You going to the beach but where will you eat? Where can you buy great picnic food? And where are the best hotels and B&Bs? Here’s our food lovers’ seaside guide to five top spots.
NORTH DEVON COAST
Let others roar past to Cornwall while you stop to enjoy North Devon’s wild, windswept coastline. The golden sands and plunging headlands west of Exmoor are great for the spirit – and so is the food. The area is honeycombed with artisan cheesemakers, crab fishermen, honey farms, organic market gardeners and rare-breed meat producers.
If you’re travelling from the east, the market town of South Molton is a good place to stock up on picnic supplies before you reach the coast. For a great range of local cheese, meat and veg, go to Griffin Wholefoods, or pop into old-fashioned Chanters Bakery, makers of Devon Half Moons, a traditional Devon biscuit.
If it’s sea air and crab sandwiches you crave, drive on to the rugged headland of Mortehoe, home to Britain’s most eccentric (and possibly best value) shellfish restaurant. The no-frills Mortehoe Shellfish is run by the Huelins, a fishing family. It offers incredibly fresh crab and succulent lobster. On a sunny day, take away crab sandwiches and walk down to secluded Rockham beach, which is ideal for rock-pooling.
In the evening, try At One in Braunton, a café serving modern European-inspired restaurant food at night. Or watch the sunset from the terrace of Sands Café Bar in nearby Saunton Sands, slap-bang on this enormous dune-backed beach. A lick of Hocking’s creamy vanilla ice cream has to be one of the true tastes of North Devon. Hocking’s only makes one flavour (vanilla) and sells direct from vans at Ilfracombe seafront, Westward Ho! seafront, Bideford Quay and Torrington.
Across the Taw-Torridge estuary, the pretty fishing village of Appledore offers cobbled streets and an outstanding hole-in-the-wall fish and chip shop, Sylvester’s Fish, up the lane beside the Seagate Hotel on the quay. Buy a pint of local ale from the hotel’s bar and settle down on a bench with a view across the water to the dune-scape of Braunton Burrows, a wildflower and nature reserve, and the far-off outline of Lundy Island.
For excellent veg, go to Marshford Organics. In May they have salad, herbs, mangetout and broad beans and, later, heritage tomatoes. Fish lovers should seek out Dan the Fish Man who sells his prime local catch at nearby markets. If you fancy extending your trip (see our where to stay in the directory), Ashburton Cookery School has more than 40 courses, from knife skills to bread-making.
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Beaches
A five-minute drive from Braunton is spectacular Saunton Sands, a three-mile stretch of golden sand pounded by huge white rollers. Around the headland, Croyde Beach is popular with surfers while over Baggy Point, Putsborough Beach stretches all the way down to Woolacombe. Beyond there, the rocky, secluded National Trust beach of Rockham has a shingle beach and plenty of rock pools.
Restaurants, cafés and pubs in North Devon
- At One, 1-3 Caen Street, Braunton (01271 814444)
- Mortehoe Shellfish, Mortehoe
- Sands Café Bar, Saunton Sands, Near Braunton (01271 891288)
- Sylvester’s Fish, 3 Meeting Street, Appledore, Bideford (01237 423548)
Food shopping in North Devon
- Chanters Bakery, 2 Barnstaple Street, South Molton (01769 572651)
- Dan the Fish Man (clovellyfish.com) sells his local catch from a barrow at Hatherleigh Market (Tuesday), Holsworthy Market (Wednesday), South Molton Market (Thursday) and in Mill Street, Bideford (Friday)
- Griffin Wholefoods, Griffins Yard, North Road, South Molton (01769 572372)
- Marshford Organics, Churchill Way, Northam (01237 477160)
Cookery school in North Devon
Places to stay in North Devon
- Baggy Lodge, Croyde Bay. Surfer’s B&B on Baggy Point with rooms overlooking Croyde beach. Doubles cost £70
- Combas Farm, near Croyde. A 17th-century farmhouse B&B close to Putsborough Sands. Doubles from £64.
- Highcliffe House, Sinai Hill, Lynton.This luxurious 19th-century guesthouse has a panoramic view of the North Devon coast. Doubles from £112 B&B
- North Morte Farm Caravan and Camping Park, near Woolacombe. Camp in fields that run down to a rocky beach. They don’t take bookings so phone ahead to see if they’re full.
SOUTHWOLD
Known affectionately as ‘the town that time forgot’, this charming north Suffolk seaside spot, with its award-winning beach, huge skies and photogenic beach huts, retains lashings of traditional 1950s appeal. Food-wise, though, a new sophistication has crept into Southwold of late. Forget soggy chips and cheap ice cream – you’re more likely to find freshly caught fish, local asparagus and cheeses, and hand-made chocs. No wonder some also call the place Hampstead-on-Sea.
