Until fairly recently, seaside towns ruled the tourism-in-Britain game. In a time before £13 Ryanair flights to Spain, the best people could do on a sunny day was head to their nearest coastline and enjoy the moderate heat and freezing cold waters of the Atlantic/Channel/Irish Sea.
As brilliant as going abroad is, there’s something strangely comforting about returning to your roots and appreciating the Great British seaside. But you want to make sure you’re going to the right places. Thankfully, the good people at the Telegraph have painstakingly created a guide to Britain’s most gorgeous seaside towns so you don’t have do too much of your own research.
Coming in strong at number one is a tiny village you’ve probably never heard of, nestled in deep Devon, Beer.
Located on the Jurassic Coast, Beer was crowned ‘best for nostalgia’ by the newspaper and is sadly not actually named after the alcoholic drink. According to the Telegraph, the town is ‘pleasingly old-fashioned’.
In second place was Runswick Bay in east Yorkshire, which was crowned ‘best for beach combing’, and Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, which was simply ‘best for boats’. Good to have somewhere for everyone, including those who are aquatic vessels.
Wondering whether your local coastal village made the cut?
Here are the Telegraph’s 20 most beautiful British seaside villages
- Beer, Devon
- Runswick Bay, Yorkshire
- Portsoy, Aberdeenshire
- Llangrannog, Ceredigion
- Cadgwith, Cornwall
- Walberswick, Suffolk
- St Abbs, Berwickshire
- Kimmeridge, Dorset
- West Wittering, East Sussex
- Polperro, Cornwall
- St Monans, Fife
- Steephill Cove, Isle of Wight
- Porthdinllaen, Llŷn Peninsula
- Kingsand & Cawsand, Cornwall
- Cley, Norfolk
- Craster, Northumberland
- Solva, Pembrokeshire
- Porlock Weir, Somerset
- Plockton, Wester Ross
- Clovelly, Devon
For more info on all the towns mentioned, as well as specific recommendations about where to eat and stay, you can read the full article here. Enjoy your next seaside escape!
Relaxing by the sea with Time Out
It’s nearly summer – it’s time to pop on the sunglasses and sandals and head to the beach. Luckily, we at Time Out know all the best ones. Recently we’ve reported on the country’s whitest beaches, and the three new attractions coming to Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. Here’s our roundup of the best beaches in the UK, and our list of the best beaches in the world if you’re looking for international shores.
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