Best places to live by the sea in the UK
Tenby, in Pembrokeshire, is Britain’s most Instagrammable seaside town
PETER LEGG/GETTY IMAGES
Remember holidays? We could all do with one now. But who knows when and where we’ll be able to get away. So why not guarantee yourself that summer feeling all year round by setting up home by the seaside?
One of the many things that the past 12 months have taught us is just how magical the healing power of the sea can be. A windswept coastal hike or a bracing dip in the briny is the ultimate antidote to lockdown fever, and there’s no safer or more restorative place to meet friends or family than the beach.
It’s not easy to find the perfect coastal perch in the UK. Too many seaside towns are either rarefied second home-only zones, snooty in summer and soulless in winter, or depressingly down at heel. On a scale from designer deck shoes to drugs and deprivation, we’re looking for the ones in the middle and up. We want places with a bit of life all year, where a winter walk is as uplifting as a summer swim, you don’t have to sacrifice day-to-day convenience to enjoy the salty sea air, and where community spirit isn’t extinguished at the end of the school holidays. And if you are ever able to go abroad again, you’ll be able to cover some of the costs by renting out your own waterside bolt hole.
Aberdyfi, Gwynedd
There’s a reason you pay almost double the county average to live in Aberdyfi. You can walk for miles along the sandy beach, keeping an eye out for seals and otters in the estuary or for the dolphins that follow the windsurfers in Cardigan Bay. This is where the mountains of Snowdonia tumble into the sea. The scenery is spectacular and the night skies dark and dramatic. In the off season, a strong community spirit takes centre stage. Everyone pulled together during the crisis. The shops — including the Cigydd Aberdyfi Butchers, the hut on the pier where Dai Hughes sells his daily catch (lobster, brown crab and sea bass) and the excellent Coast deli — remained open. The restaurants started doing doorstep deliveries and the church provided meals for people in need. There’s plenty of opportunity to get involved if you want to, with rowing and sailing clubs and a lively little theatre and community centre, which — in normal times — hosts everything from yoga and art classes to the riotous annual panto by the Aberdyfi players.
Amble, Northumberland
Two decades ago, this former mining and fishing town at the mouth of the River Coquet was known mostly for its high unemployment rate, and was bypassed for Bamburgh and Alnmouth, to the north. An enthusiastic regeneration scheme has transformed the harbour — now home to smart apartments, cafés, restaurants and the Northumberland Seafood Centre, a lobster hatchery and fish market — and with it the fortunes of the village. It’s the year-round activity that makes this such a good spot, but this whole coast is a wonder, all endless sandy beaches and brooding castles. Alnmouth is smaller and quieter in winter, but it has a nicely upmarket high street and a station, with some free parking and direct trains to Edinburgh, Newcastle and London.
Arnside and Silverdale, Cumbria
If there’s one thing more uplifting than a sea view, it’s an estuary view. These twin villages, joined at the hip in an area of outstanding natural beauty, are the perfect locations to enjoy the ever-changing spectacle where the River Kent flows into Morecambe Bay — wading birds, sunsets, the occasional murmuration of starlings, all against the backdrop of Lake District fells. Life is busy here, with an array of clubs and societies that cater to every taste from bridge to ukulele-playing, and a lively sailing club that was repurposed last year as pandemic HQ, co-ordinating more than 500 volunteers to deliver meals, set up telephone buddy systems and sew PPE kit. There’s a good choice of pubs and cafés — all dog friendly — as well as delicious fish suppers from the Arnside Chip Shop (order by app). And getting here is a doddle, albeit a slightly leisurely one, on the train that goes to Preston and Lancaster, as well as across the lovely Arnside Viaduct to Grange-over-Sands, where the Lake District meets the sea.
Deal, Kent
Seaside with a splash of sophistication and fast trains to London have made this charming spot on the Kent coast a fixture in our Best Places to Live guide. The town has two stars: a much-loved high street, where the swanky and the sensible are nicely balanced, with the local, mostly independent shops selling everything from homewares to meat pies; and the seafront, where everyone walks their dog, enjoying the views of the White Cliffs and, sometimes, France. In between is the charming jumble of historical cottages and townhouses in the Middle Street conservation area. When fun starts again, cosy pubs and wine bars abound, there are decent restaurants (Frog & Scot, Victuals and Co) and proper coffee on offer at Hut 55 on the prom and at the Pop-Up Café, which also serves a cracking cheese toastie. The population is a good mix of London-weekenders (although they’re more permanent these days) and Deal old-timers, who get together at the Saturday market, or in the queue for flapping-fresh cod and chips at the Middle Street Fish Bar.
