Latest news with #BritishSeaside
Times
21-06-2025
- Times
Heading to the seaside? 46 great places to surf, ride, paddleboard and snorkel
When the sun is shining, there's nothing quite like the British seaside. With temperatures set to soar this weekend, why not try a different way to cool off at the beach? From joining a beginner-friendly surf lesson on Wales' stunning Gower Peninsula to galloping along the Irish coast on horseback, or spotting seals in secluded bays, our experts have rounded up the best British beaches to make the most of the coast. A quiet harbour village lined with pebble-cobbled cottages and a black and white boathouse, Burnham-Overy-Staithe makes a picturesque starting point for a paddle through north Norfolk's tidal creeks. At low tide the silent creek lies empty, however by high tide it stirs to life as dinghies, crabbers and paddleboarders drift out towards Scolt Head Island. Launch from the village car park, as the tide begins to rise, and follow Overy Creek through a maze of salt marshes. These marshes, rich in sea lavender, samphire and sea aster, are among the most ecologically important in the UK.
Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Paul Nicholas: We've kept the goose stepping in Fawlty Towers – I don't think that's wrong
Paul Nicholas is trying to pinpoint precisely what it is about Fawlty Towers that makes it so British. He settles on the setting – the slightly drab boarding house common to many a British seaside town. 'I stayed in plenty of them as a kid, although perhaps never with such an extreme landlord as Basil,' he says. 'I suppose you get them in other countries too, but they feel very particular to the English from way back.' Not the humour then? 'Well, yes, of course, the humour. That's very British. All those jokes about the Germans. We are laughing at our isolation to some extent.' Nicholas didn't watch John Cleese's epochal sitcom during the 1970s – he was too busy being a pop pin-up. He's fully immersed in the mayhem of Basil's world now though – he was cast as the addled Major for Cleese's West End adaptation, which received rave reviews last year and is back for another run ahead of a UK tour. The stage show essentially combines three TV scripts spliced together with barely any changes, although mercifully, the racial slurs aired by the Major in the original have been cut. 'People are sensitive to those things and quite rightly, you can't go around calling people w--- and the N-word,' says Nicholas. Cleese maintained in a piece for The Telegraph last year that those lines were written at the Major's expense, but Nicolas argues the only thing that matters is that they are no longer there. 'Because then the comedy comes about one thing, which is the Major being a racist. Of course, there is a willingness to be offended among some people, and they do seem to have a very loud voice. But taking the piss out of someone because they are a different skin colour is the lowest form of humour. We've kept the goose stepping though. The goose-stepping is OK.' I tell him the TV episode featuring this particular scene was briefly removed in 2020 by the BBC from their catch-up service UKTV. A UKTV spokesperson later confirmed this was because of the Major's comments, which appear in the same episode, although at the time, the Guardian pointed out that most broadcasters had long edited out these comments anyway. Nicolas shakes his head at this. 'The Germans did goose step. They were our enemy. If you have a German guest in your hotel and they are pissing you off, you can imitate the ridiculous nature of what they were doing at that time. I don't think that's wrong.' We've met during a lunch break for rehearsals for Fawlty Towers at an east London studio. Nicholas is hurriedly consuming a burger and chips. He is 80, but there is still a clear trace of the pretty boy jaw line and twinkly eyes that made him a favourite among women of a certain age during the 1970s and 1980s, like a blond equivalent of David Essex. He looks a bit embarrassed when I bring this up. 'I wouldn't say I was a star,' he says. 'I had a bit of that, but I was never comfortable with it. I'm relatively shy when I am being me. When I am on stage, I could be anything or anyone.' All the same, Nicholas has had an extraordinary career. He's known most of all as the rascally Vince in the 1980s sitcom Just Good Friends, but his unthreatening boy-next-door sex appeal belies a CV studded with the counterculture rebellion. He's had songs written for him by David Bowie and Pete Townshend and starred as the narrator Claude in the first UK production of the antiwar musical Hair (known in simple terms as the musical in which nearly all the cast take their clothes off). He was Jesus Christ in the original West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's flamboyant rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar which was met with protests when it premiered on the West End in 1972, and collaborated with Richard O' Brien on a few early songs for The Rocky Horror Show. His very first act was as the piano player with Screaming Lord Sutch's backing band the Savages, which mixed the French theatre of Grand Guignol with gothic high camp. 