The British seaside resort is one of the most culturally specific travel experiences available. It is not a tropical beach holiday and should not be compared to one. What it is — at its best — is a particular blend of fresh air, fish and chips, amusement arcades, ice cream, and a genuine sense of holiday tradition that goes back to the Victorian era. The best UK seaside resorts understand what they are and deliver it with genuine charm.
These five resorts represent the range of what British seaside holidays offer, from the grandly traditional to the fashionably reinvented. Each has a distinct character, and each rewards a proper visit rather than a day trip.
Brighton, East Sussex
Brighton is the UK’s most cosmopolitan seaside resort — part London-on-Sea, part genuinely bohemian city that happens to have a beach. The Royal Pavilion, a baroque fantasy of domes and minarets built for the Prince Regent in the early nineteenth century, is one of the most improbable buildings in Britain. The Lanes — a network of narrow old streets packed with antiques dealers, independent restaurants, and boutiques — is excellent for an afternoon.
The beach is pebble rather than sand, which divides opinion, but the seafront atmosphere in summer is excellent. The pier is one of the best-preserved Victorian piers in Britain, and the food scene in Brighton is outstanding — the city has a long tradition of excellent independent restaurants, and the vegan food scene in particular is among the best in the UK.
Whitby, North Yorkshire
Whitby is one of the most visually dramatic of British seaside towns. The ruined abbey on the clifftop above the town, the narrow cobbled streets of the old fishing quarter, and the two hundred and ninety-nine steps up to the cliff are all immediately striking. Whitby’s association with Bram Stoker’s Dracula — the author visited the town in 1890 and set key scenes of the novel here — gives it a gothic atmosphere that leans into cheerfully.
The fishing heritage is still evident in the quality of the food: Whitby’s fish and chips are genuinely among the best in England. The harbour is picturesque and working, with fishing boats alongside pleasure craft. The Whitby Goth Weekend, held twice a year (April and October), has become one of the UK’s most distinctive cultural events and draws visitors from across Europe.
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives has been attracting artists since the nineteenth century, and the light quality on the Penwith peninsula — clear, bright, and reflected off the sea from multiple directions — is still what makes it special. The Tate St Ives gallery, built on the site of a former gasworks overlooking Porthmeor Beach, is one of the finest gallery buildings in the UK and an excellent argument for making art part of a seaside trip.
The beaches around St Ives are some of the finest in England — Porthmeor for surfers, Carbis Bay for families, Porthminster for a sheltered south-facing beach with excellent café. The town itself is almost impossibly picturesque, with narrow streets of whitewashed cottages and fishing boats in the harbour. It gets very busy in August; visiting in May, June, or September is considerably more enjoyable.
Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Scarborough has claims to being the original British seaside resort — spa waters were discovered here in the early seventeenth century, and it was attracting visitors long before Brighton or any of the Victorian railway resorts came into being. It has two very different beaches — the busy South Bay with its amusement arcades and traditional resort atmosphere, and the quieter, wilder North Bay — which gives it a range that single-beach resorts cannot match.
The castle on the headland between the two bays is one of the finest medieval fortresses in the north of England. Anne Brontë is buried in St Mary’s Church in the town, and the connection to the Brontës — who visited regularly — adds a literary dimension that Scarborough wears lightly but pleasantly.
Tenby, Pembrokeshire
Tenby in south-west Wales is consistently voted one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Britain, and the competition for that title is considerably fiercer than most people realise. The medieval town walls are almost entirely intact and encircle the old town on three sides. The harbour is extraordinarily picturesque, and the four beaches — North Beach, South Beach, Castle Beach, and Harbour Beach — offer different aspects and moods throughout the day.
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park surrounds Tenby, and some of the most dramatic coastal walking in Britain is available within a short drive. The ferry to Caldey Island, a working Cistercian monastery offshore, runs in summer and is one of the more unusual day trips available from any British seaside resort.
Looking for guaranteed sunshine? Browse holidays to Portugal, Spain and the Canary Islands for a sunnier alternative.
