There’s only one place I want to be during a heatwave – and that’s on a beach. Unfortunately, everyone else in the UK wants to be beside the seaside when the sun shines, too, and there’s nothing worse than getting sand in your sandwiches alongside thousands of other (slightly sweaty) people.
Luckily, the UK has 11,000 miles of breathtaking coastline, and if like me, you’d prefer to spend the nine-day heatwave on a stretch of sand that’s peaceful and crowd-free, here’s six stunning British beaches hidden away from day-trippers and more serene as a result.
I can’t guarantee they’ll be entirely empty (especially if they’ve read this!), but there’s a far higher chance you’ll find enough space to lay out your towel and take a dip in the sea in peace somewhere along these golden sands. Plus, they’re so beautiful that, on one of the next nine hot, hot, hot, days, you can close your eyes and imagine you’re in the Caribbean – even if a seagull has their beady eyes on your chips!
1. Botany Bay, Kent
While the crowds head to Margate, the kitsch Thanet resort Madonna visited with local Tracey Emin earlier this year, you should take a ‘Holiday’ in Botany Bay. A hidden gem with stunning white cliffs and beautiful chalk stacks, you’ll find it along the coastline towards Broadstairs (both just 90 minutes on the train from London). Loved by Turner – the artist said ‘the skies over Thanet are the loveliest in all Europe’ – at low-tide the kids can search for fossils and explore the rock pools and there’s plenty of secluded sand to relax on.
If you fancy a walk, the 32-mile Viking Coastal Trail stretches around the entire Thanet peninsular and Margate is great for traditional seaside fun – you can play in the arcades, build a sandcastle and visit Dreamland for a ride on the UK’s oldest wooden rollercoaster. Don’t miss the Turner Contemporary art gallery, the Antony Gormley sculpture which emerges from the waves at low tide, and the mysterious Shell Grotto and quirky Crab Museum.
Step back in time with a stay at the Walpole Bay Hotel, which overlooks the sea at Cliftonville and is just five minutes by car (30 minutes on foot) from Botany Bay. Lovingly restored to its 1920s heyday by owner Jane Bishop, there’s a glorious flower-filled terrace you can sit out on in the sunshine, a quirky ‘napary’ display (a collection of napkins including two drawn on by Tracey Emin), and famous fans including Ray Winstone, Louis Theroux and Paula Radcliffe.
2. Trevone Bay, Cornwall
People flock from far and wide to visit Padstow, but an hour’s walk along the craggy cliffs is a lesser-known (and arguably lovelier) stretch of sand: Trevone Bay, known locally as Porthmissen.
On this beautiful Blue Flag beach (a status awarded to those that comply with sustainability initiatives), there’s a sauna to toast yourself in after a dip and ‘Tinker Bunny’s’ tidal bathing pool tucked around the corner, providing a year-round pool of stillness to submerge yourself in.
There’s a family-friendly atmosphere, with a cafe that serves hearty jacket potatoes and, perhaps best of all, a swoon-worthy set of self-catering properties you can stay in overlooking it: Atlanta Trevone Bay. These six stylish coastal rentals all have such light and airy seaside-inspired interiors that you’ll be planning your return as soon as there’s another heatwave.
3. Holkham Beach, Norfolk
‘You either get Norfolk, with its wild roughness and uncultivated oddities, or you don’t’, said Stephen Fry, of the county he grew up in. Sir John Betjeman loved it, too, and meandering along the coastal route through North Norfolk’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, you can see why. This area is all about great beaches, and there are six with Blue Flags – Sheringham, West Runton, East Runton, Cromer, Mundesley and Sea Palling.
But our favourite stretch of sand is at Holkham, beside one of the country’s biggest nature reserves, which seems to swallow up however many visitors it gets so never appears too busy. The reason is simple: it’s simply vast with the wide golden sands (backed by grassy dunes and pine woodland) stretching along the coast for four miles. Famous for featuring in movies like Shakespeare In Love, Deadpool & Wolverine, walk for two miles through the cool pine forests and you’ll get to the colourful beach huts and fish ’n’ chip shops in Wells-Next-The-Sea.
For easy access to the beach (the car park can get busy, even if the beach isn’t), stay at The Victoria, a beautiful hotel (serving fabulous roast lunches) with 20 bedrooms in Holkham itself, just behind the beach at the gates of the magnificent Holkham Hall.
Alternatively, The Globe Inn is a 10-minute drive from Holkham in Wells-Next-The-Sea, with rooms and apartments overlooking the Georgian square.
4. Charmouth Beach, Dorset
On a clear day, from the top of Golden Cap – the highest point on the south coast – you can see 90 miles of unspoilt English coastline, from Portland Bill in Dorset to Start Point in Devon. This stunning stretch includes honey-coloured cliffs, pebbly coves far from the heatwave crowds and pretty working harbours.
In the middle is Charmouth, a traditional seaside town that makes a perfect base. Head east for Seatown’s atmospheric Anchor Inn; Eype with its thatched cottages; Bridport’s quirky independent shops; and Burton Bradstock (don’t miss a cocktail at the clifftop Seaside Boarding House). If you still have energy, trek further towards Abbotsbury and you’ll get to Chesil Beach. Alternatively, set off west in the footsteps of Jane Austen, who immortalised the Cobb at Lyme Regis in Persuasion. Or head inland for a delicious lunch in the beautiful walled garden restaurant at Parnham Park.
Bring your dog and stay at Damson Tree Cottage, which sleeps five and has a pet-friendly garden just 20 minutes from the peaceful beach, where you can kayak, paddleboard or enjoy a pint by the sea.
5. Da Lang Ayre, Shetland Isles, Scotland
The last beach on our list is not only underrated, wild and unique – it’s so remote you can only get to it by walking over Shetland’s highest peak, Ronas Hill, or by swimming (and you’ll need to be a good one).
But all the effort you put in to get there (be warned: the hike is incredibly steep) will be rewarded with a mile-and-a-half stretch of deserted red sand and shingle beach fringed by dramatic cliffs. Plus, there are caves to explore, stunning sea views and, offshore, the rocks of The Cleiver and The Hog.
Recently identified by FitFlop as one of the top, secret beaches in the UK, with an average of just 10 Google searches for it a month, you can stay nearby in Northmavine which has a number of self-catering properties or try the very reasonable St Magnus Bay Hotel on the Hillswick shoreline.
6. Tor Bay, Gower, Wales
The South Gower is bound to get busy during the snap heatwave, yet this sheltered, stretch of sand will no doubt remain empty. Tor Bay is next to Three Cliffs Bay, around the towering Great Tor headland, 20 minutes on foot from Penmaen village, where there’s a car park.
There are no lifeguards, but plenty of experienced surfers you can watch ride the waves at mid to high tide, so pack a picnic and a bottle of water before you head to it via the clifftop path. Book one of the Secret Garden pods that sleep two at the nearby Oxwich Bay Hotel.
