winter warmers_ the best seaside getaways in britain _ travel _ the guardian

8/10/2019 Winter Warmers_ the Best Seaside Getaways in Britain _ Travel _ the Guardian

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Sand, sea, snow? The best UK seaside

holidays in winterJust because its winter doesnt mean you have to avoid the British seaside. Heres where to head for

blustery coastal walks, quirky museums and cosy hotels

Lesley Gillilan

Sunday 16 November 2014 07.00 GMT

Tynemouth, Tyneside

Why?A metro ride from Newcastle, Tynemouths aptly named Longsands beachisTynesides surfing capital, with some of the best UK surf north of Cornwall, plus all thetrimmings. Surfy cafe Crusoesis right on the beach. For cyclists, the classic Coast andCastle cycle routeheads up to Northumberland. Or just hang out on Tynemouths

Georgian Front Street: a cosy row of independent shops looking seaward towards theclifftop ruins of Tynemouth Priory as haunting as Whitbys better-known abbey. Forgood tucker, check out Irvins Brasserie or the Staith House, both on North Shieldsregenerated Fish Quay, a 15-minute walk along the north bank of the Tyne fromCollingwood Monument (Admiral Lord Collingwood gazes out to sea from a loftypedestal). Just two metro stops to the north at Whitley Bay, check out the domedSpanish City ballroom (the north-easts Blackpool Tower) on the seafront, which is due tore-open next year.

StayCollingwood House has two groovy four-person Victorian-modernist apartmentsfrom 225 for a three-night winter break. Above a former shop on Front Street,Martineau Houseis an award-winning B&B with quaint rooms and views. Rooms from95.

Salty dog a wintry walk on the beach at Tynemouth. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
http://www.coastal-apartments.co.uk/http://www.irvinsbrasserie.co.uk/http://thestaithhouse.co.uk/http://www.martineau-house.co.uk/http://www.coastal-apartments.co.uk/http://thestaithhouse.co.uk/http://www.irvinsbrasserie.co.uk/http://www.robinsoncrusoes.co.uk/http://www.theguardian.com/profile/lesleygillilan


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Oban, Argyll, West Highlands

Why? A hub for Calmac ferries sailing to the Inner Hebrides, Scotlands self-styledseafood capital is a busy little harbour town with dreamy views across the Firth of Lorn

to the Isles of Kerrera, Lismore and mountainous Mull. Off-season its easier to get a tableat one of its lively, fishy restaurants; my favourite is the family-run Oban Fish and ChipShop (116 George Street) which does great monkfish scampi (goujons) and salt-and-pepper squid. On fine days, head for the empty white-sand beaches at Ganavanor Traleeon Benderloch; or hike up the hill to McCaigs Tower, a curious 19th-century colosseumlookalike and the best place in town to watch the ferries slip into the harbour at sunset.Warm up with a wee west Highland malt in the Oban Distilleryopposite the North Pier.

StayGreystoneshas architect-designed sea-view rooms from 110 B&B in a turreted,granite villa. High Cliff Oban(01631 564134, highcliffoban.co.uk) is the more traditionalB&B option, with doubles from 85.

Portmeirion, Gwynedd

Why?You can pretend youre on a Mediterranean holiday: when Sir Clough Williams-Ellis built Portmeirion in the 1920s, he had in mind a version of Italys Portofino on theDwyryd estuary. His make-believe Ligurian village has an Italianate piazza, a domed

Pantheon, loggias, statuary, topiary, colonnades, cobbles and watery vistas, all framed incherry laurels and Monterey pines. Some of it was built from architectural salvage (theBell Towerclock came from a demolished London brewery). Nobody lives here thepretty cottages are holiday lets or hotel rooms but theres lots to keep you busy: smoothcreamy sands, walks to hidden coves and views across Tremadog Bay, plus cafes and

View of Oban bay from McCaigs Tower. Photograph: Alamy

View of Portmeirion in north Wales. Photograph: Alamy
http://highcliffoban.co.uk/http://www.greystonesoban.co.uk/http://www.discovering-distilleries.com/oban/http://obanfishandchipshop.co.uk/


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restaurants, including gelateria Caffir Angel Ices, (try the Welsh whisky flavour). Theresa food and craft fair on 6-7 December, and Snowdonia national park is 10 miles away.

