Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea put one of the most daring modernist buildings in Britain on its seafront and has been politely waiting ever since for the rest of the town to catch up. The signs at the edge of town still call it the birthplace of British motor racing, a claim the seafront has been living off since 1902. When the boarding schools that made its name packed up, the parents who used to visit came back to retire, which tells you the sea air was the real curriculum all along. It is the south coast with the volume turned down, and everyone here picked that setting on purpose.