Super Summer - 60 Reasons to Visit

It’s sixty years since the Beatles visited Weston-super-Mare on their 1963 July tour and played for six successive nights at The Odeon Cinema so, in their honour, we’ve come up with 60 reasons why you should follow in their famous footsteps and visit Weston this summer.
Just for fun we’ve slipped in the odd Beatles pun, lyric and song or album title to keep you amused. And, even if you have read this page, keep coming back as the summer goes on as and also keep checking in with our what's on events page where new events are being added constantly.

1.    It’s not the Beatles… but we’ve got Ibiza-style on the beach dance parties where you can dance your flip-flops off  on September 8 and 9 with the Café Mambo Ibiza Classics on the Beach.

2.    Go Street Art spotting – Freestyle your own Magical Mystery Tour of Weston’s stunning street art scene. 

3.    Have a go at paddle-boarding on the August Bank Holiday weekend. The team from whatsup will provide the boards, the safety equipment and the tuition on Saturday Aug 26, Sunday, August 27 and Monday, August 28 at £15 per person.

4.    Twist and Shout while listening to live music concerts in the bandstand at Grove Park over an oat milk latte and a cake from the park café - Sprout Social.

5.    You can Drive My Car, or more accurately your car right onto the beach! Yes, that’s right imagine the kids’ excitement when, providing the tide is right, you park up right on the sand. Mums and dads will be thrilled as they won’t have to lug the picnic hamper, beach chairs and cricket set all the way from the car park.

6.    Become a Day Tripper by hopping on an open top bus through the countryside to explore the neighbouring beach of Burnham-on-Sea, with England’s shortest pier and three lighthouses. Or head the other way on the open-topper to Sand Bay.

7.    Here Comes The Sun – if you’re an early bird catch the sunrise from the top of Uphill or if you prefer a lie in at one of B&Bs, hotels or guest houses, then catch one of our famously-stunning Weston sunsets on the beach with a portion of our delicious fish and chips.

8.    Hire a bike and enjoy the Long and Winding Road or rather the eight-mile cycle path to Brean Down taking in fabulous views along the way or pedal the Strawberry (Fields) line from Yatton to Cheddar taking in the Thatchers Cider farm on the way! (Ok, it’s only called the Strawberry Line but we couldn’t resist.)

9.    Do You Want To Know A Secret? Escape the crowds and explore Weston’s hidden secret - the delightfully unspoilt Sand Bay where you can take a walk up onto the headland at Sand Point and around to Middle Hope to drop down into one of the rocky coves for a picnic.

10.   Put on your costume, shorts or wetsuit and go swimming or paddle boarding in the 200m wide Marine Lake – where the water is continually topped up by the tide and the Causeway wall keeps you safe from tides and currents.

11.    Take to a rowing boat on Marine Lake and lap up the amazing stories within artist Luke Jerram’s thought-provoking and immersive artwork, Crossings. It is is a new installation created by renowned artist Luke Jerram and BBC Radio 4 producer Julian May. It will consist of brightly decorated rowing boats, each fitted with speakers playing audio of stories from around the world for the duration of visitors’ 30-minute boat trip. That’s happening on September 9 but please come back for more timings later.

12.   Watch the wind and kite surfers on the water at Uphill sands when the breeze whips up.

13.    Walk in Worlebury woods above the town, overlooking the bay, beyond the ancient Worlebury Hill Fort and on one of the many paths to the unspoilt Sand Bay - Weston’s best-kept secret

14.    Join the Park Run, start behind the toilet block opposite The Grand Atlantic Hotel, along the promenade at 9am every Saturday morning or breathe in the sea air at a free yoga class at Ellenborough Park every Sunday with 150 others  It’s at 9.30am – 10.30am up to 17th September 2023.

15.    Grab a Grand Pier Fun Pass for the kids to have unlimited rides all day from £11.50 for the little ones and £15 for the big kids, including dodgems, go-karts, Helter-Skelter, ghost train and crazy circus house of mirrors.

 

16.    Take in a comedy or live music night at one of Weston’s three theatres, The Blakehay, The Playhouse or the Front Room which is a new and thriving intimate fringe theatre with a great line-up of eclectic acts often attracting sell-out crowds.

