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New to cruise ships? Packing tips to make vacations at sea plain sailing for beginners — including a ‘game-changer' clip
Wrong. As revealed here by travel experts, including one who's been on over 90 cruises.
They point out a host of helpful tips tailored to making a first-ever voyage plain sailing, from hooks that work particularly well in cabins to 'game-changer' clips for the poolside, and from 'mundane' bags that work like magic to the reason you should never forget your passport, even on a domestic trip.
Fill carry-ons with important items
Passengers should make sure they stuff their carry-on with items they think they'll need during the first few hours of boarding, Dean Van Es, CEO of Fast Cover Travel Insurance, tells The Independent.
He explains: "Something first-timers might not know is that it can take hours for their checked bags to reach their rooms after they board.
"So, if they're planning on heading straight to the pool but don't have their bathing suit in their carry-on bag, they could be waiting a long time for a dip. The same goes for important items such as medications and phone chargers."
Magnetic hooks
Magnetic hooks have a force of attraction for seasoned cruisers.
"Most people don't realize that the walls of cruise ship cabins are made of metal," reveals Don Bucolo, one half of the husband-and-wife team behind the travel blog and YouTube Channel Eat Sleep Cruise.
"We bring along magnetic hooks to help organize gear, such as day bags, coats, hats, and other clothing items.
"With limited storage in most cruise ship cabins, magnetic hooks can help create more space."
Towel clips
The plastic towel clips that look like giant chip clips are "absolute game-changers by the pool", says Don, who's been on over 90 cruises.
He continues: "There's nothing more frustrating than having your towel constantly slide off your deck chair, and these little clips solve that problem instantly. Plus, they help mark your spot when you step away from your lounger."
Ziplock bags in various sizes
Ziplock bags may be mundane, says Don, but they are "incredibly versatile" and can be used to organize and protect a host of small items.
He notes: "We use them to organize toiletries, protect electronics from splashes, separate dirty clothes from clean ones, and they're perfect for ensuring wet swimsuits or sandy shoes don't contaminate the rest of your luggage.
"They take up no space but solve a dozen different packing problems."
Bottles of wine
Save money on wine by packing your own, says Don.
He explains: "Most major cruise lines let guests bring up to two 750ml bottles of wine in their carry-on on embarkation day.
"Bringing bottles of wine is a great way to save some money on drinks on the ship. Just make sure to check your cruise line's policies on bringing alcohol onboard to ensure the wine is not confiscated at the port."
Scrubba wash bag
Most cruise ships do offer a laundry service, but you can save on the fees by using a Scrubba, a 5oz, pocket-sized "washing machine in a bag".
Users simply add water and laundry liquid, or sheets, close and deflate the bag, then rub clothes against the inner washboard for up to three minutes.
The clothes are then rinsed in the bag and hung out to dry.
This wash bag has "helped over 450,000 travelers wash their clothes anywhere, anytime", says Scrubba.
Power strips without surge protection
"Most ships ban surge protectors," notes Don, "but basic power strips are usually allowed.
"With only one or two outlets in most cabins and everyone having multiple devices, a cruise-ship-approved power adapter is all but necessary. We can charge phones, tablets, cameras, and portable batteries all at once instead of taking turns or fighting over outlets."
Toiletry 'skins'
You can prevent toiletries leaking onto your favorite cruise outfit by using a ' LeakLock ', a 'skin' that fits over bottles to prevent explosions in transit.
Inventor Lisa Lane tells The Independent: "A big issue many cruisers don't think about is that most have to fly to the port where their cruise departs.
"The change in air pressure during flights causes bottles of shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, and other liquids to expand and leak — often all over clothes packed in the same suitcase.
"The last thing anyone wants is shampoo soaking into their formal gown or favorite cruise outfit before they even board the ship.
"That's exactly why I created LeakLocks — to prevent messy leaks, protect clothing, and give travelers peace of mind."
