The Beach forms part of a family business established in 1959 by Leonard and May Shannon. Leonard, a local village carpenter, built the original beach café which operated on a seasonal basis for a number of years.

In 1963 the business expanded to include a beach shop and a few years later the adjoining car parks were constructed with the help of his son Philip.

Despite these additions the building remained largely unchanged for decades, the first change being in 1981 when Philip, himself a carpenter and builder, built a surf hire facility to accommodate the growing popularity of surfing.

The next twenty years saw a dramatic increase in the number of people taking up the sport and this led to Philip building Chapel Idne Surf Shop in 2001. This then paved the way for the redevelopment of the beach café site in the winter of 2003, the result being The Beach complex you see here today. This award winning building was built by a team of local craftsman led by Philip with the assistance of his two sons Daniel and Jack.