- seaside
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It's a cross between a hotel, a youth hostel and a summer school for families and adults into sustainable living. They run brilliant Family Weeks and workshop courses on environmental issues like composting, preserving, finding wild food and a few more whacky ones like Sacred Trees and Five Rhythms Dance.
Beautiful space - an amazing gothic Victorian building with great views, 11 acres of land, organic walled garden (lots of the food is grown on site) and a farm - and a really good atmosphere. It's three miles from Charmouth and Lyme Regis for seaside fossils and swimming. You can also go there as a volunteer - help out in return for free board and lodging.
www.monktonwyldcourt.org
monktonwyldcourt@btinternet.com
Tel 01297 560342
A seaside town a train ride from the city centre. Very old fashioned, donkeys, bouncy castle, ice creams, chips from The Marigold Cafe before coming home.
Take a picnic, enjoy sand, windsurfers and, on a good day, jaw-droppingly lovely views of the Welsh coast and Hilbre Island. Only walk to the island if you know what you're doing as the tide comes in fast, often behind you, and it is easy to get stuck!
West Kirby is on the Wirral Peninsular at the end of the M53.Trains every 20/30 mins from Central Liverpool.
An amazing example of public art, these statues (100 of them) stretch along Crosby beach for 3 kilometres and out to sea for one kilometre. Go there at any time of day, but make sure you check the tides - you can't see any of them at high tide. It is atmospheric and beautiful, but at the same time down to earth - it's great to see whole families having picnics next to one of the figures and kids playing around them.
Crosby Beach
North Liverpool
Cosy tea room/bistro/restaurant (mind your head!) at beautiful Cramond on the quayside of the River Almond and Forth. A great selection of home cooked local recipes, soups with home made bread, full meals or just a tea, coffee or chocolate and cake.
The stone built artisans cottage was once a cooperage for the long gone brewing pub next door. Lovely walks along the beaches and fields away from the Edinburgh crowds, but within walking distance of the city (four-five miles).
On the waterfront at Cramond, watch the boats swans and seabirds. Buses and a big car park up the hill. www.cramondbistro.co.uk/index.htm
The ideal place for fossil enthusiasts. On the beaches and foreshore of Swanage but also in other coasts of Dorset you will find thousands of them.
Wonderful fresh local fish served by a very knowledgeable owner. Best surf and turf I have ever tasted.
Fish Street.
A seventeenth-century star fort in Kinsale Harbour, a very pleasant walk from the town either by road or along the water's edge. One of the few remaining forts of the period with its outer walls and star formation defences intact. It's well worth the walk - the view out to the harbour is magnificent and from what I remember of my last trip there, the displays and historical information are good too.
Seafood of course is one of the main dishes on this warm seaboard that teems with an abundance of fish. Try the Mussels Mariniere cooked in white wine with a little garlic and parsley, the juices mopped up with fresh crusty bread from the local bakery. Or the langoustines seared over charcoal, the gentle smell of the charred shells anticipating the feast to come. And wild Atlantic salmon caught 20 miles up the river having spent three years across the ocean in the Sargasso Sea, and now responding to the timeless urge to breed in the place it was spawned. Wrapped in soaked newspaper, (the Irish Times of course), stuffed with herbs grown on the hillside near Old Kinsale Head, and steamed to perfection over the very hottest of charcoal, the succulent flesh falls off the bones.
Old Kinsale Head is worth visiting to look out over the deceptive and anonymous waves to where the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915 with the loss of a thousand lives.
It's a tiny little tea house tucked away off the beaten tourist track in the Hanover area of Brighton, run by a couple of young gay guys, with space for 16 guests seated. Kitch and as camp as they come!
The tea room is like stepping inside a memorabilia shop, like someone's front room, with an eclectic mixture of decor dedicated to the Royals, with Union Jacks ablaze, a grand piano and pictures of Diana adorning the walls.
The house rules are hilarious (not to be taken too seriously) ie no dunking of biscuits, no clanking of spoons when stirring your tea etc!
The menu is humorous, with items such as "The Duchies Cream Tea, Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth High Tea, The Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales Afternoon Tea" and the unforgetable "The Julie Goodyear High Tea" (aka Corrie's Bet Lynch!) [you get the idea!)
