Seven Alternative UK Seaside Towns for a Crowd-Free Summer Weekend

By August, the famous seaside towns have a familiar look: a queue at the car park barrier, a scrum outside the chip shop, and a beach that is more windbreak than sand. The answer is not to abandon the coast. It is to drive another twenty minutes, or to pick a place that never made the front of a brochure in the first place. The seven towns below are all genuinely coastal, all workable for a weekend, and all quiet enough that you will still find room to lay out a towel. Each comes with practical quirks — fast tides, tiny car parks, pubs with six tables — so read the detail before you book.

Alnmouth, Northumberland

Alnmouth sits where the River Aln meets the sea: a huddle of colour-washed houses with no pier, no arcade and no amusements. The beach is a long sweep of sand that rarely feels crowded, even in high season, but two things catch visitors out.

Parking is the first. The village car parks are small and the lanes are tight, so arrive before mid-morning or park at Hipsburn and walk in along the riverside path. The second is the tide. The estuary fills quickly and cuts off the spit that looks so inviting at low water.

Tides and the estuary

Check a tide table before you walk out across the sand, and leave more margin than feels necessary. The incoming water moves faster than it looks and the channel shifts from week to week. For swimming, head for the main bay rather than the estuary mouth, where the current is stronger. The village shop covers picnic supplies; the pubs are small, so ring ahead if you want a table after seven. If you have time, walk up to Church Hill for the view back over the estuary and the old granary — it is a ten-minute climb and the best photograph in the village.

Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire

Between Whitby and Saltburn, Runswick is a row of red-roofed cottages under a crumbling cliff, with the car park at the top and a steep path down to the sand. There is no parking at beach level, which is part of why it stays calm. The clifftop car park charges and fills early on summer Saturdays; once it is full, drivers start leaving cars on the road, which causes trouble for everyone.

Time your visit around the tide. At high water there is very little sand left, so a few hours either side of low water gives you rock pools, fossils in the shale and space for a proper walk. The Cleveland Way runs through the village and the stretch north towards Kettleness makes a good half day. The pub and café are small: book, or eat early. Fossil hunters should look but not hammer the cliffs — the shale is fragile and the best finds are usually loose on the beach.

St Abbs, Scottish Borders

St Abbs is a working harbour village with clear, cold water and a reputation among divers that has never quite tipped it into mass tourism. Above it, the cliffs of St Abb’s Head are looked after by the National Trust for Scotland and hold seabird colonies in spring and early summer; the cliff-top path is the reason many people come.

The tide drops a long way here. Rocks that are dry at low water are covered again surprisingly quickly, so do not linger on the outer points. Coldingham Bay, a short walk south, has sand and gentler swimming. The village has a café and a small shop; for a wider choice of fish and chips, Eyemouth is a few minutes down the road. Bring binoculars for the puffins and guillemots, and a windproof jacket — the headland can be breezy even when the harbour is still.

Newport, Pembrokeshire

Not the city in Gwent. This Newport is a small town on the Nevern estuary, with the old harbour at Parrog on one side and the wide sands of Newport Sands on the other. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path passes both ways — north towards Cwm-yr-Eglwys, south towards Dinas Head — and the walking is the main event.

The tide dictates everything. At high water the estuary is full and the crossing between Parrog and the sands is not passable; at low water the beach seems to stretch for a mile. Check tide times before planning a circular walk, and watch the river channel rather than following footprints. Parking at Parrog fills quickly, so use the town car parks and walk down. The high street has a good village shop, a deli and a couple of pubs that take bookings. If the weather turns, the Nevern Estuary walk inland towards the iron bridge is muddy but atmospheric.

Kingsand and Cawsand, Cornwall

These twin villages on the Rame Peninsula face Plymouth across the water, which means your view is a city rather than a holiday brochure — and it keeps the crowds away. They are separated by a small headland and share a narrow street of cottages, two sheltered beaches and a handful of pubs. The water is calm enough for easy swimming, and the South West Coast Path runs right through, with views to Plymouth Sound and, on clear days, the Eddystone Lighthouse.

Parking is the main constraint. Use the car park at Cawsand or the one above Kingsand and walk down; the lanes are too narrow for hopeful circling. At low tide you can walk between the two villages along the shore, but check the tide because the route is cut off at high water. The bakery and pubs are small, so book for dinner or eat early. A short ferry from Cawsand to Plymouth in summer makes a car-free day out, but check the timetable — it does not run in every weather.

Cemaes Bay, Anglesey

Cemaes Bay sits on the north coast of Anglesey, a village of stone cottages around a small harbour with a sandy beach and a rocky headland at either end. It is quiet even in August, partly because it takes a deliberate drive to reach and partly because there is no grand promenade or amusement arcade to pull in the crowds. The beach is good for families, with gentle shallows at low water and rock pools along the edges.

The tide still deserves respect. The bay is sheltered, but the current picks up around the harbour mouth, so swim inside the marked area or between the flags if a lifeguard is on duty. Parking is limited near the beach; use the village car park and walk. The coastal path towards Bull Bay is a fine half-day walk, and the old copper port at Amlwch is a strange, fascinating detour. The village has a café, a shop and a pub that serves decent food — book ahead at weekends.

Cullen, Moray

Cullen is a small town on the Moray Firth, with a dramatic viaduct, a harbour and a long sandy beach backed by cliffs. It is famous for Cullen skink, the smoked haddock soup, and for being far quieter than it deserves. The beach is the main draw: a wide curve of sand with clean water, good rock pools and a path along the old railway line towards Findlater Castle, a ruined clifftop fort with a genuinely vertiginous approach.

Parking is easiest at the harbour and near the beach; the town car parks are small but rarely full outside a sunny Sunday. The tide goes out a long way, so check times if you plan to walk around the headland. Dolphins and porpoises are sometimes seen from the cliffs, especially early in the morning. The fish and chip shop and the local cafés are modest, so bring cash and patience. For a bigger choice, Buckie and Elgin are both within half an hour.

Quiet-weekend essentials

• Check the tide first. Not just the high-water time, but the range. A spring tide can turn a safe sandbar into a cut-off island in minutes.
• Arrive early or park outside the village. Most of these places have tiny car parks. A twenty-minute walk in is a small price for a calm day.
• Book food and beds. Pubs with six tables fill up by six o’clock. If you want dinner, ring ahead or eat at lunchtime.
• Take cash. Some cafés, car parks and honesty boxes still prefer it, especially when the signal drops.
• Leave the drone and the speaker at home. These towns are quiet because people respect the quiet. Keep it that way.

How to choose your town

If you want long walks and big skies, choose Alnmouth, Newport or Cullen. If you want rock pools and fossils, Runswick Bay is the best of the seven. If you want swimming and a harbour, St Abbs and Cemaes Bay are the pick. If you want a car-free day and a view of a city from a beach, Kingsand and Cawsand are hard to beat. Whichever you choose, the formula is the same: tide table, early start, booked table, and a willingness to walk the last mile.

“The best seaside weekend is not about finding a secret beach. It is about understanding the one you are standing on.”

Photo: James Ludovic / Pexels