Don't forget your passport — even if it isn't required
Even if you're on a domestic cruise, it's wise to pack your passport regardless.
So says Becky Hart, marketing strategist at travel insurance firm Seven Corners, who points out that "if you get sick or hurt during the cruise and need to be transported to the nearest hospital, that could end up being in a different country".
She adds: "You don't want medical attention to be delayed because you don't have the proper documentation.
"You might also need to dock unexpectedly at a foreign port because of bad weather. You hope you won't encounter situations like this, but if you do, having your passport is one less hurdle to worry about."
Don't overpack, even though you can unpack
If you have to sit on your suitcase to close it before a cruise, you've gone wrong.
"A commonly named advantage of cruising," says Becky, "is that you get to see multiple destinations without having to pack and repack constantly.
"When you don't have to constantly haul heavy luggage around, it can be tempting to overpack. Resist the urge to bring too many unnecessary items, 'just in case'. You're more likely to lose something, and those small cruise cabins can feel cluttered in a hurry when you're drowning in a mountain of clothes you'll never wear."
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Water quality: not rated | Loos, dog-friendly • Northern Ireland's top hotels With views past Harlech to Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) and across Cardigan Bay to the Llyn, the 450-acre Shell Island has one of Europe's biggest campsites, with 300 acres of fields where the pitches range from the convenient to the wild and from beachside to woodland, with sea views available even in high season. At the northern end, around the harbour, the shore is rocky — turning to flat, sugar-soft sand as you head south. The beachcombing is astonishing: perfect scallops, fragile tusks and razors, unblemished turitellas and, most prized by conchologists, tiny cowries. Day visits are £10 per car; camping pitches are £13 per person in high season and note that the island is cut off for two hours a day on the high tides, so check the tables before turning up ( quality: not rated | Loos, dog-friendly, café Glamorgan's Heritage Coast runs for 14 miles from Aberthaw in the east to Porthcawl in the west. 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From here you'll have an uninterrupted drone's-eye view of the magnificence of Three Cliffs Bay, with the wide waters of the Pennard Pill snaking across the sands to the left, the crags of Penmaen Burrows, where the lost village of Stedwarlango is thought to be buried, on the right and the dragon-tooth spikes of the Three Cliffs in front. I've timed the walk from the campsite to the beach and it's 16 minutes. If you're coming from the car park on the A4118, it's 22 minutes — look for the footpath across the road from Shepherds general store (SE1 pitch from £52; quality: not rated | Dog-friendly Saundersfoot is a beach that rewards explorers. The northern end, where you'll see faces in the surreally contorted rocks, is home to the Lan Y Mor restaurant, serving local fish, meat and veggie dishes (mains from £18; From here the sands drift past the Chemist Inn — serving Tenby Harbwr ales — to Ocean Square, with its beach bar and seafood deli. 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Order the Falmouth rock oysters or the catch of the day (mains from £26; quality: good | Loos, accessible, café • Best hotels in Cornwall In the spring of 1897 Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson found themselves in Poldhu Bay where, 'from the windows of our little whitewashed house we looked down on the whole sinister semicircle of Mounts Bay'. Their holiday was interrupted by a bizarre triple murder, as told in the short story The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, so the pair never got time to investigate Poldhu Cove. That was an elementary error: this beach has terrific rockpooling with sand dunes at the back and a stream running down the middle. There's a beach café, a surf school, fab sunsets and Woodley's Cottage, a whitewashed holiday rental overlooking Mount's Bay, which might not be Holmes and Watson's hideout but has to be the prime suspect (from £595; quality: excellent | Loos, café • Great affordable hotels in Cornwall Porthcurno on a sunny day, with its sparkling sands, wildflower-garlanded cliffs and ludicrously blue water might be the most beautiful beach you've ever seen, but there is an even prettier one just next door. It's called Pedn Vounder, and all you need to get there are knees that are up to the steep descent on a zig-zagging footpath. It once had a reputation as a nest of naked dope-smoking hippies but these days it's quite the family beach with a carpet of golden sand that, seen from the South West Coast Path above, exerts a siren-like pull. There's no lifeguard, it's a strenuous climb back out and the beach vanishes at high water, so if the tide is coming in, settle for Porthcurno beach instead. 