing and taking part in the activities in the sunshine.

“If it does rain, the beach can be covered over so if there are set to be a few sporadic showers we might just cover the sand for a short duration and then go back to the full plan.

“However, in extreme conditions we might have to halt events and then take a view on it, sadly we did have to cancel a day last year because the weather was so extreme but that isn’t forecast, so far so fingers crossed.”