17.    Eat out at one of the many independent restaurants of which most are a short walk from the seafront, from Sakura, one of three Japanese restaurants, Michelangelo’s with views across the sea, to Loves Café with its outstanding vegan fayre to Fork and Ale with its British Soul food.  And, of course you must sample our fish and chips which taste even better sitting on a bench with a sea view.  

18.    Slow it all down a bit and enjoy our flat promenade, lovely gardens and relax on one of our many seats or benches with a view.

19.    Enjoy our sandy beach and say hello to our loveable donkeys giving children rides on the beach.

20.    Conquer about 200 steps to the top of Brean Down or the gentler incline accessed via the 'military' road and wander out to the ancient fort at the end where the bouncing bomb was tested with varying degrees of success.

21.    Walk round to Anchor Head to see if you can spot the small plaque commemorating that Beatles visit (spoiler clue alert – it’s very close to where they posed for a famous photograph).

22.    Let your hair down at the Funland Funfair which is open at the Tropicana during the school holidays and during summer weekends.

23.    Visit some local cider farms.

24.    Enjoy that great seaside tradition of crazy golf but experience it with a real twist. We’ve got glow-in-the-dark crazy golf at the Revo Bar and inside crazy golf on the pier as well as the traditional outdoor courses.

25.    With a little help from your friends, figure your way out of the Escape Rooms at the Allstars ten pin bowling complex in Dolphin Square or the Lock and Code escape rooms at Wolvershill Road, West Wick.

26.    Prepare yourself for a pirate invasion when the Sea Shanty festival comes to town on August 4-6 where more than 40 bands will perform across a number of venues. To discover who is playing, where they are playing and when they are playing click here.

27.    Enjoy rugby with a difference as players from all over the UK come together for Weston’s Beach Rugby Festival on August 11-13.

28.     Grab a Ticket To Ride on the Weston sky wheel and enjoy a bird’s eye view of Weston. 

29.    Step back deep in time at the Dino Weekend at The Weston Helicopter Museum (July 22-23) With film props and photos also on display there’s even promise of ‘new’ dinosaur breeds to meet!

30.    It’s not a Beatles lyric, but Drink Up Thy Cider from the Wurzels and Adg Cutler is famous all over the westcountry so why not drink up thy cider at the Ale & Cider Festival on The Beach Lawns, July 28-30, while listening to some live music.

31.    Drop into Weston Bike night every Thursday from 6pm on the Beach Lawns. Join a Weston-super-Mare institution and watch hundreds of bikers turn out with their machines – some of them, such as a half motorbike and half VW Beetle, have to be seen to be believed.

32.    A seaside summer wouldn’t be a seaside summer without a spot of live wrestling. August 11 at The Blakehay Theatre is the date for all you wrestling fans.

33.    Somerset knows a thing or two about farming so come and see sheep shearing and cows being milked at the Dairy Festival on August 3-6. The festival runs from 10am until 4pm.

34.    You never know who you might bump into on the beach or the promenade during the Stars of Time Comic Con at the Tropicana on August 19-20. 

35.    Be amazed as you watch the Whirligig Festival of Outdoor Arts on Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 September 2023. See High-flying thrills from Belgium’s Collectif Malunés, and enjoy a riot of music with Paraorchestra’s SMOOSH! Along with other crowd-pleasers.

36.   Enjoy a throwback to traditional seaside holidays with free Punch and Judy shows at Weston Museum every Friday in August at 11am and 1.30pm as well as an earlier double-header on July 27.

37.    Over 55s can take part in free yoga sessions in our beautiful Grove Park on Mondays between 11.00 and 12.00 until August 28.

38.    Stand among 200,000 sunflowers and pick your own at the Puxton Park Sunflower Farm.

39.    Enjoy the From The Mud Summer Festival of comeBop away to a silent disco on the beach July 26 at 10:00 near Royal Sands.dy, music, poetry & more – featuring laugh-filled evenings, tunes on the high-street, head-to-head contests, comedy, music, poetry and more from July 27 – August 5. Here's the programme July 27 Rhyme on The Shrine at 12pm & Sketch Night at the Front Room; July 30, Jams Under The Bandstand at the Shrine 12pm & Pints, Pizzas and Punchlines comedy at The Games Room at 7pm; August 1, Theatre Lab at the Front Room;  August 2, Mission Mud at The Front Room at 7pm; August 3, Making Plans for Hugo at the Front Room 7pm; August 4, Jams Under The Bandstand at  the Shrine at 12pm & Making Plans for Hugo at the Front Room at 7pm;  August 5, From The Mud: Cabaret Rewind at The Front Room at 7pm. For more details click on the What's On calendar.

