Inspiration

The best underrated trips to take in the UK this summer

These are the destinations that might not spring to mind when you think of summer in the UK but that are more than worth a trip – here’s why
The sands of Luskentyre viewed from the hill above Seilebost on the isle of Harris.The isle of Taransey can be seen on...
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After a few years of exploring the width and breadth of the UK, we’ve started looking for the underrated trips to take this summer. Think the quieter, more peaceful pockets of the country away from the madding crowds of Cornwall’s most popular seafront towns or London’s heaving West End. After all, we’ve explored the UK in search of quiet beaches – but there are also counties you might not associate with a summer holiday that have an up-and-coming restaurant scene or design stay to bed down in that are surprisingly easy to book in the peak months. From the English city making a name for itself thanks to its interesting food scene, to the little-known Channel Island we recommend for a hit of Breton chic without having to pack your passport, as well as a couple of sandy spots where you’re guaranteed to find somewhere to plonk your beach towel, these are the places to enjoy the sunshine without wrestling the crowds. Keep reading for the best underrated trips to take in the UK this summer.

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    Alderney

    Best for: island life

    This little-known Channel Island is the closest to France and so a holiday here is a charming mix of sandcastles and fish and chips but also Breton stripes and Champagne. Stay at The Blonde Hedgehog – named after the island’s native mascot – in the main town of Saint Anne. The restored pub is a rich mix of deep greens and velvet mustard armchairs. Saint Anne itself is a joyful collection of independent shops: a butcher, a baker, and a surf shop, although the wild beaches are the main attractions. Hire a bike and cycle between them – the island is only three miles long and one and a half wide.

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    West Sussex

    Best for: walkers

    Often overlooked for the better-known holiday hotspots of East Sussex (Brighton, Eastbourne, Rye), West Sussex is having a moment right now. We named both counties in our round-up of the Best Places To Go in 2025, so whichever you choose (or if you decide to combine the two), you’ll be all but guaranteed a good time. We recommend exploring West Sussex a little more deeply. Newlands House Gallery, in Petworth, is known for its brilliant shows and exhibitions. In Fittleworth, spend the night at the recently refurbished and reopened Swan Inn has 12 gorgeous bedrooms and a destination dining room, with the renovation overseen by Angus Davies, formerly of The Hollist Arms in Petworth. And walkers will be buoyed to know that Sussex (both East and West) is home to some of the first stretches of the reopened King Charles III Coastal Path, which you can walk from Shoreham-on-Sea, in West Sussex, to Eastbourne in East Sussex.

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    Llyn Peninsula, Wales

    Best for: a beach bar scene

    Skip the crowded sands in Pembrokeshire and Anglesey for this westerly peninsula poking into the Irish Sea. The coastal path leads to wild beaches such as Traeth Penllech and Traeth Porthor on the north coast and, on the south, more sheltered coves such as pretty Abersoch – lined with pastel-coloured huts. But cooler still is the completely unexpected picture-perfect Porthdinllaen and its Ty Coch Inn. Don’t expect anything fancy, but this little pub in a former vicarage has to be one of the loveliest in the country. Right on the yellow sand, there’s live music in the summer, when locals and day trippers jostle for picnic tables (the pub doesn’t take bookings) and dive into bowls of Moules Marinieres and chips or take a paper cupped pint straight down to the beach. For somewhere to stay, check out the huts nearby at Bert’s Kitchen Garden. If you're looking for something more traditional, the Ty Coch Inn is a lovely pub with rooms that happen to have sweeping views of the Irish Sea.

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    North Shropshire

    Best for: little-known design stays

    Despite the buzz around foodie Ludlow, you’re bound to have the blue remembered hills of this chronically underrated county next to Wales all to yourself at any time of year. Finally, though, things have started rumbling further north with the first design-savvy place to stay: The Bear Inn. In the pretty Tudor village of Hodnet, the 12 bedrooms named after trees are packed with antiques and bold British fabrics by interior designer Octavia Dickinson. The pub menu dishes up fruit and veg from Hodnet Hall’s 200-year-old walled garden as well as fish and chips as good as any you’d find by the sea. A little further east is a completely charming pink cottage with interiors that are, if possible, even prettier than the exterior, sleeping six. And in Whitchurch a micro-seasonal tasting menu at Wild that’s put the market town on the map. We have three reasons to head north of Ludlow this summer.

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    Norfolk Broads

    Best for: water babies and wildlife spotters

    Norfolk’s beaches are well-documented as some of the UK’s best – this is big-sky country, after all, where stretches of coastline at tourist hotspots like Holkham seem to go on forever. The pretty coastal towns in this quiet county are well worth a visit (as well as Holkham, we like Wells-next-the-Sea, and the two are linked by a pretty coastal path). But head to the Broads for something even more peaceful. Here, there are more miles of waterway than in Venice – hire a boat and explore from the creeks to see this corner of the county at its very best, keeping a keen eye out for rare birdlife that call these waterways home.

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    Manchester

    Best for: summer in the city

    If you’re visiting one UK city this summer, make it Manchester, the northern city having more than a moment. The recently revamped Aviva Studios – now Factory International – is the first big-hitting reason to visit. Designed by Rem Koolhaas’s Office for Metropolitan Architecture, it’s the biggest UK cultural project since the Tate Modern. There are green spaces to enjoy the sunshine, too: the High Line-inspired Castlefield Viaduct and the parks carved out around the River Medlock. Meanwhile, bag a brand new bedroom at Soho House – the city’s old Granada TV studios are home to the group’s first northern club. Leven is also a design lover's dream and is located near Manchester's Canal Street.

