A day at the seaside is no longer the inexpensive form of entertainment it used to be. There is the cost of parking, coins for the arcade, and the rising cost of treats like fish and chips. And any parent will tell you that one place you are likely to get a shock at the seaside is the ice cream van. Like so many other types of food, the cost of ice cream has been steadily rising, and it is no longer possible to give your kid a £1 coin and send them off to get a Mr Whippy. Nowadays, a trip to the ice cream van often involves getting your card out and using the contactless machine, often accompanied by muttering or head shaking when you see the total.
Porthmadog Tops the List for Priciest Ice Cream
Credit card provider Zable has recently put together research into what they call 'iceflation' - the rising cost of a simple treat like an ice cream. Looking at average prices, they were able to find the UK beaches with the most expensive single and double ice cream cones, and it turns out a Welsh seaside town is the priciest place to have an ice cream craving. Porthmadog in Gwynedd took the top spot in Zable's research, with a one scoop cone averaging £3.85, and a two scoop cone coming in at £5.28. A family of four going for ice cream in the quaint seaside town will pay £15.40 on average if they go for a single scoop each, or £21.10 if they treat themselves to double scoops. The research only takes into account the price of a basic ice cream in a cone, so visitors had better hope their kids do not want sprinkles or a squeeze of sauce.
Comparison with Cheapest Seaside Resorts
Compared to the cheapest seaside resort for ice cream, Barton-on-Sea in Hampshire, where a single cone averages at £1.95, or just £7.80 for a family of four, Porthmadog's prices are nearly double. The second most expensive stop for ice cream was in Brighton, East Sussex. Here, a single cone will set you back £3.71 on average, while two scoops come in at £5.96. Rounding off the top three was New Brighton in Merseyside, with average prices of £3.70 and £4.70 respectively.
Other Welsh Towns in the Top Ten
Two other Welsh seaside towns also made the top ten: Aberystwyth came in at number four, while Tenby was at number eight. After the clifftop village of Barton-on-Sea, the UK's most affordable destination for ice cream is Tynemouth in the North East, where a single cone costs £2.28, followed by Ilfracombe and Portree in joint third at £2.30.
The Origins of the 99 Ice Cream
While some people assume the name of the popular 99 ice cream comes from its price, its exact origins are disputed. One explanation is that Italian ice-cream makers who moved to the UK named it after the 'the Boys of '99', the final wave of Italian conscripts to World War I, who would have been born in 1899. Others claim it is because an ice cream seller at 99 Portobello High Street in London came up with the idea of breaking a Flake in half and serving it in an ice cream.
Ten UK Beaches with the Most Expensive Ice Cream Prices
- Porthmadog - Gwynedd - £3.85
- Brighton - East Sussex - £3.71
- New Brighton - Merseyside - £3.70
- Aberystwyth - Ceredigion - £3.65
- Bournemouth - Dorset - £3.57
- Salcombe - Devon - £3.50
- Whitstable - Kent - £3.38
- Tenby - Pembrokeshire - £3.33
- Padstow - Cornwall - £3.33
- Margate - Kent - £3.25