Not that the town has forgotten its roots entirely. For the best traditional fish and chips, swing by Mark’s, where the chips are crisp and the fish is fried in the lightest of batters. From there, head for the sand-and-pebble beach for a stroll, before turning inland along the River Blyth to the harbour, where fishing boats, huts and seagulls jostle together in a chaotic jumble. There you’ll find the delightful Sole Bay Fish Company, a shop and restaurant offering local lobster, crab and turbot. Buy fish, visit the simple restaurant specialising in seafood platters and oysters, or just marvel at the huge fish tank – kids love it.
Back in town, pop into The Black Olive Delicatessen, a food-lovers’ magnet. Check out the breads and local cheeses at Nutters, taste great wines and browse the swanky kitchenware at Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Store. Beer lovers note: Southwold is home to Adnams brewery. The ales can be found all over town, but are best drunk at the highly rated Lord Nelson pub.
Take afternoon tea at the Boating Lake Café, a boho-chic teahouse serving great home-made cakes, or watch the ever-
changing seascape from The Clockhouse, a popular café on Southwold’s quirky pier. Step upmarket with dinner at The Crown Hotel, which serves dishes such as seared Suffolk lamb’s liver with red cabbage marmalade. Or dine at Sutherland House, where the food miles for each dish are listed on the menu. Try the likes of roast pigeon breast with red onion and pickled cabbage, clocking up a mere 14 miles.
Fancy a trip out of town? Head inland to The Queen’s Head at Blyford, which specialises in organic produce from local farms, or take the rowing boat ferry over the River Blyth to Walberswick for lunch at the 600-year-old pub The Bell, which sits by a stunning beach. It has open fires, flagstone floors and great home-made soups. If you find yourself wanting to stay longer, try Home @ 21 North Parade or No 3; these Southwold B&Bs exude olde-worlde charm.
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Restaurants, cafés and pubs in Southwold
- The Bell, Ferry Road, Walberswick
- Boating Lake Café, North Road, Southwold
- The Clockhouse, Southwold Pier, North Parade, Southwold (01502 722105)
- The Crown, High Street, Southwold
- The Lord Nelson, East Street, Southwold (01502 722079)
- Mark’s Fish Shop, 32 High Street, Southwold (01502 723585)
- The Queen’s Head, Southwold Road, Blyford, Halesworth
- Sole Bay Fish Company, Shed 22e, Blackshore, Southwold (01502 724241)
- Sutherland House, 56 High Street, Southwold
Food shopping in Southwold
- Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Store, Victoria Street, Southwold (01502 727244) l The Black Olive Delicatessen, 80 High Street, Southwold (01502 722312)
- Nutters, 11 East Street, Southwold (01502 723645)
Places to stay in Southwold
- The Bell. Doubles from £100 B&B
- Home @ 21, 21 North Parade, Southwold. Twin rooms from £75 B&B at this charming Victorian house. Minimum two-night stay
- No 3, 3 Cautley Road, Southwold (01502 723611). Doubles from £40 B&B.
CAMBER SANDS, RYE AND DUNGENESS
As beaches go, Camber Sands is the stuff of childhood memories: fine golden sand backed by picture-perfect dunes. When the sun shines, the crowds still flock down to this corner of East Sussex. And behind the dunes, the town of Camber is a straggle of developments in which you can read the fortunes, past and present, of this very British seaside resort.
There are still caravan parks and tacky shops, but other places indicate a resurgence of this almost-cool-again seaside town. The Place at the Beach is a funky hotel a stone’s throw from the sands. Its restaurant serves the likes of local plaice with brown shrimp butter or seared Rye Bay scallops.
Camber isn’t a food-lovers’ mecca yet, so to stock up on goodies for a beach picnic, head to nearby Winchelsea or Rye. Butcher Jamie Wickens specialises in free-range local beef, pork and lamb (including famous salt-marsh lamb from Romney Marsh, just over the border in Kent). His new company, the Winchelsea Farm Kitchen, is also an upmarket deli-café with local cheeses (the Flower Marie ewe’s milk cheese is excellent), charcuterie and bread.
On the cobbled High Street of beautifully preserved Rye, the Rye Delicatessen has a display of British cheeses and a selection of own-made quiches, tarts, salads and meats. You can ring ahead for a bespoke hamper. A few doors down is Britcher & Rivers, an old-fashioned sweet shop where you can find Pontefract cakes and ‘soor plooms’.
For old-fashioned fish and chips, drive along the coast to Dungeness. This lonely but curiously picturesque spit of shingle has the Dungeness Nuclear Power Station (now being de-commissioned) winking in the distance. Two old-time pubs, The Pilot Inn and The Britannia, serve hefty plates of deep-fried goodness with local ales.
