Ah, the great British seaside, where the copper coins cascade and the seagulls roam. No matter where I travel there is nowhere quite like my hometown of Scarborough, a vintage Victorian gem on the North Yorkshire coast. Okay, so it’s not Prague, but you can’t buy a battered Mars Bar in Prague can you?
This week I challenged myself to having a day of fun in this finest of locales with only a tenner to spend, and do you know, I came away with fifty pence change: enough to buy a modest bag of strawberry sherbets on the way home.
Hitting the Arcades
The bright lights of Scarborough’s South Bay were where I began, lured into Olympia Leisure Amusement Arcade by the quality soundtrack. With Bryan Adams crooning in the background I exchanged a pound for pennies and selected a slot machine with the least-naff prizes. I wanted that stegosaurus key ring, I really did. But alas...the pennies disappeared down some mysterious chasm time and again.
After getting told off for taking pictures of the slot machine (was I plotting a raid?) I said goodbye to the elusive stegosaurus and tried my hand at teddy-grabbing and crab-bashing. My victory yard of paper tokens earned me a bouncy ball at the kiosk. Result!
Treats and More Treats
Mid morning and the smell of deep fried donuts wafted from the ‘treat shacks’. The thing to remember on a day out at the seaside is to pace yourself. There are so many gloriously unhealthy things to eat that it’s easy to peak too soon. I thus began with a stick of Scarborough rock- a bargain at 50p.
After a stroll along the sands and walk up to the lighthouse it was time for lunch, and there was only one option. Chips are the food of the gods in Scarborough; proper chips that make the paper bag go soggy with vinegar. I ordered a portion with a side of radioactive mushy peas to take myself up to £4.50.
Shopping for Souvenirs
Refuelled, I perused the myriad of trinkets in Sophie’s Walk Round Emporium- fifteen minutes of quality entertainment that comes for free. Who, I pondered, buys these 7 inch porcelain dogs and ‘I heart Scarborough’ pin badges? Well...me!
Pin badge stowed, I had a very important decision to make. Would my remaining £5.00 be spent on culturally enriching myself at the Rotunda Museum or on cheap horror thrills at Terror Towers?
The Towers of Terror
Based on the themes of my day thus far, there was really no contest. I took a walk up to the castle to calm my nerves then headed over to the Towers. Once in the rickety lift, a couple of wide-eyed twelve year old boys joined me- my wingmen on this journey through decapitated medical staff, dentally challenged crazies and mummified pensioners. What better way to top off this splendid day then being chased by a lunatic with a chain saw?