40.    Laugh your head off at one of Weston’s many comedy nights which occur at different venues across the town.

41.    Join Westonians as they enjoy their passion for live music at one of the many live music venues in town including the famous Brit Bar and the Tropicana.

42.    Stretch your face’s laughter muscles like they have never been stretched before as the Winter Gardens brings an all-star line up of comedians together including award-winning comedian Freddy Quinne, the hilarious Matt Richardson, the charming Brennan Reece, and the witty Nick Page, on August 5. 

43.    Dance the night away at one of our late-night bars or nightclubs.

44.    See the big stars such as Jim Davidson (Aug. 5 and Sept. 9) and Joe Pasquale (Sept. 1) at The Playhouse Theatre.

45.    Get your adrenaline pumping by taking on the highest vertical drop slide in the UK at our indoor Clip 'n Climb climbing centre at Dolphin Square which also has the thrilling Leap of Faith experience if you dare.

46.    Take a trip in to the future at Laser Quest in North Street where it is every player for themselves. Either get zapped or be the champion zapper.

47.    Try out an exciting new sport such as skiing, snowboarding, climbing, caving, paddle boarding, archery or axe throwing at one of our two brilliant activity centres – Mendip Activity Centre and Wall Eden - nearby.

48.    Strike it lucky and knock down the pins at our indoor bowling alley at Dolphin Square.

49.    Have a go at roller skating with the Tropicana’s Roller Skating Sessions on August 11 from midday to 11pm.

50.    Spend World Helicopter Day (August 20) at the Weston Helicopter Museum – the largest helicopter museum in Europe.

51.    Put your dancing shoes on and get into Strictly mode at one of the Winter Gardens’ tea dances. July 23, August 20, September 17.

52.    We can’t offer you a trip down Penny Lane but we can offer you a trip down memory lane at the Blitz tearoom in Waterloo Street – which offers teas and meals in a 1940’s setting.

53.    Visit Weston’s free town museum and see Banksy’s pinwheel and visit Clara’s Cottage to see how life was in Victorian times.

54.    Let the children enjoy an amazingly good-value day out at the Water Adventure Park where they can stay and play in the splash pad, with parental supervision, for the bargain price of just £3 all day.

55.   Legendary DJ Gary Davies brings his 80s DJ set to the Tropicana on Friday, July 28 so get dressed up and party along to your favourite 80s anthems from artists such as Wham!, Queen, Prince, Madonna, Whitney and more.

56.    Sit on the rocks just between Marine Lake and Anchor Head and see a different beachscape to the one most people associate with Weston-super-Mare.

57.    Enjoy the sights and sounds of RSVP Bhangra who have previously rocked the Glastonbury and WOMAD festivals perform in a free outdoor Garden Grooves concert in Grove Park on August 20.

58.    Go Unicorn spotting. There’s one on the Grand Pier, one at Puxton Park and one at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm. It’s all part of Unicorn Fest and there are plenty of others to see in the Bristol area.

59.     Join BMX riders and stunt cyclists from all over the country who descend on the Sand Bay Dirt Jumps at Kewstoke  most weekends to perform some amazing jumps. It's a fabulous watch which will leave you open-mouthed. 

60.    Don’t just buy a box of chocolates to take home, make your own with a chocolate-making experience at Christopher’s House of Chocolates.

If you need HELP with any tourist information queries visit our kiosk at the water park or look our for our welcome hosts around the town.

Did you know that trains run from Bristol Temple Meads to Weston every half hour and it only takes 30 minutes. The train station is a 10 minute walk to the seafront and high street
Please note that some of these dates could be liable to change for whatever reasons such as bad weather cancellations etc. Please keep checking in with us and also our Facebook and Instagram pages.