A FIFTH of children in the UK have never been to the British seaside.

That is the disappointing finding of a recent survey of 1,000 children aged between six and 15 in the United Kingdom.

Despite the brilliant weather, Britain has been experiencing of late (especially down here in Bournemouth), two-thirds of children polled said they would rather go on holiday abroad than in Britain.

With the introduction of the low-cost flight, it is no real surprise that 78 per cent of those polled said that they had been on holiday abroad, but, surprisingly, a further 19 per cent said it had been between five and 10 years since they last visited a British beach.

A quarter said they would definitely not be visiting the seaside in the UK this year.

Rather unsurprisingly, London proved to be the most anti-British beaches region, with 41 per cent of children saying they would not visit a British beach this year and 34 per cent saying they had never been to a British beach at all.

Compare that with 91 per cent who have been on a beach holiday abroad.

So what are this generation of British kids missing out on?

Check out just a few of our suggestions...

Donkey rides An occasional sight in Bournemouth, donkey rides are a staple attraction of seaside resorts like Blackpool and Weston-Super-Mare. As a kid there aren’t many bigger thrills than getting to ride a donkey across the sand towards the sea, then have Daisy, Mable or Jed break into a canter on the way back.

Building sandcastles with good ol’ English sand Of course you can build sandcastles on any beach, but it’s just not the same doing it in Spain or wherever.

There’s something about the slightly muddy consistency of wet British sand that is conducive to creating some pretty impressive sand structures.

Being buried up to your neck in sand The perfect beach holiday snap. Cover your child almost entirely in sand so that only his/her head is visible. Genius. Please ensure that the child is buried up to their necks the right way up.

Ice cream on the beach We all know British ice cream is the best and the best place to enjoy it is on a golden sandy beach in the British sunshine. Go somewhere too hot and it’s melting down your shirt within seconds.

Finding shells and stones My first few Mother’s Day and birthday presents to my mum were shells I had found on the beach.

Somehow I don’t think that tactic would fly these days but as a child on a British beach you can find some really lovely shells that mothers can treasure for years.