It kind of epitomises Brighton's eclectic campness. Well worth a visit for a fun cream tea.
www.theteacosy.co.uk/
107 Southover Street, Brighton, East sussex, BN2 9UA.
This beach has over 5 miles worth of deserted golden sand, barring the small gatherings to be found near the car park. It is backed by dunes and Tentsmuir Forest which offers miles and miles of walking and cycling all on the the flat.
Kinshaldy Beach is on the North Sea coast of Fife, just north of Leuchars and only about 5 miles from the Tay Bridge and Dundee and 4 miles south to St Andrews.
This place is amazing - totally retro original 50s decor with the BEST ice cream that they make fresh every day on site. You can really taste the difference. They also have ice cream parlours in Harrods, London and Selfridges, Birmingham - so you know they serve the best! I thoroughly recommend it!
Victoria Parade, Broadstairs
www.morellisgelato.com
This cocktail bar takes some hunting out (up some narrow stairs from an inconspicuous door on the street) but when you get up there it's a real find. Delicious cocktails served by really friendly, unpretentious staff. It gets quite busy at the weekends but there's usually more space (and often a DJ) in the two bars at the back - they're for members only but you can call in advance for free entry or sign up online for free membership. Try the Marylebone mojito - it's out of this world.
135 Western Road (beside Waitrose)
www.kobauk.com
Tel: 01273 720059
Nearest station: Brighton
Cobbled streets, tiny whitewashed cottages tumbling down to a massive expanse of beach, seagulls wheeling - Robin Hood's Bay is a haven of peace. Walk along the cliffs towards Ravenscar, shimmering in the distance, the moors rising above the headland, cloaked in heather. Stroll back along the sands, where there are rock pools and fossils - a happy hunting ground for grown ups and kids.
The light is pearlescent - and the fish & chips at The Bay Hotel very good indeed.
My boyfriend and i recently discovered this contemporary jewellers opposite the dome in brighton. As a designer myself it is truely inspiring and the new cherub and heart pendants are at the top of my birthday list. Apparently they've very recently oppened the first floor and like the rest of the shop it is worth checking out for the interior alone!
114 Church street (opposite dome and corn exchange)
Brighton 01273 604010
www.johnharrington.co.uk
A visit to the lovely sandy beaches and old fishing villages of what King James called 'The Golden Fringe' of Fife is always well worth the trip, especially on the weekends of 2nd and 9th June, when over 30 professional artists open their studios to all.
Half hour's drive from St Andrews (station, Leuchars) or an hour from Edinburgh. Details of open studios: www.eastneukopenstudios.org, or telephone for illustrated brochure, 01333730249
Fantastic vegetarian and vegan cafe/canteen. Salads and specials are great. Friendly staff. Homemade lemonade and organic wines.
Kensington Gardens
North Laine
Brighton
www.iydea.co.uk/
Varied veggie and vegan menu - inspired by flavours from around the world. The tapas is excellent, the veggie breakfast is tasty and very filling and the cakes are delicious. We enjoy the leisurely atmosphere - you are not rushed to finish and move on. We can't wait to go back.
Wai Kika Moo Kau, 42 Meeting House Lane, Brighton, East Sussex,
Tel: 01273 323824
Simply the best veggie restaurant that I have ever visited. Reading the menu is part of the pleasure - it has a language all of its own, e.g. Bengal Babs -Tandoori spice loaded halloumi kebab, served with smoked almond custard risotto, tamarind tang, pink onion and green mango sas, and podi dust tomatoes; Cigarillo Mejoolie - Deep-fried parchment pastry crammed with cardamon mejool date and pistachio lemon mince, cinnamon dust, fennel seed sugar, served with pomegranate bead, orange and grapefruit fillets and a mint tisane granita. The flavours and textures are divine. The staff are efficient and friendly and the restaurant also caters for vegans and those who need a gluten free diet. I visit regularly and am never disappointed.
www.terreaterre.co.uk
71 East Street, Brighton BN1 1HQ
Tel: 01273 729051
I recently went to Whitby for a short break with my husband and two children. We rented a really lovely cottage from an agency called Marmadukes. It was a really lovely period conversion and very well maintained and comfortable. It was great to have a bit of luxury rather than the usual basic rental style of property, and the price was very reasonable considering!
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