Beach Toy Library

Families looking to enjoy the Essex Sunshine Coast this season can benefit from a series of free Beach Toy libraries.

Beach toy libraries can currently be found in various locations along the seafront at Clacton, Holland, Walton-on-the-Naze, Manningtree, Brightlingsea and Dovercourt. Run by a number of different community groups around the district, the sites contain fun items such as buckets and spades for people to use, then return to the Toy Library box at the end of the day for others to use and enjoy.

As well as ensuring the toys are not just used once, making them more environmentally friendly, they can also be useful for families on low incomes.

Visitors to our lovely beaches who do buy new beach toys but are not likely to use them again for a while are encouraged to donate them at the end of their stay to the Toy libraries. Please, please, please don't leave beach toys alone on the beach, either take away with you or leave in the Beach Toy Library for a new little set of hands to play with.

Whilst we do not encourage the use of inflatables in the sea, if you do happen to have or find one that is broken - please place in or next to the Beach toy library as these will be collected and passed to Planet Rubber for upcycling. Please help to protect our seas and keep our beaches clean.

Anyone interested in setting up a new library can email seafronts@tendringdc.gov.uk to explore options.