StayThe Portmeirion Hotel (chintzy but right on the quay, closed until 5 December) andCastell Deudrath(more stylish, leather sofas, oak floors). Winter packages offer dinner,

bed and breakfast for two from 130 (portmeirion-village.com)

Boscastle, Cornwall

Why?Ten years after being devastated by floods, this rugged Atlantic village is back to itsold self, with knobs on. And in winter it comes into its own atmospheric dark slate andgranite, craggy cliffs, moody green water in the harbour inlet, and smoke curling fromthe chimneys of old sea dog cottages. There are real ales and open fires in the low-litCobweb Inn, and real witchery in the once-flooded Witchcraft Museum open in winterfor first time this year. Even the National Trust shop is still open. But the walks are the

thing. Go west, on the rocky footpaths to Bossiney Cove, or on to Tintagel,blessedlyempty in winterafter a summer . Or go east towards Bude, for a roller coaster of highcliffs on one of the loveliest stretches of the north Cornish coast.

StayBoscastle House, open from February, with rooms from 100. Lovely PenallyCottage, right on the harbour, sleeps six from 362 for a four-night break.

St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex

Why?More graceful than neighbouring Hastings (the two are joined at the hip), StLeonards enjoys a legacy of grand terraces and squares planned by architects James andDecimus Burton in about 1830. It looks a bit shabby these days, but chic, too, in an edgy,Hoxton sort of way. People come to shop on boho Norman Road big on vintage, retro,

Boscastle harbour. Photograph: Alamy

Seafront at Hastings and St Leonards. Photograph: Alamy
http://thenormanroad.co.uk/http://www.classic.co.uk/holiday-cottage/desc-1788.htmlhttp://boscastlehouse.co.uk/http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com/http://cobwebinn.com/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2004/aug/17/weather.climatechange4http://www.portmeirion-village.com/


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Russian art, gluten-free or to parade up and down the prom between the wreckage ofHastings Pier (all set for a grand reopening next year) and the art deco behemoth, MarineCourt (the tallest apartment block in Britain when it was built in 1937). Theres morearchitecture at the De La Warr Pavilionin Bexhill, only four miles away. Michelin-listedSt Clements Restaurant does a cracking Sunday lunch. The winter sunsets are legendary.

StayZanzibaris right on the seafront, with stylish rooms and the Pier Nine restaurant

(plus complimentary hot chocolate at bedtime). Author Kathryn Fletts arts and craftscottage on Caple Gardenssleeps eight and has nice wallpapers and an optional beachhut.

Southport, Merseyside

Why?Go for the cast-iron canopies and glassy Victorian arcades on Lord Street(Southports wide central boulevard is supposed to have inspired the Champs Elyses),

the Marine Lake (birds, boats, bridges open all year round), Christmas lights andBritains oldest, second-longest pier: take the tramway for blustery views of the Mersey.If it rains, theres the excellent Atkinsontheatre and gallery or the eccentric BritishLawnmower Museum. The seafront is a little dreary the curse of the concrete retail park but the beach is vast; miles of yellow sand reaching down to Formby Point via theAinsdale Sand Dunes national park(the largest dune system in the country). Southportsstable of cool restaurants includes Warehouse co-owned by Liverpool footballer StevenGerrard and the V Caf at the The Vincent(see below) for cocktails and the finest sushi.

StayThe clubby, urban Vincent Hotel has sleek, deco-style rooms (steel, dark glass,rainforest showers) from 113. Or try the Ambassador Townhousewith rooms from 65,minimum stay two nights.

This article was amended on 19 November 2014. The first entry was originally titledWhitley Bay, Tyneside; it has been corrected to Tynemouth, Tyneside, and the entryamended.

The renovated pavilion at Southport pier. Photograph: Alamy

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winter warmers_ the best seaside getaways in britain _ travel _ the guardian

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