We all want to be there: sand between the toes, wind whistling through the halyards, living by the tidal timetable. It's these impulses, which seem as deep and immutable as the sea itself, that drive us to buy into the seaside property market. Over the past three years, prices have risen substantially - driven by yachties, families, wrinklies, second-homers - and plain old good-timers. A recent survey by the Bank of Scotland shows that over the past three years, more than half of British coastal towns have seen a 50 per cent rise in average house prices, and more than 95 per cent have been beating average increases across the rest of the country. This has been reinforced by a second survey carried out by the Halifax which analysed 124 seaside towns in England and Wales. Both surveys found the biggest rises were in Wales, and that Sandbanks, at Poole in Dorset, is still the most expensive seaside enclave in the country. Where the road forms an isthmus between Bournemouth Bay and Poole Harbour, and the Royal Motor Yacht Club attracts aristocrats and nouveaux riches alike, the houses are constantly being demolished and replaced to keep pace with millionaire tastes. But you needn't be a millionaire to live beside the sea. The great British seaside caters for all. Article date: July 2006

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