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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Lisa Bachelor. Photographs by Polly Braden

‘When I leave, part of me stays’: why Scarborough’s youth won’t turn their backs on the seaside town they love

Three teenage lads standing on the parapet of a wall on a hill at dusk with the street lights of a town below them and the sea in the distance
From left: Charlie, 17, and Keane, 19, both from Eastfield, and Jack, 17, from Scarborough, pictured at Oliver's Mount, overlooking Scarborough. Keane wrote a play as a ‘love letter’ to his home town Photograph: Polly Braden/The Guardian

It’s the morning after a wet and stormy day in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough. The waves, which the previous day had been crashing dramatically on the harbour walls, have calmed and a few brave souls have entered the water with surfboards. There is a man throwing a ball for his dog on the beach and a kayaker bobbing on the waves.

Just up from the seafront in the centre of town, Jack and Charlie, both 17, are leaning forward listening to a story from 19-year-old Keane about his recent visit to a drama school in London, where he is hoping to apply for a place on an actor training course once he has saved enough money.

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