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Curries, car parks and curfews - life as a beach hut ballot winner

Natalie Grice
BBC News
Reporting fromLangland Bay, Swansea
BBC The row of huts pictured from the path in front of them running from west to east. They are white with green edging on the doors, support posts for the porches and the fascia boards. A green railing lies to the right of the path, above a grassy bank leading down to a promenade. A very small strip of beach can be seen to the right of the picture. There are palm trees and long grasses in a clump further along the bank. The front of the huts and the path are in shadow, with a sharp zig-zag shadow pattern from the pointed porch roofs falling just onto the grass, showing it is now later on in the day.BBC
The shadows lengthen as evening approaches but on a summer's day there are still hours to enjoy the beach and huts...

It's a perfect day for the beach. At midday, the Swansea Bay tide is just past its lowest point and a broad swathe of sun-baked sand is exposed, along with a scattering of rocky stretches.

Clutching electric foil boards, two wetsuit-clad men climb the promenade steps after finishing a display of effortless skimming over the water. Out on the sparkling water a pair of more conventional stand-up boarders use elbow grease and paddles to power their way.

Two red and yellow flags mark out the supervised bathing area, overseen by a lifeguard seated at a midpoint on a high chair, as a few dozen groups of sunbathers dot the beach. A school day still, the beach clientele and those strolling along the prom or heading to the beachside café comprise mainly of parents with toddlers and older people.

And overlooking the whole scene are the green and white beach huts, which have stood in one form or another for 100 years, curving along the edges of the beach in a graceful backstop to the sands and tides of Langland Bay in Swansea.

There are stories of cabins which sell for the cost of a house, but here democracy reigns; the huts, owned by the council, are available only to residents of the county, and only via a ballot each year, ensuring everyone has a chance of securing a turn in one of the 80 available.

It's the second time Liz Symons has been successful in the ballot. She and five friends club together and each applies, but it took them seven years to get lucky the first time, in 2023.

As in that year, they have a three-month £651 lease on the cabin which takes them from the start of July through to the end of September.

They didn't waste any time on moving in day. They were at the hut by 06:30 GMT the first day, cleaning and decorating to make it their own, after weeks pondering what the all-important theme would be.

"We decided pink this year as a friend of ours died last year, and she was all into pink," Liz explains, sitting in front of the - what else? - pink voile curtains that frame the doorway. "So it's a bit of a thing for her.

"The year before, it was a seaside theme. We're even thinking ahead now, and maybe a tiki bar theme for our next one. You've got to theme it, you see."

Liz visits every day, and indeed this is already the third time her family has used the hut today. An early walk for her mother's dog, a drink at the hut and home by 10:00. Next her husband comes with their own dog for a walk; now she is back to enjoy the afternoon sunshine in the company of one of her hut friends, who arrived earlier to enjoy some quiet reading time alone.

As we chat, a third member of the consortium calls out as she walks past on the promenade below the huts, also heading around the popular headland that separates Langland Bay from Caswell Bay. It is clear that the hut is a fantastic boon for conviviality and socialising.

As well as the casual daily visits, they "tend to have one party per month", she reveals.

"It's the full hog. We get a delivery from one of the curry houses in Mumbles to bring kebabs down. It's great fun."

Tenants are prohibited from remaining overnight in the cabins but Liz's group have stayed to about 23:00 some nights.

"It gets pitch dark as there's no light down here at all, so that's the only problem," she notes. "We had fairy lights and things but down here you can't see a thing [otherwise]."

Liz Symons sits on a black, collapsible garden chair on the path outside her beach hut. She has very light-blonde bleached hair which is shoulder-length with a fringe. She is smiling, lightly-tanned, wears large sunglasses and a v-neck either sleeveless top or swimming costume which is purple-blue with a pattern of small white flowers. To her left one door of the hut is open showing a pink voile, see-through curtain which has been tied back in a knot half way down.
Liz Symons makes the most of her three-month rental by coming to the beach every day

Her hut neighbours come very early every morning to go swimming - "there's about 10 of them" - but never return later in the day, and surprisingly, she does not see many people, despite the number of huts.

"Most of them are always empty," she says, gesturing to the long row of mostly unoccupied huts and then the sun-kissed beach.

"This is the crazy thing. You look down there, it's a beautiful day. It's mad."

During both this and her previous rental, she has only ever seen 11 huts occupied at the same time, whether on a weekday, weekends or during the school holidays. A former hut renter also tells the same story.

One of the few downsides is the cost of parking. There is one short street with free parking next to the beach, and no concessions for renters in the council car park apart from the general Swansea resident discount of 50p off most tariffs. At £6 for four hours or £8 for nine, this could soon add plenty to the cost of renting.

The row of beach huts curving slightly to the left, which are painted white with green posts supporting porches, and green edging around the door frames and fascia boards on the porches. The sky is light blue and almost entirely cloud free, showing a very sunny day. The photo is taken from the east end of the row facing a Tarmac path which runs alongside them. There is a low green rail to the left of the path above a grassy slope which runs down to a promenade between the huts and the beach. A short distance along the path is a clump of palm trees and bushes. A stretch of sand and pebbles or rocks is visible to the left of the picture, with a few groups of people sitting on the beach.
The 80 beach huts were refurbished about a decade ago and are available for Swansea county residents to rent via a ballot

As well as a meeting place for friends, Liz, 65, sees the beach hut as a temporary refuge from responsibility.