'It was the smashing of boundaries which made the 60s exciting,' says Nicholas. 'But today we've been there and done that. We've gone the other way a bit now.' Nicholas, who is now a great-grandfather, is still smooth and still charming, but he is disarmingly unaffected. He comes across as a most unlikely cultural anarchist. A child of the 1950s, he remembers a childhood defined by 'rationing and powdered egg'. His father was the showbiz lawyer Oscar Beuselinck. As Beuselinck was still trying to establish his career, Nicholas barely saw him when he was younger. 'We weren't very well off, we lived on a council estate in my nan's flat in north London. Everything closed on a Sunday. England always seemed to be grey and drab.' The only splash of colour came from the musicals his mother would take him to see at the local cinema. 'I wasn't very bright. I couldn't spell or add up. Life was quite hard going and movies, music and dance were an escape. I was always attracted to Singin' In The Rain because it looked warm, there was sunshine.' His home life was tough in other ways. The three-times-married Beuselinck would become a lawyer to stars including Sean Connery and Richard Harris, and was known throughout London as both a fabulous raconteur and an appalling womaniser. When he died in 1997, the Guardian obituary described him as a 'randy, abusive, brilliant tyrant who made most people laugh and some cry'. He often made jokes about how much he paid out in alimony and is said to have sacked a secretary caught with another man in his office for fear she might become a rival to his reputation. Nicholas, though, is fairly forgiving of a man who, in later life, admitted he regretted not being a better father to Nicholas and Nicholas' younger step-brother Richard. 'He came from quite a poor background. His father was a chef on a ship. So he didn't have it easy,' he says. 'He left school to work for a law firm as a 14-year-old boy and qualified in the end as a lawyer. He didn't have much time for me and my mother because he was trying to create a path for himself. But their relationship was not good. They were not at all well suited, and there was a lot of shouting. When I was about 12, they split up. I thought: thank God for that.' Either way, Nicholas certainly possessed his father's same drive and desire for reinvention. Desperate to become a performer, he sent off for piano lessons because his mother couldn't afford a teacher, 'although when I got them in the post I couldn't understand them. And also, we didn't have a piano'. He formed a band at school and, after leaving school in 1962, joined The Savages as a keyboard player. One of Screaming Lord Sutch's more famous acts was a Jack the Ripper sketch, and Nicolas would put on a frock and play the female victims. 'It was the high point of his show. He'd stab me, then pull out a rubber heart and rubber lung. Later, he went to the butcher and got the proper stuff.' He is surprised when I point out that this act would not go down well today. 'You don't think it would? It's factual, though isn't it? It happened.' In the mid-1960s, he started branching out as a pop singer. In 1967, Bowie, who at the time was still known as Davy Jones, wrote for him the jail break single Over The Wall We Go, which was promptly banned by the BBC for fear it would inspire copycat prison breakouts. 'I didn't mind at all,' says Nicholas. 'It gave me good bragging rights.' Nicholas soaked it all up, joining the Aldermaston 'ban the bomb' marches, and with Sutch, played at the Star Club in Hamburg, where the Beatles would later play. 'England was opening up. The 50s had been very tight arsed; people had been recovering from the war. But in the 1960s, people were restarting their lives.' In 1967, he won the role of the narrator Claude in Hair. The production had to wait until the abolishment of theatre censorship in 1968 before it could open because it contained scenes of nudity and the F-word, but as soon as it premiered, it became a sensation. Part of the show includes a scene where the audience joined the cast onstage. One night, Nicolas noticed Princess Anne was standing right next to him. 'She came a few times actually. It's funny because we are supposed to be very reserved in this country but inviting people up on stage only happened in London. It didn't happen in New York. You probably couldn't do it now because of health and safety. ' Then came Jesus Christ Superstar, in 1972, in which Nicolas played Jesus himself. The show was met with protests on opening night because of its perceived blasphemous nature, but Nicolas argues the production was never intended to shock. 'To call Jesus Christ a superstar was a bit transgressive and we did have people protesting. But when he was crucified, audiences were moved by the whole thing. It wasn't a cheap stunt. It was a pretty honest portrayal – there was nothing deliberately offensive about the production.' It's quite a CV. Did the 1960s and 1970s feel freer than today? 