It’s a familiar scene: a group of arcade patrons excitedly collecting redemption tickets, feeding them into the ticket eater and then agonising over what to choose from the prize counter. This group, however, is comprised solely of adults.
The UK seaside is steeped in tradition, from the grand ornate Victorian hotels, to queuing for fish and chips followed by ice cream. There is something also quintessentially British about visiting the seaside amusement arcade and feeding 2p coins into pushers and the other amusement machines. The addition of tickets, however, is something relatively recent that is becoming just as integral a part of the experience.
This weekend, my wife, her parents and I took a trip to Saltburn on the North Yorkshire coast. A quaint, picturesque seaside resort, the town emerged as a popular tourist destination in the Victorian age and was among the first to be home to a purpose-built railway hotel, the Zetland, which adjoined the town’s station. A funicular transported visitors from the cliff side to Saltburn’s pier – and still does today. Unlike many of its peers, its seafront features just one amusement arcade located at the entrance of its pier that is today operated by Saltburn Entertainments.
Sadly, in December 2013 seawater damaged the arcade floor and flooded the location, forcing its closure. On Sunday, I was delighted to see that the newly refurbished location, packed with equipment both new and old, was open once again and catering to a healthy crowd of customers, even out of season. Seaside amusement arcades, like the resorts themselves, are institutions – a fact reinforced by each generation discovering (or in our case re-discovering) the quite magical experience of playing coin-op games. When at the seaside, it’s just something you have to do.
