It’s a fact: everywhere looks lovelier in the sunshine. And with summer almost at our doorstep, it’s the perfect time to go out and see Britains best coastal towns and villages in their most glorious form. Wondering where to start? Here at Time Out, we’ve got a thorough guide to all of the UK’s prettiest seaside towns to help inspire your next staycation. But if none of those take your fancy, how about the tiny village that was just named the ‘loveliest’ in the land?
The Telegraph has declared the fishing village of St Mawes in Cornwall the ‘loveliest’ seaside village in Britain. Sat on the tip of the Roseland Peninsula, St Mawes is more out of the way than tourist hotspots in the region, like Padstow or St Ives, so is a little less busy with holidaymakers. Greg Dickinson, senior travel writer at the Telegraph called the place ‘clean, classy, cool’, pointing out that it’s a favourite haunt of royal family members (Queen Elizabeth II used to stop off there during tours on Royal Yacht Britannia).
With temperatures reaching Mediterranean levels during the summer, the village is often likened to St Tropez, though Dickinson said ‘the pace is slower and the scale is smaller’ and that a comparison to the Amalfi coast would be more apt.
There’s a stretch of shops and galleries along the waterfront, like the Waterside Gallery, worth a visit and a bunch of top quality places to eat, like St Mawes Seafood Bar, Idle Rocks, the Rising Sun pub or Watch House. For somewhere to stay the night, Time Out recommends Hotel Tresanton, which features on our roundup of Cornwall’s best hotels.
Dickinson also recommended visiting St Mawes Castle, a fortress built by Henry VII, while you’re there. He added: ‘After, walk up the road to Lamorran House Gardens (£14 entry), an Italianate garden filled with tumbling waterways and little bridges. Just about every local I spoke to implored me to walk the Cornish coastal path from the village to the church in St Just in Roseland (approx 1hr each way), which has one of the prettiest churchyards in England.’
The Telegraph also spoke to village locals about what makes their hometown special. One said: ‘I live here because there are great people here. The community is about sailing, boating, yachting, and the sea. That’s what makes this place really lovely.’
Another said: ‘No matter how cold it is, get in the sea, even if you quickly plunge in. In the village there are loads of places to eat, to shop, to watch the world go by.’
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