7 Beautiful British Seaside Towns Worth Discovering

I have a bit of a soft spot for British seaside towns, and it’s not really about the beaches. What gets me is everything around the sand: peeling Victorian facades, chip shops run by the same family for generations, piers held together with nostalgia and scaffolding. These are seven of my favourite British seaside towns, scattered across England, Scotland and Wales, not a ranking of the best British seaside towns, just proof that the seaside towns worth visiting aren’t always the obvious names.

Brighton, England

Best for: Independent culture, nightlife, a more grown-up seaside

Brighton became fashionable in the Georgian era when the Prince Regent built the Royal Pavilion, and it still feels different from the other towns on this list because it never really stopped growing up. You get the classic pier, arcades and doughnuts, right next to North Laine’s vintage shops and record stores. It’s lovely for a proper weekend away rather than just a day out, especially if you like your seaside with a bit of culture and people-watching thrown in!

Llandudno, Wales

Best for: Preserved Victorian elegance, gentle seaside days

Llandudno is often called the Queen of Welsh Resorts, and it’s one of the best-preserved Victorian seaside towns in Britain, built on a curve of land between two limestone headlands. The long, pastel-painted promenade is gorgeous for an evening stroll, and the Great Orme headland gives views over the whole bay from its cable car or tram. It’s calmer and gentler than Blackpool or Brighton, a proper old-fashioned seaside break.

Blackpool, England

Best for: Nostalgia, entertainment, the golden age of the British holiday

Blackpool is a bit rough round the edges, and that’s honestly part of its charm. It was where mill town families came for their one week off a year, and Blackpool Tower, finished in 1894, still gives a proper thrill from the top. The Illuminations have lit up the seafront since 1879, and walking the prom after dark is joyfully tacky in the very best way. It’s lovely old-school seaside entertainment, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything else!

North Berwick, Scotland

Best for: Coastal walks, wildlife, a quieter kind of charm

North Berwick was a genuine surprise, a genteel little town on the Firth of Forth about half an hour from Edinburgh, with two curving sandy beaches and a working harbour that still feels properly local. Just offshore, Bass Rock holds the world’s largest colony of northern gannets (over 150,000 birds!) and boat trips get you close enough to really hear them. Nearby Tantallon Castle really adds to the experience as wel!

Aberystwyth, Wales

Best for: Welsh coastal identity, student energy, Victorian grandeur

Aberystwyth sits on the west coast of Wales facing the Irish Sea, and its university fills the town with students, giving it a lively energy most seaside resorts simply don’t have. The Victorian promenade curves past colourful terraces to the ruined Aberystwyth Castle, and Constitution Hill at the other end has a cliff railway and one of the widest sea views on this whole list. It feels wonderfully, unmistakably Welsh.

Whitby, England

Best for: Atmosphere, fishing heritage, gothic history

Whitby might just be my favourite on this whole list. It sits where the River Esk meets the North Sea and still has a proper working fishing fleet, so the fish and chips here are some of the best in Britain. Whitby Abbey sits high above the harbour up 199 steps, the very setting that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the atmosphere feels real rather than staged. It’s lovely for genuine character, not just sand and ice cream!

Weston-super-Mare, England

Best for: Classic Somerset seaside, a proper comeback story

Weston-super-Mare gets unfairly written off, but it’s a proper Somerset resort with sand stretching out as far as the eye can see at low tide, and a classic seaside rhythm of donkeys and deckchairs. The Grand Pier tells the whole story: opened in 1904, hit by fires in 1930 and 2008, then rebuilt from scratch and reopened to record crowds in 2010. It’s a lovely, unpretentious spot for an old-fashioned day out without Brighton’s crowds.