Why are British beach huts so expensive?
Scarcity and sentimentality drive the market
British seaside towns contribute more than their fair share of the country’s iconography: fairground piers, fish and chips, Punch and Judy puppet shows. High on that list are beach huts—those “colourful sentinels on the border between land and sea”, in the words of Kathryn Ferry, a historian and co-founder of the Seaside Heritage Network, which campaigns for a renewed appreciation of the country’s often-faded coastal resorts.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Shore things”
Britain July 13th 2024
- What does Labour’s win mean for British foreign policy?
- Britain’s Labour government has declared war on NIMBYs
- Britain’s general election was its least representative ever
- How did pollsters do in predicting the British election?
- Why are British beach huts so expensive?
- How the Gaza war affected the British election
- The new front line of British politics is just lovely
From the July 13th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Are British voters as clueless as Labour’s intelligentsia thinks?
How the idea of false consciousness conquered the governing party
The best British companies to work for to get ahead
A new ranking of firms by pay, promotions and hiring practices
How the best British employers find and promote their staff
No degree? Some employers care much less than others
A tiny island fights the scourge of plastic on the beach
A Northern Irish experiment in recycling
A sticking-plaster policy for Britain’s strained courts
Magistrates get more power. Will they get punch-drunk on it?