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The surf is still as gentle as an ageing labrador, they still sell cappuccino and croissants from a stand on the sand, and Stacey and Sumith Kankanamge still serve Sri Lankan curries at the Barricane Beach Café every night from 5pm-7pm for a takeaway on the sands. The only problem, says Sue Black, the beach manager, is that the redesign and expansion of the Beachcomber Café has hit a snag or two and won't be open until at least February. Water quality: excellent | Lifeguards, loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café Seacliff, west of Dunbar, is a private beach with a £5 entrance fee for cars, but it's worth the price of the ticket for the sheer cinematic drama. Hidden at the western end is the smallest harbour in the British Isles. About the size of a hotel pool, it was carved out of the sandstone in 1890 by Andrew Laidlay, the laird of the manor, using a steam engine and compressor. Then there's the burnt-out shell of Seacliff House, hidden in the woods, and, across Oxroad Bay, the gothic skeleton of Tantallon Castle, destroyed in 1651 after a 12-day bombardment by Oliver Cromwell's artillery. Meanwhile, Bass Rock, home to the world's largest gannet colony, floats offshore like a Bond villain's lair. Who knows what fresh intrigue awaits the curious visitor?Water quality: excellent | Loos, dog-friendly • Scotland's best hotels I met a local called Ian as I was walking across the Rhu peninsula, just south of Arisaig. He showed me a basalt rock scored with faint symbols. It was a blue stone, possibly neolithic, offering magical protection from evil. 'Don't tell anyone where it is,' he said. Did the same apply to Rhu Point, I asked: a cove with views west to Eigg and south to Ardnamurchan where black rock, white sand and turquoise water offer another type of magic? 'Aye, why not?' he replied. After I included the beach in our guide in 2023, I explained, I received a complaint from someone who said I had spoilt his secret beach. 'Englishman, was he?' Ian guessed. 'They have a habit of thinking they own places that aren't theirs.' You'll find Rhu Point a mile and a half from the layby at the old pier building on the Rhu quality: not rated | Dog-friendly I wouldn't go as far as saying that Achmelvich beach — three miles northwest of Lochinver — has been spoiled but the new facilities that opened here at Easter underline the ever-increasing popularity of one of TikTok's favourite locations on the busy North Coast 500 (NC500) road trip. There's now a 70-space car park, showers, bike racks and lavatories that must be made of pure gold, given the staggering £1.1 million cost of the project. But while Achmelvich is crowded, few seem to make the trek less than half a mile over the headland to the even more beautiful Vesteys beach. Make the effort, and you'll find glittering white sand, sea so clear that kayaking feels like flying and safe snorkelling in kelp beds where you may see edible crabs, sunstars and quality: not rated | Dog-friendly At Achininver I watched a ewe break away from the flock sunbathing on this gorgeously remote bay to lead her newborn lamb down to the shore. The sand glittered in the sunshine, the stream was like black tea, and the sea between the headlands went from Caribbean blue to jade green. Mother and child stood and stared at the bay until the lamb trotted back towards the flock. The ewe watched the waves for a moment longer, then turned to follow. I think I saw her sigh. Getting here, five miles down a single-track road off the A838 at the Kyle of Tongue, will almost certainly involve a long reverse or two to let locals pass, and, sadly for camper vanners, there's nowhere to park up for the night. Anyway, come nightfall, the midges will shred the flesh from your quality: not rated | Dog-friendly • Most beautiful places in Scotland Here's a beach much better suited to NC500 camper vans. There's a big parking spot just off the A836 from