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    North Yorkshire

    Best for: a foodie break

    The North York Moors are wild and wonderful and have some of the best views in the whole of the UK. There’s also now a cluster of exciting places to stay and eat. First up, Middleton Lodge, a country-hotel hangout that’s in the same ballpark as The Pigs or Babington House but without any of the hype of the southern hotels. Of course, there’s also Tommy Banks’ much-loved Black Swan at Oldstead – if you’re not staying, it’s still worth booking in for the exceptional farm-to-table tasting menu. Or, the young chef’s newer pub with rooms, The Abbey Inn, which overlooks the Gothic ruins of Byland Abbey. And then there’s Mýse (pronounced meez), in the Howardian hills from self-starting chef Josh Overington and his sommelier wife Victoria. Take your pick of which to bed down in, but you’ll want to eat at them all.

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    Northumberland Coast

    Best for: surfing

    One of the quietest counties in the country also has some of the most beautiful beaches in the UK. Access to the wonderfully deserted sandy spit from Budle Bay to Lindisfarne is on foot across the dunes, but for those that make it, Bamburgh Beach is worth planning a summer holiday around. It’s a great spot for surfing, and the views of the castle and the Farne islands are spectacular. Not far south, bed down at the Scandinavian-inspired Trees at Tughall – three secluded black-stained Welsh spruce cabins just a 30-minute walk (or two-minute drive) from Beadnell Beach and its picturesque harbour.

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    Outer Hebrides, Scotland

    Best for: true wilderness

    Skip Skye and head for the Outer Hebrides to avoid the crowds. There’s no denying it’s a mission to get here, but making it to Oban on the mainland and the ferry over to the islands are part of the fun. Ignoring the temperature of the sea for a second, the white sand and green-blue waters all over the string of islands could be mistaken for the Caribbean. On Harris, the colour of the water at Luskentyre and Sgarasta Mhor beaches is almost shocking. There aren’t a tonne of boutique hotel options, but the centuries-old blackhouses in Gearrannean village on the west coast of Lewis are available to rent and make for a unique stay. While you’re there, pick up the best hot-smoked salmon from The Hebridean Smokehouse and gin from the North Uist Distillery.

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    St Leonards on Sea

    Best for: buckets-and-spade seaside

    London’s 19th-century south coast retreat still has one of the most glamorous Regency seafronts in the UK – designed by James Burton, the architect responsible for half of Bloomsbury. And although usually mentioned in the same breath as its neighbour, Hastings, St Leonards on Sea has its own offbeat (and relatively affordable) foodie scene. Head to the colourful huts on the beach for fish baps and ice cream from Goat Ledge. Or – behind another colourful exterior – Heist, an indoor food market selling oysters and natural wine at Boat Yard, Thai fish cakes and Thom Kha at Bangkok Delivery Boy, and okonomiyaki pancakes from Arigato. For a more formal sit-down, head to seafood-focussed Galleria, which does a brilliant two-course set lunch for just £20.

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    Birmingham

    Best for: unexpected delights

    If the other major British city on this list, Manchester, is having its moment in the sun in 2025 (thanks at least in part to the renaissance of ‘90s obsession Oasis, whose reunion tour will surely make its biggest splash in the Gallagher brothers’ hometown), then perhaps Birmingham is a clever alternative for something a little less punchy. In the Condé Nast Traveller UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards, we named England’s second city the unexpected foodie break of the year thanks to an influx of interesting new restaurants (South African neighbourhood joint Riverine Rabbit and punk-rock tasting menu Albatross Death Cult, in the Jewellery Quarter, to be exact) joining much-loved bars such as award-winning cocktail den Couch and craft brewery Attic Beer Co.

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    The Helford River, Cornwall

    Best for: hidden beaches

    Of course, it’s still Cornwall, so it’s hardly a secret, but if you want to visit the southern county in the summer months with as few people as possible, head for the villages on and around the Helford Passage. The southern Lizard Peninsula side is slightly wilder, with oak woodlands protecting secret coves – genuinely, some of which will be deserted. To get to Bosahan beach, for example, takes a mile through woodland on foot. Another great option is to hire a boat and pootle between villages – must-stops include the Ferryboat Inn and The Shipwright Arms for a pint. The lack of hotel options probably adds to the seclusion, but there are plenty of pretty cottages to rent. University town Falmouth is also close by so it's worth booking in for the Green-starred tasting menu at Culture and on the southern side of the river, pop into Flora at New Yard for breakfast cardamom buns.

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    Ullswater, Lake District

    Best for: adventure

    An area of the Lake District that’s relatively untouched by tourists. Days here should be spent walking, sailing and open-water swimming. On the blue-grey Ullswater itself is a stay, The Boathouse at Knott’s End, that sleeps two with a wooden balcony over the water and views of the fells beyond. The next best spot is Another Place, run by the group behind Cornwall’s hugely popular Watergate Bay, which has a similar focus on water sports and outdoor activities – perfect for families but also cool enough for couples. This is also a spot for serious stargazers with two designated Dark Sky Discovery sites close by.

TopicsGreat British EscapesUKSummer Holidays