'Probably. You didn't have people watching you. The fact we could say f--k on stage and stand there with no clothes on, particularly in this country, would indicate that anything could go. Today, you can't say certain things, and that's fine, particularly if you are denigrating people for their race.' All the same, he broadly dislikes today's more morally censorious climate. 'People always go too far. People should feel freer to say what they feel without someone snitching on them and ruining their career. It is sad when people lose their livelihood because they've said the wrong thing; it's ridiculous. People should be a bit more forgiving.' He's currently got two sitcoms of his own in development and admits he's had a pause for thought himself. 'I did remove a couple of things. My wife [Linzi, his second] said you won't get away with that. So yes, you are always aware of that. But you want a project to succeed. You don't want it to fall at the first hurdle.' Did he ever behave back then in a way that shocks him now? 'At the start, I wasn't very clever in terms of the ladies,' he says. 'Women had just got the pill and I was a little bit free and easy, to be honest with you, so I'm not particularly proud of how I behaved. Although I should point out this was prior to being married [he married his first wife, Susan Gee in 1966 and they had two children]. If you were in a band, your encounters tended to be one-night stands. And girls used to wait, although not necessarily for me. I always resented the bass player; he always seemed to do quite well. But the odd girl did seem interested.' He's being a bit disingenuous: his personal life was complicated. He had already had two children by different women when he married Gee. That marriage then ended when Nicolas met the actress Linzi Jennings – they married in 1984, and have two children together; they now live in Highgate and Nicholas proudly shows me a photograph of his two-year-old grandson – he has 12 altogether and three great grandchildren. Yet in 1977, his first wife died aged 38 in a car crash. 'That was utterly horrible. Initially, my mother helped out with the children. But they already knew Linzi, so eventually we all moved in together. It was pretty dreadful to lose someone like that so suddenly. You pick up the phone and you hear. It was as devastating as one can imagine.' He is wary about quantifying the impact on the children he had shared with Gee, who were eight and 10. 'All I know is that we did what we could to get them through.' After Superstar, Nicolas worked in both theatre and film and resurrected his pop career. He had three UK top 20 hits, including Reggae Like It Used To Be, Grandma's Party and Dancing With The Captain, while his 1977 single Heaven on the 7th Floor reached the US Billboard top 10. The videos on YouTube are extraordinary. He embodies the sort of squeaky clean, nudge nudge wink wink charisma much more likely to appeal to the mothers of teenage girls rather than the girls themselves. 'I got a bit of fan mail but not like the Beatles,' he says. 'I certainly didn't get women throwing themselves at my feet.' Still, he had enough female fans to win him the role of Vince in the 1983 John Sullivan sitcom Just Good Friends. The show focused on Vince and Penny (Jan Francis) who meet five years after Vince jilted her at the altar. He got the part only because the women in the typing pool at the BBC lobbied the sceptical casting director; he also sang the theme tune. He's remained a jobbing actor ever since, starring in numerous West End musicals and plays, appearing as Gavin Sullivan in EastEnders and in 2017, The Real Marigold Hotel. In 2021, he released a rap single Bad Bad Rapper. It's curiously quite good. All the same, it's hard to square the man in front of me with that of the man who once delivered leaflets for Lord Sutch when Sutch stood against Harold Wilson in the 1966 election while wearing leopard skin pants. Has he always been politically active? 'Actually I don't really have any politics. In fact I've never voted. I did vote for the Greens once. 'But I've never really felt passionate enough about any one party to say, 'I'm for you'.' He is certainly no fan of the outsized personality politics of someone like Sutch, however much on the fringe Sutch remained. 'I was very disappointed when Trump got in. I honestly didn't think he would.' What does he think of Nigel Farage? 'I don't pay attention to Farage and Reform. Although I can understand it. I've got a friend who was a Thatcherite, and he is now voting Reform. Farage speaks to that kind of old Conservative who misses whatever it is that they want.' I suspect Nicholas is an old hippy at heart, although he protests that's not the case either. 'I don't live for the 60s. A lot of it was people sitting around smoking dope and falling asleep. We had more energy in the 1970s. There was Thatcher. People thought: 'I've got to get on with things.' There wasn't so much sitting around hoping things would happen because they never do.' Given that he is now entering his seventh decade as a performer, not sitting around could be his personal philosophy. 'I'm just a guy who likes to work.'
