EXCLUSIVE: Residents have spoken about their surprise that their area is on a list of the cheapest seaside towns.
One UK “seaside town” that boasts a beach that residents have never even considered visiting has properties at rock-bottom prices.
Workington in the UK sits on the Cumbrian coastline and is just miles away from one of the UK’s most beautiful national parks, the Lake District.
It has recently also grabbed the headlines as it was named as being one of the cheapest “seaside towns” to live in the country. It has an average property price of £143,410 compared to a current UK average of £289,000.
Currently, there is a property listed with an eye-popping guide price of just £10,000, a terraced home on the town’s Winifred Street. Another end terraced three-bedroom property is listed for a guide price of £30,000 on Findlay Place.
Express.co.uk chatted to locals in the town’s busy shopping area boasting high street giants such as Marks and Spencer and Next.
Ian Cale, 63, has a market stall selling football badges and other paraphernalia.
He said: “It’s just a bit of an ex-industrial town and it’s a bit rundown – it’s the same as a lot of towns with empty shops. But it’s more of a port than a seaside town. [I’ve] not really ever got down to the beach.”
Fellow market stall holder Adrian McGreavy, 62, who runs a cheese stall, agrees and says the Workington needs a cash injection.
He said: “The place is nice. Someone put on TikTok and slagged everything off. The town is okay, everyone seems okay and friendly enough. But it’s not really a seaside town – Workington is industrial and just needs a bit of investment.”
Graeme Cameron, 55, is a business owner and runs a busy shop called Sole It Lock It in the town centre.
He said: “We do get plenty of tourists who come to see the area and a lot of them have got caravans – but a lot of that has to do with the Lakes as it’s cheaper to stay just outside than in the Lakes itself.”
Pictured local resident and stall owner Adrian McGreavy, 62. (Image: Andy Commins)
Pictured (R) local resident and shop owner Alison Short, 54,with her mum. (Image: Andy Commins)
Pictured local residents Yvonne Reed, 64, and Lindsey Taylor, 44. (Image: Andy Commins)
Alison Short, 54, runs the neighbouring florists with the help of her mum Mary McCallister, 88 – and has never visited the beach despite living in the town all of her life.
She said: “I wouldn’t class it as a seaside town – it’s more of an industrial town. I have lived here all my life and have never been on the beach! It definitely isn’t a seaside town – I’m quite shocked [that it’s been called one].”
Her mum, however, says that a visit to the town’s shingle beach was something she did regularly when she had a young family.
She said: “When I was young everyone would go to the beach – everyone went there for a day out.”
Yvonne Reed, 64, is a retired postwoman and is a regular visitor to Workington. She lives in nearby Aspatria.
The mother of two and grandmother to one said: “I come here to shop. It is a bit rundown and has a lot of empty shops.”
Lindsey Taylor, 44, is a stallholder and is in Workington twice a week. She lives in Allonby, which is a pretty seaside village.
She said: “It’s quite a quiet town and friendly.”
