Tired of the bucket and spade? Get inspired by these beach toys for kids of all ages.
Toys for under fours
When the little ones get bored of digging for treasure or demolishing sandcastles, Melissa and Doug’s beach hourglass (pictured below) will have them sifting sand and funnelling water for hours.
Price: From £7.63 from Amazon
Why not hit the beach in true surf dude style with your own VW Camper? This pop-up tent (pictured below) is a fun way for kids to take time out of the midday sun. It fits three or four children easily and when it’s time to go home, collapses neatly into a VW wheel bag.
Price: £55 from Not on the High Street, 0845 259 1359
Take building sandcastles to the next level with a sand brick-making set from Great Little Trading Company. Although meant for younger kids, it will also keep Dad occupied for the afternoon.
Price: £17 from Great Little Trading Company
Want to tire the tiddlers out? Get them running about after the Odd Ball, this summer’s kookiest beach ball. The weighted inflatable ball with colourful nobbly bits will keep toddlers amused for at least a few minutes as it wobbles around the beach.
Price: £4 from Early Learning Centre
Toys for over fours
No family trip to the beach is complete without some kind of competive sport. Uber Games’ super-cool rounders set comes with all the equipment you need for an energetic afternoon on the beach, so you can take the classic English sport abroad with you.
Price: £30 from Amazon
Can’t keep them out of the water? Then the revolutionary Waboba ball is essential for any teens’ beach kit. Originating from Sweden, this weird little beach ball skims and bounces across water and is fantastic fun for kids and adults of all ages.
Price: £5.99 from Firebox
It seems the boomerang has made a come back (‘scuse the pun) as this summer’s coolest beach toy is the newBoomaring. The world’s only returning flying ring flies in a 20-25m loop, is easy to fling and more importantly, ‘guaranteed’ to return.
Price: £10 from Wicked Vision
The Lightning Storm is the latest super-soaker from Nerf and will annoy any parent who wants a quiet moment with the newspaper. Fully battery-operated and with a one-litre water tank, you can ‘hilariously’ drench your target from up to 7m away.
Price: From £16.99 from Amazon