Telegraph
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Britain's 10 most genteel seaside towns, perfect for a weekend away
While there's a certain nostalgic joy to the type of coastal resort that's all candy floss, waltzers and slot machines, there's arguably greater pleasure in towns that have the seascapes and the golden sand but that are more cute than kitsch. More sourdough than doughnut. More vibrant arts scene than end-of-the-pier innuendo. More artisanal ice cream than Mr Whippy. Below, we've selected – in no particular order – 10 lovely British seaside spots where you can promenade in a posher fashion. 1. North Berwick, East Lothian Welcome to the 'Biarritz of the North'. When the railway arrived in the 19th century, North Berwick became a fashionable holiday hotspot, tourists drawn to its two sandy bays and its seaside links – the venerable North Berwick Golf Club was founded in 1832. The town, still only 30 minutes by train from Edinburgh, is increasingly attracting younger folk priced out of the capital, adding a cosmopolitan edge. Do the classics: the Scottish Seabird Centre, a boat trip to Bass Rock. But also find exquisite pastries at Bostock, hip coffee at Steampunk and award-winning gelato at Alandas. Where to see (and be seen) Fringe by the Sea (1-10 August 2025) for an eclectic mix of talks, music and more in leafy Lodge Gardens. Where to stay Built in 1875 but fresh from a refurb, the sea-gazing Marine (01620 897300) has B&B doubles from £194pn. 2. Lymington, Hampshire The clank of boat masts, the cluster of cobbled streets, the views across the Solent, the New Forest spreading behind – Lymington has a plum location and oodles of maritime chic. Indeed, the latest Lloyds Coastal Homes Review found it to be the country's fifth most expensive spot (average house price: £608,253). Join the yachtie crowd at the marinas and sailing clubs, or book a skippered charter. Alternatively, stick on land browsing the Georgian High Street: pop into Stanwells award-winning womenswear boutique or come on a Saturday for one of the country's oldest markets. Finish with an exhibition at the St Barbe Museum. Where to see (and be seen) The Elderflower, enjoying the three AA rosette-awarded restaurant's imaginative modern-British tasting menu. Where to stay Stanwell House (01590 677123) is a handsome pile on the High Street; B&B doubles from £188pn. 3. Padstow, Cornwall Peaceful fishing village turned foodie phenomenon, Padstow is the British coast's tastiest choice. Rick Stein is the main man about town, of course. His original Seafood Restaurant turns 50 this year, but has since been joined by a smorgasbord of other venues; for sociable platters served with Camel Valley sparkling, try his Seafood Bar & Fishmongers. For fancy, opt for Paul Ainsworth's Michelin-starred No 6, while BinTwo is the wine bar/bottle-shop of choice. Balance all this consumption with a walk along the cracking coast path and a ferry trip over to – even posher? – Rock, 'Britain's Saint-Tropez'. Where to see (and be seen) Gorging on greenhouse dinners at Padstow Kitchen Garden, created by former Rick Stein chef and seventh-generation farmer Ross Geach. Where to stay Opened in 2025, Plum Cottage (01841 521175) is an exquisitely restored, Grade-II listed, antique-filled hideaway. Three nights cost from £600, sleeping four. 4. Deal, Kent Is there a prettier seaside spot than this? Deal is one of the country's best-preserved medieval towns, its centre a tight-knit cluster of cute. The Middle Street Conservation Area protects the best bits, from handsome Georgian terraces now housing antique shops and indie stores to grand Victorian villas and even a castle, one of Henry VIII's finest forts. All of this sprawls alongside a long pebble beach where you'll find colourful beach huts, waterfront bistros and a 1950s pier that's home to Deal Pier Kitchen – book early for its weekend steak and lobster nights. Where to see (and be seen) Sitting at the Blue Pelican, the hottest table in town since opening in 2024, where fine Kent produce is given a delectable Japanese spin. Where to stay The Rose (01304 389127) has eight individually-designed bedrooms plus a lauded restaurant; B&B doubles from £105pn. 5. Aberaeron, Ceredigion