There’s so much beauty along this stretch of the Welsh coast.
One of its highlights is Three Cliffs Bay, which is rugged and feels remote. You can only get to it via a footpath through salt marshes and over Pennard Pill, a large stream that flows into the sea in the middle of the bay.
To its west is Rhossili Bay, which is rated by Tripadvisor as Best British Beach. It’s unusual in that gentle hills and not cliffs jut straight up from its epically long sands.
Nearby, Swansea is a popular university city and it’s not hard to see why. Who wouldn’t want to live in a campus that’s a pebble’s throw from a beach that’s featured in Dr Who?
Falmouth is the perfect base from which to discover both Cornish coasts: the gentler, charming bays and coves of South Cornwall and the crashing waves and rocky triumphs of the Atlantic North Coast.
It’s a short stroll from Falmouth town centre to Gyllyngvase beach, with its fan-shaped golden sands. And you’re also near the Roseland Peninsula, replete with pale sands and picturesque bays.
Brighton is the UK’s trendiest and – some say – poshest seaside resort. It’s now a commuter city for London workers who have imported some of the capital’s Covent Garden and Shoreditch chic, adding to the bohemia that already existed in Brighton.
Brighton is cosmopolitan – a touch of the Mediterranean bar culture here, a California-style roller-blading police offer there; everywhere, fine sands from Barbados brought in to cover the pebbles that once topped the shore.
Nearby, the South Downs walk skirts the coast at Seven Sisters cliffs. If you’re in search of archetypal English chalk cliffs, here they are.
This is Wales the magnificent where the prehistoric rocks of its mountains brush the expanse of the Irish sea. It’s where a sea view is often also a view of the Snowdonia range. The Llŷn Peninsula is simply stunning.
It has possibly the best pub location in Britain. Drive to Porthdinllaen down and have an ale at the Ty Coch Inn. Look out of its windows – across the cove are majestic mountains.
There’s so much to see – from Barmouth to the Menai Strait and the island of Anglesey. If you want a break from driving, take the coast rail. The views from the carriages are inspiring.
Poole Harbour is the largest natural harbour in Europe. It also boasts some of the most expensive real estate in the UK. And the motor boats and yachts in the harbour – most of them wouldn’t look out of place in a James Bond film.
The waters of the bay are shallow, and great to paddle in.
To the west is the wildlife centre at Hengistbury Head, and Bournemouth, with its ornamental parks and chines – steep river valleys that lead to the coast. To the East are the sand dunes of Studland Bay and then Swanage. Further east is the Isle of Purbeck, a great place for walkers. Part of the isle’s coast is limestone, which on a sunny day makes the sea turquoise; another part is shale, which makes for a more brooding coast path experience.
If you like your coastlines to feel ancient, drive to the Northumbrian Coast in the North-East of England and just below the Scottish borders. This is sparsely populated coast, isolated island coast, rugged outposts against invasion coast. There are a lot of castles along its stretches, the grandest of these is Bamburgh.
It’s also a coast full of wildlife, with large seal sanctuaries to view by boat trip.
One of the highlights of any Northumbrian road trip must be the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. The ruined medieval priory is as serene as it is magnificent. The island is accessible at only certain time of the day.
