Time Out’s Best UK Seaside Towns 2026: Why seafood, historic pubs and wild ponies mean you should visit Lymington this summer

In our book, a summer spent by the seaside is a summer well spent. Building sandcastles, basking in the sunshine and body boarding on the waves? Yep, sounds pretty perfect to us. Which is why, each year, Time Out’s travel experts hunt far and wide across the breadth and depth of these Great British Isles to bring you a definitive list of the UK’s best coastal towns.

For 2026, Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire was crowned the crème de la crème, topping the list ahead of other gorgeous getaways like Sussex sister towns Hastings and St Leonards, Oban in the Scottish Highlands and Portrush, County Antrim.

Hampshire’s coastal spot Lymington was also given its flowers this year, and for good reason. Each July, fish-loving foodies descend in droves on its cobbled streets for the annual Lymington Seafood Festival. Now in its 10th year, the boutique event hosts chef demos, a cookery school and, of course, lots and lots of tasty treats. Live music and tribute acts take to the stage throughout the weekend to create the perfect ambience while you chow down.

The 2026 edition of the food fest has already happened, so you’ll have to wait until next summer before stuffing yourself to the gills, but there’s still plenty of reason to book a trip before then.

For starters, the port town’s sea wall, offering jaw-dropping views across the Solent towards the Isle of Wight’s chalky cliffs, is perfect for a stroll. The many gorgeous pubs which call Lymington home are ideal for a post-saunter pint, too. Waterfront boozer The Ship Inn does a banging Sunday roast, while The Chequers, which has been standing since the 16th century, offers a little slice of local history. 

One of the biggest perks of a trip to the Hampshire seaside town is its proximity to the New Forest. Home to around 5,000 free-roaming ponies, the national park is the place to practice your best Doctor Doolittle impression, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with these beautiful, wild beasts.

🌊 The best UK seaside towns to visit in 2026.

Did you see that this major UK train operator is giving away free tickets for summer family trips?

Plus: this ‘portal to the past’ with a Victorian village and actors is one of Time Out’s Best Museums in the UK 2026.