Designed in 1805, Aberaeron was one of Wales's first planned towns – and those Georgians did a good job. It's still a handsome old harbour, lined with elegant townhouses painted in appealing rainbow hues. More recently, Aberaeron's gained a foodie reputation: there's excellent honey ice cream at the Hive; local organic veg at Watson & Pratt's; and creative dining at the indigo-blue Harbourmaster, the Quay's most striking building. Major flood defence works, due to be completed by summer 2025, are preserving the town's historic character and will provide a new breakwater to promenade. Also, stroll up the River Aeron to visit elegant 18th-century Llanerchaeron. Where to see and be seen With an aperitif in the piano bar at Y Seler, crowned Restaurant of the Year at the Food Awards Wales 2024. Where to stay The Harbourmaster (01545 570755) is the height of modern-nautical chic; B&B doubles from £150pn, 6. Southwold, Suffolk According to Land Registry data, Southwold is Suffolk's most expensive address. And it's easy to see why. It has a traditional pier, a working harbour and a mile and a half of soft, blonde sand that's backed by a cheeriness of beach huts and an understatedly elegant town. There's a lighthouse right in the middle (which you can tour) plus a venerable brewery and many charming independents. Browse the high street, from classy womenswear boutique Collen & Clare to the UK's oldest amber specialist. Pit-stop for pastries at Two Magpies, which also runs doughnut-making classes. Where to see (and be seen) Eating fresh crab and prawns at the newly reopened Sole Bay Fish Company, down at Southwold's working harbour. Where to stay The Swan (01502 722186) is a Michelin-key Georgian inn offering an urban-hip seaside stay; B&B doubles from £220pn. 7. Lytham, Lancashire Though just miles from Blackpool, Lytham is a very different kettle of fish. This is the Fylde Coast's more refined side – the town's icon isn't a flashing tower, but a white-washed windmill. There's heaps of green space spreading down to the huge beach; it's lined with red-brick mansions and home to the century-old Lowther Pavilion Theatre. Lytham's comely centre also offers plenty of appealing independents and cafes – if you're a pistachio iced latte kinda person, the Courtyard is your stop. There's also a glorious Palladian manor, which serves excellent afternoon teas. Where to see (and be seen) Swinging a driver at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club – this world-class course has hosted ten Open Championships. Where to stay Lytham's grand dame is the 19th-century classical-styled Clifton Arms Hotel (01253 739898; overlooking the seafront; B&B doubles from £210pn. 8. Burnham Market, Norfolk Burnham Market isn't right by the coast – though it's only a mile away (aim for beautiful Brancaster Beach). Still, this small but but idyllically-formed little town/large village has earned the nickname Chelsea-on-Sea. London types pour in to amble its quaint 17th- and 18th-century streets and its surfeit of delightful places to shop, eat and drink. Don't miss Gurneys for fresh fish, the Tuscan Farm Shop for Italian goodies and the Gun Hill Clothing Company for a countryside-chic makeover. Where to see (and be seen) Dining on superb small plates at Michelin-listed Socius – book the 'Kitchen Table' to watch the chefs at work. Where to stay The classic choice is the smart, 17th-century Hoste Arms (01328 738 777), which also serves great food and has its own cinema; B&B doubles from £99pn. 9. Lyme Regis, Dorset Lyme Regis – the 'pearl of Dorset' – is a seaside gem. It gained its royal charter in the 13th century and was once a bigger port than Liverpool; now it's a much more genteel spot, perfect for promenading the iconic Cobb and pretty seafront – popping into Swim for brunch – or walking further along the UNESCO-listed Jurassic Coast. Alternatively, join a guided fossil walk and visit the statue of local-born palaeontology pioneer Mary Anning. Eating and drinking is excellent: Town Mill Bakery for bread; Lyme Regis Brewery for craft beer; Red Panda for bao buns. Also, catch a show at the historic Marine Theatre. Where to see (and be seen) At Michelin-listed Lilac, eating super-seasonal small