The Great British Seaside Revival

This isn’t about theming a room in navy and rope and hoping for the best. Strip away the nostalgia, and you’ll find a palette of faded, bleached, sun-and-salt-washed tones.

Taupes, browns, and honey hues of a gothic winter’s walk versus the dark blues and speckled greys of a crisp spring morning. Striped textiles and retro patterns in upholstery and garden furniture - not nautical in a clichéd way, but the bold, warm, faded stripe of a traditional deckchair or a 1970s beach towel. Accessories providing a pop of colour, especially if they clash - pieces that feel like they've accumulated over time rather than been chosen all at once.

Because we need it. The British seaside revival is, at its heart, an act of confidence. A decision to stop looking elsewhere for the aesthetic we already have. Because the British summer, with all its glorious unpredictability, its sudden clear skies and cold winds and fish and chips eaten in a car park because the weather turned, is one of the most distinctive and genuinely beloved cultural experiences this country has.

The Riviera is beautiful. Ibiza is iconic. But there is nowhere on earth that does faded, characterful, salt-sprayed, deeply human charm quite like Whitby in September or Margate on a Tuesday in May.

And it turns out that's exactly what we've been looking for.

In County Durham, Seaham has transformed from a coal mining port into a bustling marina and dramatic clifftop promenade, focusing on rewilding and eco-tourism. The Durham Heritage Coastal Project recently completed the Coastal Grasslands Reconnected initiative that has successfully restored rare magnesian limestone wildflower habitats. Meanwhile, Tynemouth was named one of the top seaside destinations by Which? Leisure, achieving a rare five-star status for its food and drink. 

Probably one of the most recognisable coastal towns in the UK, Blackpool is leaning into its legendary status rather than running from it - and it's all the better for it. The illuminations are as iconic as ever, the Pleasure Beach remains brilliantly, unapologetically itself, and a wave of independent restaurants and bars are quietly upgrading the offer beyond the promenade. Just across the Mersey, New Brighton is having its own moment - a Victorian seaside town with a growing creative scene, a revamped waterfront, and views back across to Liverpool that are genuinely hard to beat.

Kinsale has been doing considered, characterful seaside living longer than most - a beautifully preserved Cork harbour town with a serious food reputation, brightly painted townhouses that tumble down to the water. On the other side of the island, Dún Laoghaire offers a different kind of coastal escape: a lively, design-conscious suburb of Dublin with a Victorian pier, an excellent arts scene, and ferry connections to the wider world. And for something wilder, Tramore on the Waterford coast delivers long sandy beaches, a fairground with old-school charm, and a growing reputation as one of Ireland's most characterful seaside towns.