where a short walk over dunes leads to a wide curve of ochre sand. The River Halladale meets the sea on the right and on the high ground to the left, the Melvich Bay Caravan Park offers vans hard standing pitches, electrical hook-ups and marvellous sunrises over the bay (£35 a night; An easy but poignant walk takes you west around the bay to Portskerra Harbour, with its memorial to 26 local fishermen who perished in storms within sight of where you stand. A little further on you'll see the Beri Geo rock, where a ship called the Snow Admiral was wrecked in 1842. Four graves — thought to be those of the captain and his family, including at least two children — are on the clifftop; the other ten are in the quality: not rated | Dog-friendly No one comes to the longest shingle beach in Scotland with a bucket and spade and a deckchair. Binoculars, though, are essential. Here, as the name suggests, is where the River Spey ends its 107-mile journey from the Central Highlands and throughout the summer and autumn it's teeming with salmon. That attracts ospreys, which arrive here from West Africa in April and spend the season performing thrilling high-speed dives as they hunt along the mouth of the river. I came on the offchance, and didn't even have the time to uncap my binos before the action began less than 100 metres from the car park. I thought the cries of wonder from an American tour group were for the ospreys but they weren't. A pod of dolphins was grabbing the salmon before the raptors got quality: not rated | Loos, dog-friendly, café • Discover our full guide to Scotland The best view of Cullen is from the footpath on the viaduct that carried the rail line between Portsoy and Elgin until 1968. From here you can see a stream called the Burn of Deskford as it winds across the golden beach to the sea; the old fishing community of Seatown of Cullen, with its brightly painted Airbnbs and second homes; and Logie Head, where the Giant's Steps walk rewards the brave with even more dizzying views than the viaduct. Beneath the Three Kings rock pinnacles on the beach, so the story goes, lie a Scottish, a Norwegian and a Danish king, and beyond them there's a surf school, paddleboard hire and more than a mile of quality: excellent | Loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café On a foggy day, the towering red granite, emerald cliffs and salt-bleached driftwood washed up on the three-mile sands of St Cyrus make you think of the Pacific Northwest. On a sunny day, you could even be in Queensland — and you're likely to be entirely alone, except for the wildlife. Common and grey seals hang out at the mouth of the River Esk at the southern end. Hoofprints in the sand suggested that at least two roe deer had been on the beach the morning I visited, and a beachgoer showed me phone footage of eight dolphins performing acrobatics off the northern end. Should've been here yesterday, as everyone always quality: not rated | Loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café I'm done with Whitby, which is fine: my absence will never be noticed in the ever-increasing crowds in a town where a staggering 44 per cent of houses are second homes. Whitby's charm has been its downfall — depressingly, even the once-fabulous fish and chips have gone downhill — so I'm off three miles up the A174 to Sandsend. It may not prove to be far enough as its neighbour reaches saturation point but for the time being its unadorned beach, bisected by East Row Beck, gives space to sit, stare and breathe in the beauty of the Yorkshire coast. And the crab and chips at the Fish Cottage beats anything in Whitby (£11.95; quality: excellent | Lifeguards, loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café • Where to stay in Yorkshire Finding a beach anywhere in the northwest that combines beauty with clean bathing water isn't easy. Finding one with all of the above and a £900,000 café partly designed by a Turner prizewinning artist sounds like mission impossible but Silecroft, ten minutes' drive from Millom, pulls it off. It's a shingle bank at high tide but low water reveals sands so flat and apparently endless that you yearn for a horse to go galloping across it. It's worth wandering north for half a mile or so to fully appreciate the elemental magic and wildness of a beach where the fells meet the sea. My visit was outside café opening hours but I'm told the quiches, like the sculptor Martin Boyce's sail-inspired shutters, are a masterpiece. Water quality: excellent | Loos, dog-friendly, café Down