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At the back of a sprawling set of garden allotments in Eastbourne, on England’s south coast, Mahmoud Al-Halabi gently pulls up two carrots for his children and gestures to a thick curtain of green vines. Parting the leaves he reveals several large bottle gourds, quite unlike anything growing in his neighbours’ plots.
“In Syria, summer is longer, and these grow even bigger,” the 33-year-old says, waving admiration aside. The beans, peppers, and
kusa (squash) he’s growing are other staples from that faraway climate. It’s been eight years since Al-Halabi and his family left their home in a pummelled suburb of Damascus, fleeing a conflict that has devastated their country.
The faded British seaside towns that are due a summer renaissance
Look beyond Cornwall, Devon or the Lake District and you ll find plenty of old-fashioned charm
This Welsh seaside town is well worth another look
Credit: Getty
Could 2021 bring the “renaissance of the Great British Seaside Holiday”? This is the hope, and expectation, of Pete Waters, executive director of Visit East of England.
“After the end of the first lockdown last year, we saw a huge surge in holidaymakers to resorts such as Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Cromer, towns that were first made famous by the Victorian development of the rail network from the cities to the coast, and we think there’ll be a similar impact this summer,” he says.