plates in a 400-year-old cellar. Where to stay Perched up on the cliffs, the contemporary-classic Alexandra Hotel (01297 442010) has B&B doubles from £125pn. 10. Tenby, Pembrokeshire Tenby's four, beautiful Blue Flag beaches are enough to attract anyone. But the cliff-top town behind is a looker too. Here old stone walls encircle pastel-painted Georgian and Victorian houses, many of which are now neat little shops, bars and cafes. Top choices include the Harbwr Brewery, Môr Tenby, for Welsh goodies and Stowaway Coffee, tucked into a harbour-side arch. For culture, pop into the Museum and Art Gallery and visit the 15th-century Tudor Merchant House before eating at Plantagenet, fine-dining in a 1,000-year-old building. Where to see (and be seen) Sweating at Sea and Steam – take a fabulous four-mile walk along the coast path to Saundersfoot, to jump on the sauna trend. Where to stay Freshly reopened from a major refurb, the 120-year-old cliff-top Imperial Hotel (01834 843737) has doubles from £99pn room-only.
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
It's still Jane Austen's world we're living in – just look at the Beckhams
One of the highlights of my year so far was talking to the brilliant Jane Austen biographer Paula Byrne at the Althorp Literary Festival, to mark the 250 th anniversary of the maestra's birth. Byrne was on our screens last night as contributor and consultant to the BBC's celebratory series Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius. What I particularly relish about Byrne's approach to Austen is that she puts family, humour and social engagement at the heart of understanding the novels – rather than the often espoused view of a shy spinster, slightly detached from the world. She makes a point of highlighting Austen's frequent travel and love of the British seaside, as helping form a literary vitality so fully realised that almost any character can walk off the page and into the 21 st century without feeling outmoded. But then Byrne was brought up a middle daughter on the Wirral in a pack of seven siblings and views Austen through the prism of domestic life, with shared jokes and confidences. This makes good sense to me, as the middle child of five, who saw my own sisters reflected in Elizabeth and Jane Bennett's bond, while my book-loving publican mother's anxieties over our marital prospects closely mirrored Mrs Bennett's. (It was mum who gave me a full set of Austen's novels aged 11, forever awakening me to the potential eligibility of vicars and the importance of witty, combative discourse in courtship.) Whenever a young man from one of the locale's land-owning families came into our rural pub, mum would loudly call for my big sister Holly or me to come and join her from our linked cottage, although it was clear only one bar-hand was required to serve a pint. We were mortified by the blatantness of her strategy, but now I see it as an immensely practical act of love. As an English Literature graduate in my twenties, I pined to be Lizzie Bennett, but recognised that I was almost certainly a less loveable, know-it-all Emma Woodhouse type, who tried to match-make friends with catastrophic results. I even ended up marrying my very own Mr Knightley, a kind, wise man 15 years my senior prepared to critique my less sensible decisions. You can't grow out of Jane Austen and her world is ever-pliable, encompassing updates and endless adaptations, of which my favourite may be Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The novels themselves withstand endless updates, makeovers and even down time tunnels, going back to the original serialisation form. This month, the Novel Magazine Company publishes a glossy 'magazine novel', three-issue version of Pride and Prejudice, 'curated' by one 'SJ King Esq', complete with imagined early 19 th -century advertisements. There are also lavish fashion plates of real Regency beauties, such as Georgiana Cavendish (the future Duchess of Devonshire, who was brought up at Althorp House), brought to life by the digital witchcraft that is AI. Volume one contains the first 23 chapters of the novel, just like Austen's 1813 first volume of Pride and Prejudice, which was published in three parts. And purists need