a lane four miles south of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Cocklawburn has all the features of your standard Northumbrian beach — vast sands, limestone reefs (or 'skerrs' as they're known in Northumberland), rockpools and ruins — but its bizarre geology makes it stand out. At low tide you'll see hundreds of bulbous 'concretions', like fossilised dinosaur eggs, resulting from chemical reactions 300 million years ago when the rocks were still submerged mud. The corrugated seabed is so uniform you would think a knuckle-dragging giant must have done it, rather than sand abrasion as scientists would have you believe. There's easy fossil hunting in the siltstones north of the car park. Cocklawburn quality: not rated | Dog-friendly Here's the plan. Park at Craster, have a kipper in a bun from the Pipers Pitch food truck, walk through the village and drop down past the harbour, following the coast north towards the clifftop ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. The wildflowers in the meadow are a haven for pollinators — which in turn attract dozens of low-flying swifts and swallows. From Dunstanburgh you'll see the bay curving away to the Emblestone, a reef beloved of surfers, and the sandy beach at St Mary's Haven and the Ship Inn at Low Newton-by-the-Sea. You've walked a mile and a half already and it's only the same again to the pub. Just quality: not rated | Dog-friendly • The UK's best walking holidays Druridge Bay stretches nearly six sandy miles from the rocky outcrop of Bondi Carrs in the north to Cresswell in the south. The latter is the best end to aim for, with a short walk from the car park up and over the dunes onto a strip of sand that's almost as wide as Bamburgh at low tide. While almost any beach can look attractive in the sunshine, the true test of beauty is how it looks in foul weather. Cresswell passed with flying colours — from black sky to grey sea and dark, rain-pitted sand. Luckily, the Drift Café, across the road, offers tea and cake. Water quality: excellent | Loos, dog-friendly, café There's a chance that repairs to Roker's pier could be completed by the end of this month after a 20-month closure. The pier took 18 years to build but was shut down by Storm Babet in just one night in 2023. Even so, this austere, lighthouse-tipped curve continues to shelter the southern end of Roker's sands from the cruelty of the North Sea so dramatically described in The Storm — written in 1828 by Sir Cuthbert Sharp, who served as one of the River Wear commissioners. Paddleboarding and kayaking are on offer from Adventure Sunderland ( and there are two chippies, a diner for brunch and an ice cream quality: excellent | Lifeguards, loos, accessible, café In November 1897 an Austrian steamer called Laura carrying a cargo of coke to Trieste in Italy ran aground in fog on Speeton Sands, just south of Reighton. The crew scarpered, leaving Laura at the mercy of the elements. Rusty traces remain on a wonderful beach where the black clay cliffs meet the white chalk of Flamborough Head and the sands are studded with Second World War concrete pillboxes. Park at the end of Sands Road and follow the rough path to the beach. Loos and a café are at Hunmanby, 15 minutes' walk to the quality: excellent | Loos, dog-friendly, café Yes, that Skegness. The original medieval port disappeared under the sea in a violent storm in 1526, and the 16th-century chronicler John Leland later wrote that 'olde Skegnes is now builded a pore new thing'. Many 21st-century visitors would agree with that assessment but having spent 17 years watching the crumbling of our traditional seaside resorts, I'd argue that Skeggy is the new king of seaside tat. There are donkeys, rollercoasters, wall-to-wall chippies, arcades, a pier and the Embassy Theatre, offering much more than the tide of tribute acts that flood other seaside playhouses ( As for the beach, it's big, soft and golden, with views across the Wash to the Norfolk quality: excellent | Lifeguards, loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café • 100 of the Best Places to Stay in the UK The road from Chapel St Leonards runs along a Saxon sea wall that serves as a reminder of the constant threat of erosion facing this fragile, empty coast. The beach is a beauty, with dunes full of buckthorn, acres of sand and shallow waters, but Anderby Creek has its head in the clouds. At the entrance to the beach is the Cloud Bar: an observation deck with nephologic information boards from where to watch and identify whatever