Cornish village named best seaside town beating better-known hotspots

A tiny Cornish village has been named Britain's best seaside destination as places with seafood delicacies outperformed traditional holiday hotspots.

Consumer group Which? asked 4,000 holidaymakers their favourite seaside towns and ranked them on a series of measures including food and drink options, beaches and value for money.

St Mawes in Cornwall, which has a population of less than 1,000, came out on top, beating more well-known destinations like Salcombe or St Ives and scoring top ratings for its scenery, seafront and peace and quiet.

Making up the rest of the top five were Dartmouth in Devon, Southwold and Aldeburgh in Suffolk, and Bamburgh in Northumberland.

Which? said that Dartmouth, the home of Agatha Christie, won points for its steam train and “delicious seafood”, but a lack of parking options meant it fell to second behind St Mawes.

Rory Boland, travel editor at Which?, said: “With many people choosing to holiday in the UK this summer it is a good time to explore parts of the country you may not have considered before and to spread our sandcastles beyond the beaches of Devon and Cornwall.

"As our survey shows, it’s smaller seaside towns and villages with fewer visitors that holidaymakers love.”

He also recommended that those planning a staycation should phone hotels directly to try and secure a discount.

The location with the highest score in Scotland was St Andrews and in Wales was St Davids.

The lowest scoring destinations on the list were Skegness in Lincolnshire, Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, Bognor Regis in Sussex and Mablethorpe, also in Lincolnshire.

Famous seaside town Blackpool just missed out making the bottom five with a score of 53 per cent, being marked down for its value for money and peace and quiet.