not fear, the text is faithful to the original while the digital creator runs riot with the visuals. I must confess to a ferocious yearning for this Annie Leibovitz-style reimagining of P&P. It seems to me that Austen herself might applaud a Tatler-style rendition of her best loved novel. Her letters to her sister Cassandra betray a rich love of gossip and, if writing today, Austen would surely mull over family dramas in the public domain. Just imagine what the author's wry take would be on Victoria Bennett's – I mean Beckham's – estrangement from her feckless son Brooklyn, due to her new daughter-in-law's presumed machinations. How she would have laughed at Lauren Sánchez's staggeringly ostentatious hen night and wedding plans. The formats may change, but human folly remain the same. We are all living in Jane Austen's world.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- The Independent
Why a weekend in medieval Rye is the perfect British seaside escape
Is there anywhere more charming than the British seaside in early summer? When the weather plays ball, there's little need to hop on a plane to the Med. The milky blue of the English Channel backed by pebble beaches – perfect if you don't fancy returning home with pockets weighed down by sand – and the faded grandeur of the south coast's Victorian townhouses and perky piers. Rye is one such Medieval town set a couple of hours' drive from London, or just over an hour by train from London St Pancras or Stratford International. Different to Hastings, St Leonards, Brighton or Eastbourne, in that it's not set directly beside the sea; rather, sea adjacent. A vast nature Reserve divides it from sandy Camber and eerie but beautiful Dungeness, and yet it's home to all the things you might need to make a great day trip or overnight stay. A fish & chip shop, ice cream parlour, several great pubs, a couple of gorgeous pubs with rooms, local cafés, antiques shops and trendy boutiques. We opted to drive so we could cram in my daughter's scooter, pram and all the healthy snacks she undoubtedly wouldn't touch, and the car we rented from Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace, was delivered personally by the owner – a 2019 Land Rover Discovery Sport – was impeccable and plenty roomy enough for our family of three. Car hire prices in London – especially over peak bank holiday weekends such as the one ahead of us – can go stratospheric, and Turo was comparable to other sites we scanned, but with a better vehicle selection. The fact it was delivered to our door, saving us the hassle of an extra journey to collect it, sealed the deal. Within two hours, we arrived in Rye and made a beeline for our base for the night, the George in Rye. Owned by Alex and Katie Clarke, a husband and wife team with a great eye for design. Katie has a background in film set design, evidenced by her choice of unique wallpaper ('either William Morris or sourced in France'), antiques ('I adore hunting them down') and curios ('I've a thing for quirky lamps'). Each room is individually designed and, while colourful, offers a calm and elegant space to bed down for the night. The George has always been an important meeting point in the town, and today its convivial pub maintains this feeling, while the restaurant offers an elevated space to enjoy a confident menu of gastro-pub classics and inventive cocktails. From The George, turn right or left along the narrow High Street and you'll find independent boutiques, restaurants, cafés, art galleries and even a couple of wine bars, and at the bottom of the hill are a row of antiques emporiums. Happily, many of the streets in Rye are cobbled and historic, with Mermaid Street – dating from 1891 and stuffed full of Tudor buildings – being the most Instagrammed of the lot, along with Conduit Hill, Pump Street by the castle and West Street. The best things to do in Rye Peruse antique shops and markets Antiques shopping is one of the highlights of a visit to Rye. Strand Key Antiques, Halcyon Days and Wishbar Antiques are huddled together, while on Sundays, Rye Emprium is a vast brocante held March through September, 8-2pm. Visit Rye Castle Fun for all the family, Rye Castle and its Ypres Tower date to the 13th