For a longer stay, opt for Rye. At the Rye Farmers’ Market, held on Strand Quay on Wednesday mornings, stock up on local produce, meat and fish. For dinner, Webbe’s at the Fish Café serves local crab, oysters and whelks, as well as well-judged takes on Rye Bay scallops and cuttlefish, mostly with an Asian twist. The Landgate Bistro is a stalwart that makes much of the quality food from Kent and Sussex’s farms and coasts, and the swanky hotel and restaurant The George serves sophisticated dishes such as Romney Marsh lamb with roast garlic and churrasco sauce.
Real ale fans are in luck in Rye, too. Look out for cask ales from Larkins Brewery in Tonbridge and Harveys Brewery in Lewes at charming pubs such as The Globe Inn, the Ship Inn and Ypres Castle (pronounced ‘Wipers’ in these parts).
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Beaches
During the summer months, you could head for Rye Harbour Beach. There’s no direct access by car so it’s more peaceful.
Restaurants, pubs and cafés in Camber Sands, Rye and Dungeness
- The Britannia, Dungeness Road, Dungeness (01797 321959)
- The George in Rye, 98 High Street, Rye
- The Globe Inn, 10 Military Road, Rye
- The Landgate Bistro, 5/6 Landgate, Rye
- The Pilot Inn, Battery Road, Dungeness
- The Place at the Beach, New Lydd Road, Camber, Rye
- The Ship Inn, The Strand, Rye
- Webbe’s at the Fish Café, 17 Tower Street, Rye. They also run a cookery school with one-day courses on fish cookery
- Winchelsea Farm Kitchen, High Street, Winchelsea
- Ypres Castle Inn, Gun Gardens, Rye
Food shopping in Camber Sands, Rye and Dungeness
Places to stay in Camber Sands, Rye and Dungeness
- Bramley & Teal beach holiday cottages, various locations around Camber. Rates from £640 per week, for a two-bedroom cottage sleeping four (minimum seven-night stay in peak periods)
- The Hope Anchor Hotel, Watchbell Street, Rye. Beautiful 18th-century guesthouse with views over Rye. Doubles from £140 B&B
- Jeake’s House, Mermaid Street, Rye. A 16th-century house on a steep cobbled street in the heart of Rye. The rooms, named after literary figures, are wonderfully olde worlde. Double/twin rooms from £90 B&B
- The Place at the Beach. Doubles from £125 B&B.
WEST WITTERING
We have the nimbys to thank for West Wittering. The south coast’s most pristine beach is home to dunes, beach huts, a beautiful stretch of sand – and little else. Things would be different if, in the 1950s, locals hadn’t banded together and bought it from under the nose of holiday-camp supremo Billy Butlin, for £20,000. It was a steal. Eight miles south of the cathedral city of Chichester in West Sussex, West Wittering may have a comedy name but it’s a magical place, where families and surfers share sand space in laid-back bliss.
A day at the beach has to include paddle surfing, a worldwide craze which, in the UK, started here. Waves aren’t necessary, as you propel yourself along with your paddle. Expert coach Simon Bassett at the 2XS water sports school will have you chugging round the East Head sand spit in no time.
Cutting-edge water sports create appetites. In the village, the bright, friendly Beach House B&B serves a great pollock and chips on its terrace. The village’s only pub, the sunnily refurbished Old House at Home, offers more pub grub and a big beer garden. Along the coast is the slightly ramshackle little town of East Wittering, whose pebble beach is equally loved by surfers. Finish a beach walk with a latte at the fashionable Drift-in Café. The town’s independent shops include Horrocks greengrocer, good for fresh Sussex produce to take home.
Away from the Witterings, explore the pretty villages of Chichester harbour, such as Itchenor, home to the welcoming Ship Inn, and historic Bosham, popular with yachties. Or drive east to Sidlesham, on the edge of the nature reserve of Pagham Harbour, a haven for wading birds, where The Crab & Lobster offers inventive cooking, including its namesake crustacea from nearby Selsey, and sublime kedgeree. On the Witterings-Chichester road, The Cider House is a cute shack on a cider farm. Sip robust scrumpy before indulging in superb shellfish soup or Selsey lobster and chips, slathered with garlic butter.
If you’re staying a night or two, the Beach House has comfy rooms. For a chic-er pad, head inland for Michelin-starred dinner, bed and breakfast at West Stoke House (see directory), stopping en route at the oak-beamed Gribble Inn, which brews its own ales. Next day, visit nearby Goodwood Farm Shop. It sells the estate’s organic meat and veg, and more. They’ll prepare you a picnic hamper if you ring in advance. Take it back to the beach for a lazy afternoon, and be sure to raise a glass to those nimbys.