drifts past in the sky. No drinks are on offer, but there's a fab beach café — with a love story. The owners Claire and Jason met as kids when their families came to stay at the caravan park. Years later they met again, got married and bought the café. Water quality: excellent | Loos, dog-friendly, café The Romans arrived in this swampy part of the north Norfolk coast about 1,900 years ago and built a fort called Branodunum — meaning Crow Fort — to guard the coast. What's left of it (not much) lies off the A149 to the east of the village, but nearby is a glorious beach with expansive tidal flats to the right (stay off them — the sea comes in faster than you can run) and, to the left, the wide creek draining Titchwell Marsh. The dunes offer shelter from all winds except from the north and the sand is perfect for building your own Crow Fort. There are usually seals snoozing around the first bend of the Hun. The narrow Beach Road gets busy in high summer so come early: there's a well-stocked kiosk opposite the car park. Be warned that the road is submerged when high tides exceed 8m — so check the local tide tables ( quality: not rated | Loos, accessible, dog-friendly • Best hotels in Norfolk Sir Berney Brograve, the 18th-century landowner at Waxham, next door to Sea Palling, did not sleep well, according to local legend. First, he had reneged on a bet with the devil, which never ends well. He also lived in dread of smugglers and a French invasion and, lastly, worried constantly that the North Sea would break through the dunes and flood his estate. In 1953, that fear came true, leaving seven dead. To prevent it happening again, nine offshore reefs known as 'shore–parallel breakwaters' were constructed in 1993. They've slowed the inevitable — see storm-ravaged Happisburgh, five miles north for what it looks like if you don't — and created a series of sheltered, sandy lagoons. Behind the dunes, the Mermaid's Catch ( sells lobster and chips, and the best cup of tea in Norfolk is served, so the proprietors claim, at the Sandy Hills Snack quality: excellent | Lifeguards, loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café • Best dog-friendly hotels in Norfolk It's been one thing after another for Southwold in recent months. First the promenade north of the pier collapsed in December 2024 and took three months to repair. Then the Tiptree Tea Room closed down, blaming 'challenging times' — and a TikToker upset the locals by encouraging more Londoners to visit this 'underrated' resort. But Southwold can cope with disaster: the Great Fire of 1659 destroyed most of the town and in 1934 a storm ripped the head off the pier. The pier got patched up and the beach to the south, with the millionaire beach huts and the lighthouse behind, is as pretty as a postcard. But it gets crowded, so drive down Ferry Road towards the mouth of the River Blyth and you'll find the Denes beach. It's far more quality: excellent | Loos, dog-friendly, café Once upon a time you went to Clacton to live it up and Frinton to die. Harsh, but true. People called the place 'God's waiting room,' but because Frinton didn't depend on tourism for its upkeep, this clifftop seaside town paid its own bills and thus avoided the slump that has hit its once-flashier neighbour. There's one pub — Shepherd Neame's Lock and Barrel — but no arcades, no funfairs and no souvenir shops. Instead you'll find a curving concrete prom with beach huts and a peaceful beach sectioned by wooden groynes. I noticed novice kite surfers learning the ropes on the wide clifftop green during my visit. It seems that Frinton is taking quality: excellent | Loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café You get four gorgeous beaches along the shores of Milford on Sea: the village where the New Forest meets Christchurch Bay. The dramatic choice is to follow the shingle bank: a great wall of gravel running a mile and a half southeast to Hurst Castle, built by Henry VIII to defend the Solent. Heading back to the village, you'll find the art deco Lighthouse restaurant and the Needles Eye Café . The Isle of Wight certainly dominates the view, even if the Needles look more like worn-down molars. The imposing White House, set in six acres on the seafront, resembles an ocean liner yet was described by the coalmining family who built it in 1903 as 'a modest beach hut'. Actual beach huts at Hordle Cliff West come into view as you head west. The best beach is at Taddiford Gap, off the B3058 to Barton on Sea. A short walk along a footpath brings