century. You can climb the tower for far-reaching views, gander at the museum's collection, or let the little ones play dress up in the costume department. Visit an art gallery There are plenty to choose from. Try Mccully & Crane for vintage and antique collectables and object d'art, Roche Gallery for classical and still life paintings, Rye Art Gallery for exhibitions from local and international artists and Ethel Loves Me, which sells original pieces from local artists, artisans and craftspeople. Go shopping Rae is a boutique that wouldn't look out of place in London, with a Marzano coffee machine doling out the flat whites and a well-curated selection of homewares, gifts and tableware. Sailors of Rye is a wonderful concept store, Colette Rye offers sustainable and ethically-made clothes for women. Head to the Nature Reserve Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is set between marshland and the sea and is home to more than 4,355 species of plants and animals, including an impressive 300 that are rare or endangered. Birds are the big ticket item, so look out for Ringed Plover, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Lapwing, and Wheatear while you stroll or cycle the network of pathways. Where to eat in Rye Brunch at The Fig This lively, compact eaterie gets packed at the weekend, and the brunch is legendary. Fresh and healthy ingredients sourced as locally as possible are made into dishes like shakshuka, roasted tomatoes and whipped feta or sweetcorn fritters with chorizo. There's also great coffee by andbloss and smoothies and juices. Have tea and cake at Apothecary House The town is peppered with cafés, but this one is set inside an old apothecary, where old medicine bottles line the shelves and the higgledy piggledy layout lends the space a vintage charm. Order a slab of homemade lemon drizzle cake and a pot of tea and perch in the window to watch the world go by. Order a hot chocolate at Knoops Hot chocolate specialist Knoops has stores accross the UK but the story began in 2013 in Rye. The menu has more than 20 different per cent chocolates available as hot chocolates and six are available as iced chocolates and milkshakes. Sunday lunch at The George in Rye Hands down the best roast in Rye, but also a stellar choice for a dinner of elevated pub classics with a Basque, cooked-over-coals vibe, The George's restaurant is an elegant setting in which to enjoy a meal. Book ahead. The best bars and pubs in Rye Visit a local winery Owing to those chalky dliffs in nearby Dover, the area's soil is perfect for growing chardonnay, meunier and pinot noir, otherwise known as champagne's holy trinity of grapes. For the Kent version, head to the highlighly regarded Chapel Down in nearby Tenterden, or, to see how Kent winemakers are experimenting with unlikely grapes and blends, Oxney Organic and trendy Tillingham are on Rye's doorstep. Have a pint in a beer garden There are 15 pubs in and around Rye to choose from – that's the most per capita in the county. Ypres and The Old Bell have lovely outside courtyard space, and at weekends Ypres has a lively atmosphere with occasional bands playing on the terrace. The Standard is known for its food, along with The George in Rye and, closer to Camber Sands, The Gallivant. The best beaches near Rye Dungeness Dungeness is an odd place. It feels a little like Middle America when you're driving along the narrow road that weaves through the flat, featureless salt marsh towards the lighthouse. The single-story clapboard houses painted black look almost Nordic and as if plonked wherever their owners fancied. Very few have direct neighbours. Sitting incongruously on the pebble beach near the lighthouse is an enormous nuclear power station, the first Advanced Gas-cooled reactor to begin construction in the UK, which has become a symbol of the area. Camber Sands One of the only sandy beaches on the south coast, Camber Sands has a classic holiday village vibe, but the beach itself is expansive, so it rarely feels too crowded. Lay out a towel in front of the dunes or take a dip when the tide is in. Emilee Tombs was a guest of The George in Rye, which has rooms from £125 per night, and Turo, the world's leading car-sharing marketplace.