"Our mothers are not well. We're of an age now, our mothers are in their 80s and they need help at home - that's one of the reasons I gave up work 10 years ago, because my mother was ill," she explains.

"At the same time, you've got to have time for yourself, and this is just perfect. I can't go abroad now because I've got my mother to look after, so look at this. It's fab."

The interior of Liz Symons' beach hut. There are two beach chairs with arms both covered with light bright pink velvet. Both have a cushion with a printed picture of three cartoon drawings of three older women with grey hair wearing bikinis and pictured sitting down from behind on a beach. On the back wall are six brightly coloured fan decorations placed around a printed material drawing of a beach with palm trees, a lighthouse and oversized starfish. On the left wall a Mexican hat in bands of pink, green and natural coloured straw is hanging. The edge of a table can be seen next to it. Between the chairs is a dark brown plastic container which could be used as a side table. There are hooks with keys hanging from one on the right wall.
Pink is the theme for Liz and her friends beach hut this year

Unlike Liz, former double-glazing fitter Keith Grimshaw, 68, hit the jackpot with his very first application this year after retiring.

"When you're working, it's not worth it," he says.

"My grandson and granddaughters come down and use it. I've got three in Swansea and two in Caerphilly. We've been five days so far.

"It's just peaceful, and tranquil. You can just sit here and enjoy it."

A red and yellow beach flag indicating one end of a lifeguard monitored bathing zone on Langland beach flies in the foreground of the picture. In the near distance a lifeguard sits on a high chair supervising the water and talking to someone with a surfboard. A wide stretch of sand and some rocks is visible as the tide is at its lowest point. In the far distance the row of white and green beach huts can be seen above the edge of the beach. A building housing a cafe is visible just under the flag, while above the beach, trees and green fields can be seen, with some flats and houses interspersed among the greenery. The sky is light to deeper blue with a few wispy clouds sitting low over the horizon.
Just the weather for a trip to Langland Bay - even better if you have the keys to one of its iconic beach huts, which frame the sands

'Make the most of the lovely weather'

Eight days into the rental, they are starting to find a routine with the hut. He chooses to walk his dog beforehand as it gets too hot in the hut for the dog to be comfortable, and then he and his wife will come down about 11:00, and settle in for the day.

Two passersby call up to Keith at one point, asking questions about the hut, revealing that they are looking to move to the area and are even more keen now on learning that it would make them eligible to get a hut in future.

They will be competing with Keith, that's for sure.

He says: "We'll try every year. They said this was a record year for people applying as well, so I don't think that's going to get any better."

A car park with more than half the spaces filled behind the back of the beach huts on Langland bay. About 20 green huts can been seen from the back. Beyond them a couple of palm trees are visible above a deep blue coloured sea.
Parking is on hand, but isn't included in the hut's rent, which could push up the cost considerably

As the afternoon lengthens, Sally Thomas arrives at her mother's hut, a few doors along from Liz. The 46-year-old PCSO has come with her friend and their children.

"Straight from school now, we're going to make the most of the lovely weather," she says.

The two kids scramble into wetsuits and grab body boards before racing off to the sea with one mother in tow, as Sally explains her family has a history with Langland.

Her mother rented one of the former canvas beach huts, which used to sit on the pebbles at the top of the beach itself, until a large storm washed them away over 40 years ago.

"She thought she'd try her luck [this year] and got it first time. I remember coming down when I was a child so I had fond memories of being down on the beach."

A head and shoulders shot of Sally Thomas, who is standing in the doorframe of her beach hut. She had long brown hair with lightened ends, is wearing wire-rimmed sunglasses and is smiling slightly. She wears a spaghetti-strap black and white top with a pattern of fronds on it, and what looks like straps from a swimming costume underneath. She also has a thin silver chain with four or five rings looped on at the front of it. Immediately behind her head is turquoise, white and red bunting. Items for the beach can be seen on one side of the cabin in the shade.
Sally Thomas calls the hut a sort of "therapy" and an escape from daily life

"We had a grand opening last week. My mum put all the bunting up and there's a little bar in there, so we've got our prosecco and cakes and things - make the most of it."

The bar was already installed when they arrived, and a few handy hooks up on the walls, which are being put to good use for swimming paraphernalia.

"It's good to have a base, rather than carrying everything around. It's just easier."

Getty Images A picture of the beach huts in Langland Bay taken from the beach. The huts curve around the edge of the beach above stretches of wall and a grassy slope underneath the huts. There is sand visible on the left of the picture and pebbles on the right. A large washed up log sits on top of the pebbles. A few people wearing jackets or long-sleeved clothes can be seen walking on the promenade between the beach and the grassy slope. Behind the huts are trees with a number of houses among them in the centre of the picture. The sky is cloudy but bright, reflecting the fact that the photo is taken in October and is not from the same day as the rest of the photos in the article. Getty Images
And with all-season rental available, the huts can be enjoyed well beyond the summer, as this October picture demonstrates

As Sally works in the neighbourhood policing team in Mumbles, the closest settlement to Langland, she often patrols the beach area with work.

"I'm here quite a bit," she notes, adding she can see the other side to the idyllic beach when nights come and occasionally anti-social behaviour bubbles over.

But like Liz, Sally views the hut as a place to come to escape from life's pressures for a while.

"You think, enjoy the day and not worry about other things. It's therapy for me."