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Restaurants, pubs and cafés in West Wittering
- The Cider House, Birdham Road, Appledram, Near Chichester
- The Crab & Lobster, Mill Lane,?Sidlesham
- Drift-in Café, 11 Shore Road, East Wittering (01243 672292). Visit for a laid-back vibe and excellent crepes
- The Gribble Inn, Gribble Lane, Oving (01243 786893). Charming country inn east of Chichester with a pretty garden
- The Old House at Home, Cakeham Road, West Wittering (01243 511234). Five refurbished B&B rooms are also planned to open this summer
- The Ship Inn, The Street, Itchenor (01243 512284)
Water sports in West Wittering
- 2XS, West Wittering Beach. Two-hour paddle surfing lessons cost £45. Lots of other water sports lessons available
Food shopping in West Wittering
- Goodwood Farm Shop, Home Farm, Goodwood, Chichester
- Horrocks the Greengrocer, 6 The Parade, East Wittering (07813 977332). Buy fresh produce from small farms in West Sussex, from radishes to rhubarb, in this friendly greengrocer
Places to stay in West Wittering
- The Beach House, 77 Rookwood Road, West Wittering. This friendly, family-run B&B is actually a 15-minute walk from the beach. Doubles from £75
- The Crab & Lobster Boutique-y B&B rooms from £130
- West Stoke House, West Stoke, Chichester. Drive inland north of Chichester to this handsome Georgian house, formerly part of the Goodwood estate, for confident one-Michelin-starred dining, funky rooms and sexy, minimalist bathrooms. Doubles from £150 per night B&B.
GULLANE, SCOTLAND
When the citizens of Edinburgh catch a glimpse of sun on a summer weekend, the East Lothian coast, east of the city, is always a good bet for a day out. And though this coastline is blessed with many beaches, for food-lovers, Gullane is the place to go.
Picnickers might want to stock up on nibbles beforehand. If you’re coming from Edinburgh, there are options in the city and en route. Valvona & Crolla, Edinburgh’s famous Italian deli, is the place for good bread, cheese, cured meats, Italian wines and more. In the city’s Old Town, I J Mellis Cheesemonger is like a small cave, packed with artisan cheeses.
Driving out of Edinburgh along the coast, just before you get to the village of Aberlady, the Gosford Bothy Farm Shop has deli food and a brilliant meat counter. Past Aberlady, you come to Gullane itself, 20 miles from Edinburgh. A prosperous, tidy little village, best known for the adjacent Muirfield golf course, it backs on to the crescent-shaped Gullane Bay with more than a mile of golden sands.
From Main Street to the sea is all of half a mile. There is no waterfront development, nor an esplanade: Gullane Bay remains gloriously unspoiled. Almost anywhere at the back of the beach, overlooking the Firth of Forth to Fife, makes for an ideal picnic site. For some fresh bread and cakes to accompany it, try Falko Konditormeister, Gullane’s German bakery and café. If you’re not buying bread and cakes to go, sit in and enjoy the likes of sticky plum-and-custard tart with a proper coffee.
If the sea air whets your appetite for pub grub, there are two handy choices. At The Golf Inn, you might sit down to roast rib-eye beef and Yorkshire pud, or honey and orange-glazed duck. A few minutes’ walk away, The Old Clubhouse is another golf-themed venue. It does fish and chips, and burgers, but also draws on the local Ballencrieff Rare Pedigree Pigs Farm to offer hearty dishes such as maple-charred pork chops with potatoes and steamed greens.
For more formal, French dining, La Potinière has a long history as a distinguished restaurant. Not the best place to visit in shorts and flip-flops, its cooking centres around main courses such as poached and seared beef with truffle mash. Back at Aberlady, Ducks restaurant at Kilspindie House is another good option if you fancy modern British food.
If the weather turns inclement, then why not visit a whisky distillery? Glenkinchie Distillery is tucked away in Pencaitland, 10 miles from Gullane. The Glenkinchie 12-year-old is a good introduction to single-malt Scotch – and if the Scottish weather has really gone awry, the whisky might just warm you up again.
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Restaurants, pubs and cafés in Gullane
- Ducks at Kilspindie House, Main Street, Aberlady
- Falko Konditormeister, 1 Stanley Road, Gullane
- The Golf Inn, Main Street, Gullane
- The Old Clubhouse, East Links Road, Gullane
- La Potinière, 34 Main Street, Gullane
Food shopping in Gullane
Where to visit in Gullane
Where to stay in Gullane
- The town of North Berwick, around four miles east of Gullane, has the best places to stay in the local area. Belhaven Hotel, 28 Westgate, North Berwick. Charming small hotel with great sea views. Doubles cost £90 B&B
- Macdonald Marine Hotel and Spa, Cromwell Road, North Berwick
- A grand late-Victorian venue. Doubles from around £130 B&B
- Nether Abbey, 20 Dirleton Avenue, North Berwick. Small and homely, it’s known for its excellent views and good service. Double rooms cost £150 B&B.