Dornoch, Highlands
In summer it’s golf that draws people to this charming little town an hour’s drive north of Inverness. Royal Dornoch is one of the oldest links clubs in the world, and you can still play it in the depths of winter, although the lack of daylight (the sun sets before 3.30pm on the shortest day) means you’ll struggle to finish both 18-hole courses on the same day. Happily, that leaves more time to sip single malts in front of the fire in the bar at the Dornoch Castle Hotel — hailed as the best whisky hotel in the world by a specialist website. According to the hotel’s managing director, the town has improved immeasurably in the 18 years since he moved there. “In the off season there was just one pub open in the evening,” Colin Thompson says. “Now, even in winter, there are half a dozen places to eat, we’ve got various festivals and trendy Cotswoldy shops are opening up.” The beach is wild and wonderful, with views across the water to the Tarbat Ness lighthouse. If you don’t spot a dolphin here, there are otters, seals and seabirds at Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve.
Holywood, Northern Ireland
Does Belfast Lough count as the sea? We think it should, because its sparkling salty waters are ideal for sailors and swimmers and its shore is a scenic trail for joggers, cyclists and dog walkers. With the centre of buzzy Belfast 15 minutes up the road and Ikea even closer, it’s no wonder this corner of the Gold Coast is Northern Ireland’s swankiest address. If you want something cheaper and quieter, the shores of Co Down are a secret that locals keep from tourists, who are steered firmly but politely to the causeways, cliffs and severed heads on the Antrim Coast, made famous by Game of Thrones. Towns such as Donaghadee, Ardglass, Dundrum and Newcastle — bucket-and-spadey in the best possible way — are a delight. Our favourite spot at the moment, though, is peaceful Strangford Lough, a haven for sailors and nature-lovers, just far enough from Belfast.
Isle of Wight
Everything is seaside here — that’s the joy of life on a small(er) island. From the stress-busting short boat journey from the mainland and the yachting heaven of Cowes to wild swimming in Gurnard Bay or simply enjoying the view from the pleasure pier, you’re never short of ways to enjoy the water. Don’t come here for cutting edge: like the mainland, the 21st century is kept politely at arm’s length in favour of promenades, quaint little towns joined by narrow country lanes, model villages and sedate tea rooms. If it’s not as creative as our other favourite isle — Eigg in the Inner Hebrides — it is a whole lot warmer. This island receives 37 hours of sunshine a week, considerably more than the national average of 30 hours, one reason why it’s such fertile ground for garlic, tomatoes and other local produce, and perhaps the best reason of all for living here.
Kingsbridge, Devon
The South Hams is lovely at any time of year, and while the millionaires choose Salcombe, we’d rather settle in Kingsbridge, where the lights stay on whatever the season and the population doesn’t shrink from 15,000 to 1,500 during the quieter weeks. It’s the perfect base for exploring Devon’s endlessly varied maritime scenery, from the Riviera-recalling Blackpool Sands to the huge shingle beach at Slapton or picturesque Hope Cove. “This is an all-year-round town — it’s not like some other places, which can be a bit tumbleweed out of season,” says Jane Baxter, a chef and cookery writer (Yotam Ottolenghi is a fan) who’s now a partner in Wild Artichokes, a catering and events company. “Kingsbridge has a big school, a cinema and a leisure centre, a good high street with an excellent butcher, baker and fishmonger, and a farmers’ market every two weeks.”
Lyme Regis, Dorset
The unique atmosphere of this ancient harbour can be lost when its narrow streets are deluged by a tide of summer holidaymakers. It’s hard to channel your inner French Lieutenant’s Woman and stare moodily at the horizon from the windswept Cobb, on the seafront, when you’re trying not to be jostled into the water by the massed ranks of the bucket-and-spade brigade. In winter, though, you can take a peaceful stroll on one of the beaches or seek out fossils under the cliffs. Boat trips and Rib rides run all year round, and it’s a surprisingly good place to shop for clothes and gifts, as well as local produce from the delis, bakers and fishmongers. It’s hard to go wrong on the Jurassic Coast — if you’re looking for somewhere a little more accessible, try Swanage. It’s a charming, family-friendly resort where you can stroll on the pier and eat homemade ice cream in the summer, and immerse yourself in the environmentally minded community in winter.
Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall
This really is the coast with the most. It takes a long time to get here, but once you’ve made it, there’s no need to leave. All that’s good about Cornwall is right here: sailing on the Helford River, sandcastles at Kennack Sands and the spectacle of Kynance Cove with its craggy cliffs and turquoise waters. You can surf at Poldhu Cove and warm up afterwards with a hot choc at the friendly beach café, and there are miles of coastal walks — even more dramatic when the winter storms roll in. There’s a choice of places to live: Mullion, the largest village on the Lizard, for schools, a chemist and a GP surgery; Coverack and Cadgwith for Cornish fishing village atmosphere; Helford, an idyllic and expensive sailors’ haven; workaday Helston for superstores and high-street essentials; and Porthleven for smart restaurants and the permissible smugness that comes from living in Cornwall’s most upwardly mobile resort.
