Environmentally conscious Brits are expected to take over 27 million UK beach holidays this year with 61 % saying they will shun carbon-heavy flights abroad in favour of an old fashioned driving holiday to the British seaside.
However, a mountainous 160,000 tonnes of sand will inadvertently be taken home with them – enough to fill 25,000 family cars.
Despite the car being the majority of people’s second most valuable asset, the equivalent of 50 million buckets of sand finds its way into the family motor every year – with most sand being transported from coast to car via shoes and clothing (54 %).
33 % is carried in towels and blankets, 5 % remains in your bucket and spade, 1 % is caught in newspapers and books and 6 % is taken from the beach via people’s hair and body parts.
Women are much more likely to be covered in sand come the end of the day – carrying an average of 7 kilograms of sand away with them each year compared to a man’s 5 kilograms.
Ugh that disgusting but you have to admit, getting all the sand off is an utter nightmare. So as I prepare to take the children for our mega beach holiday, I make a mental note not to play too much ‘let’s cover the children in sand’ game. As this picture shows, I shall use the car instead!