Temperature: 22°C high; 13°C low
Season: summer
Travel time from UK: Around one hour from London by train
Time difference: GMT
We may be biased, but there’s nothing quite like an English staycation in the peak of summer. Particularly on the south coast, where gentle tides lap against pebble beaches, ice cream vans scoot around all day, every day, and locals and travellers alike reward icy sea dips with fish and chips by the shore. Kent is home to several excellent options for day trips or long weekends – Margate, of course, is always a good shout, with its notable restaurant scene, great bars and a smattering of hotels and Airbnbs. Whitstable is the place to go for oysters and pints by the sea (and to take snaps of the Instagram-favourite storefront, The Whitstable Oyster Bar). Deal is another quaint option for a quintessential English staycation, with pretty cobbled streets and winding countryside walks aplenty, while Folkestone is zooming up the list of Kent’s must-visit towns for the cool crowd. Further inland, Canterbury is a wealth of historical wonders, and the rolling vineyards of the likes of Tillingham and Chapel Down make for a perfectly boozy weekend break.
Sustainable travel tip: Regular high-speed trains connect St Pancras International Station and Stratford International with Kent’s most popular seaside resorts, such as Folkestone, Broadstairs and Margate. Alternatively, hop on a coach from Victoria Coach Station, which costs considerably less but takes a few hours longer, factoring in stops along the way.
Where to stay: Margate’s Fort Road Hotel is a symbol of changing times in this nostalgic seaside town. The addition of vintage and bespoke furniture creates characterful bedrooms that are ideal crash pads for weekend stays, while the downstairs restaurant and rooftop bar (exclusively open to guests) turn the hotel into a chic hub. Further inland, you’ll spot DFLs (down-from-London-ers) sipping cocktails and feasting before tucking themselves into billowy beds at Boy’s Hall, a wonderfully refurbished 17th-century house.