North Berwick, East Lothian
Take the train from central Edinburgh and in about half an hour you can be walking the dog on miles of sandy beach, breathing in ozone-rich air, before settling down at one of the many restaurants and cafés on a visibly thriving high street. Even the weather’s not bad here, with less rain and many fewer storms than on the wilder west coast. That said, you’d have to be extremely hardy to pull on a wetsuit and join the Bass Rock Swimmers, who take to the Forth waters in the coldest months. The East Lothian Yacht Club runs winter races and the famous links golf course is sufficiently well drained to allow play to continue whatever the weather. And at this time of year the light is so clear that the Bass Rock, a mile offshore, looks little more than a good three iron away.
Portobello, Edinburgh
You don’t have to flee the city to enjoy the pleasures of the sea — just ask the lucky residents of Penarth, Cardiff’s superior suburb. Discerning Edinburghers are beginning to realise that there’s more to life than owning a well-proportioned honey-coloured flat in the gorgeous Georgian New Town. Instead, they are congregating around Portobello’s sandy beach for cold-water swimming, followed by sociable reheating with a hot chocolate from the arty Crumbs of Portobello coffee van. Porty’s emergence as one of the Scottish capital’s desest-reses was cemented in 2018 with the conversion of a former fishing tackle shop into the Portobello Bookshop. It has since been joined by plenty more indies, including a greengrocer and an off-licence, food stalls and a bakery. Tribe Porty, a co-working space, which leases studios for Pilates classes and offices to photographers and graphic designers, sums up the new Portobello, where your neighbours are likely to be young families or couples in their twenties, plus arty types who have made the shift east from the capital.
Tenby, Pembrokeshire
Britain’s most Instagrammable seaside town has got the lot — a picture-perfect harbour bobbing with boats, topped by brightly painted high-rise Georgian houses. Tenby’s alleys ooze atmosphere and there are jaw-dropping coastal views at every turn, enlivened by castle ruins, an old lifeboat station and, if you’re lucky, a passing porpoise or two. Even better, there are three standout sandy strands. Castle Beach is the pick for families, spacious South Beach is a wilder spot to stretch out and enjoy grandstand sunset views over Caldey Island, while North Beach is the place for water sports. It also has the warmest water, which is why the locals gather for a Boxing Day swim, and again on May 1 to start the season with the Ducking Day dip. This is very much a resort, peaceful in winter, anything but the rest of the year, especially when half of west Wales decamps here to watch rugby internationals, celebrating/drowning sorrows afterwards with ale from the town’s two breweries. If that’s not your cup of tea, paddle up the Cleddau Estuary to a village such as Llangwm, Landshipping or Lawrenny, which offer a deliciously secret version of waterside living that’s so serene that we’ve celebrated it with a place in this year’s Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.
Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear
The pandemic may have put a dent in activity in one of the northeast’s most bougie high streets, but it’s done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of Geordies keen to take the waters in this glamorous Georgian sea-bathing resort. The number of open-water swimmers, surfers, paddleboarders, kayakers and canoeists taking to the North Sea from its Blue Flag beaches has swelled this year. The very best period homes, especially around the horseshoe-shaped King Edward’s Bay, can sell for seven-figure sums, although there are cheaper homes available near by in Cullercoats and Whitley Bay. Wherever you live, save some change for Riley’s Fish Shack on the sands. This cool shipping-container grill serves some of the tastiest, freshest seafood in the land. While it’s shut for winter, you can do your best to recreate it at home (lobster kit for two, £40).
Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
The coast of north Norfolk is as enchanting as any in the country, with golden sands, creeks and marshes bathed in ethereal light, endless horizons and wondrous wildlife. The tricky thing here is finding the perfect base. Wells-next-the-Sea has long been regarded as the slightly shabby relation of posher — too posh, we think — Brancaster, Blakeney and the Burnhams. Over the past few years it has transformed itself into a safe berth for city escapees, downsizers and retirees. In normal times there are two outstanding and sociable pub/hotels, so you need never be short of company — or lunch — at the gastro-inclined Crown Hotel, or the dog-friendly Globe. Other benefits include a revamped Co-op supermarket and a self-service petrol station, don’t underestimate how big a deal these are in a small Norfolk town. It’s the beach that’s the big draw, though. It’s endless, golden and dog-friendly, starting a mile or so along the prom from the centre, with a miniature railway to whisk you home if you’ve used up all your energy swimming, walking or running on the perfect sands.
Best Places to Live 2021