you to a grassy cliff and a quiet stretch of shingle with the best views of the quality: excellent | Loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café • Best seaside hotels in the UK The resort was a ruin when I first visited 17 years ago, but the Londoners who made Margate in the 18th century are resurrecting it in the 21st. It's now a town with four Michelin-listed restaurants and a theme park called Dreamland which has Tom Jones and Olly Murs gigs on the bill this summer, with Richard Hawley on the way in October. The beach, with that massive tidal pool, is impressive whatever the weather, and of course there are all the trappings of the traditional seaside, from donkeys and deckchairs to arcades and chippies. Don't miss the sunsets, beautifully enhanced by London's pollution, and the astonishing Shell Grotto: a tunnel of mysterious origins, discovered in 1835, which is decorated with 4.6 million quality: excellent | Lifeguards, loos, accessible, café • Great hotels in Kent It's hard to find anywhere truly remote on our overcrowded south coast but Normans Bay, between Bexhill and Eastbourne, is as close as you'll get, down a lane off the A259 that feels like a journey back in time. There's an edgy, Dickensian feel to this wild shingle bank, shelving steeply to a sea suited for fishing not swimming. At dusk it feels as though the ghosts of the smugglers who once fought pitched battles with the revenue men outside the Star Inn pub might still be at quality: excellent | Dog-friendly Birling Gap is the Sussex beauty spot with the busy National Trust car park, stepping down to a crowded shingle beach with views of the Seven Sisters. Too crowded? Then try Newhaven West, 11 miles down the coast. It's Birling Gap's introverted twin: a beach seemingly visited only by locals on the far side of Newhaven's River Ouse. To get there follow Fort Road through the marina, past the Hope Inn and the harbour to where the road ends. There you'll find white cliffs and grassy platforms stepping down to a shingle beach with views left to the cliffs. It's a terrific spot for storm-watching when there's a westerly screaming up the Channel. Watch out for the rabbits and some very friendly quality: not rated | Dog-friendly • Where to stay in East Sussex Large parts of Selsey Bill recall an age before anybody thought the seaside was a special place to live. Here, the seafront is a concrete prom with modest homes backed up against a shingle beach with a mess of dinghies hauled up above the high water mark. Walking its entire length I passed Gibbet Field, where the bodies of two of the estimated 20,000 smugglers operating here in the 18th century were hung in chains to deter others. It didn't work. For nearly two more miles, the shingle continues to West Sands — a pebbly misnomer. But for a peaceful day on an almost entirely uncommercial beach, Selsey fits the quality: excellent | Loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café First featured in Best UK Beaches 2024, SoBo, as the cool kids call it, is in a residential area in Bournemouth's east end. Here, the local restaurateur Rich Slater has transformed a neglected stretch of sand into something reminiscent of the laid-back Los Angeles hotspot, Hermosa Beach. Sadly the nimbys didn't like the café in the double-decker bus, the art classes, fundraising and yoga sessions, although Slater's licence has been extended until autumn next year. The plan now is to win over the doubters by improving the adjacent lavatories — and installing a sauna. 'This will really help us take our wellness community to the next level,' he told quality: excellent | Loos, accessible, dog-friendly, café • Family friendly British escapes With its neat lawns and gentle hills Burton Bradstock's shingle beach seems as genteel as those who come for the grilled sole in the Hive Beach Café (mains from £19.50; hivebeachcafé. But for all its honey-coloured beauty, Hive is a bit of a beast. The beach slopes steeply into the Channel and if you get too close there's a risk of being floored by the swell. The layer-cake cliffs are prone to collapse. But the bit in between is one of the most soporific beaches in the country, so lie on a blanket, close your eyes and see how long you can listen to the sigh and hiss of waves breaking on millions of tiny stones before you drop quality: excellent | Loos, accessible, café Chris Haslam toured the UK in a Volkswagen California campervan ( he was also a guest of Stena Line, which has one-way fares Cairnryan-Belfast from £20pp (
