A UK heatwave is coming — here's where to make a weekend of it

Times

a day ago

As we shiver our way into June, it's hard to believe that the Met Office thinks we're going to have a scorcher of a summer this year. Where the beaches of the Hebrides not only look like the Caribbean but you don't have to brace yourself not to be blown over. Where using a hotel's outdoor swimming pool can actually be followed by a stint on a sunlounger.
We British are hardy types. We can swim in the rain, we can sip aperitifs in stiff winds, but this year it would be really nice to have some better weather in the peak summer months.
One bonus for those wanting to go with the Met Office's forecast is that after two disappointing UK summers, at the moment there's plenty of availability — and even some special offers — in place for July and August bookings at hotels around Britain.
• Revealed: 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025
This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue
If the heatwave arrives at the very end of June, the coolest people in the UK will be those who have signed up to Swimquest's trip to the Isles of Scilly. Between June 27 and July 3, participants (who should, of course, be strong swimmers already) will crawl their way between St Mary's and its off-islands, including Tresco, Bryher and St Agnes. The trip is based at the Mincarlo hotel and comes with qualified guides and safety boat back-up. Details Six nights' half-board from £1,769pp (swimquest.uk.com)
• 15 of the most beautiful places in England
Fritton Lake is part rewilding project, part (whisper it) posh holiday camp where humans share the surroundings with free-roaming cattle, deer and water buffaloes. Accommodation ranges from hotel rooms to Scandi-style cabins. There's a heated 22m swimming pool, while the lake, which is available for both swimming and water sports, offers a more refreshing experience. There's a restaurant serving locally sourced food, but Fritton can also provide hampers and the beaches of Great Yarmouth are a 15-minute drive away. Details Three nights' self-catering for six from £1,665 (frittonlake.co.uk)
Spread out across 20,000 acres of the Yorkshire Dales, Swinton may be best known for its smart hotel, but there are also cottages and glamping stays dotted about the estate. The latter are the best value, sleeping between four and seven people in cabins, yurts and a loft. All guests get free access to the Swinton Country Club. As well as indoor and outdoor swimming pools, over the summer the estate runs raft-making courses on the lake, where you can also enjoy supervised swimming, with tow floats provided for safety. Fishing is available on the estate too. Details Three nights' self-catering for six (two adults and four children) from £440 (swintonestate.com)
• Read our guide to England
Every year, Dru regulars give a sigh of relief when they return to find that this hotel continues to defy the urge to glam up. Instead, the same charming 1970s ethos remains, complete with hearty homemade meals, superb sunsets and regular 'feasts' and events. Not all the bedrooms are en suite, none of them have televisions, whether in the main house or one of the five cottages. On top of a cliff, where there's nearly always a breeze, take the winding path down to the sea (about five minutes down, slightly longer coming back) and you'll arrive at the rock pools and caves of Druidstone beach. Details B&B doubles from £180 (druidstone.co.uk)
Parched Londoners can board a train at St Pancras, check in and be on the beach in just under two hours. Cabü's 20 design-minded cabins have heating, proper plumbing and kitchens. To make socialising easy, there's also an open-air but roofed communal kitchen with a pizza oven and 'sitooterie' with a bar. An on-site shop stocks essentials, including Aperol, artisanal gelato and chorizo and there's direct access to the pebble beach. Fussy kids? There's also a heated outdoor swimming pool and it's all surrounded by the elemental landscape of Romney Marsh. Details Two nights' self-catering for two from £544 (holidays.cabu.co.uk)
• 12 of the best places to visit in Cornwall and where to stay
Yes, during a heatwave the capital's buses become barely moving saunas and the Underground will feel as if you're descending into Dante's Inferno, but nowhere in Britain has a better provision of outdoor swimming pools, many of them run by local councils. Options include the Hampstead Bathing Ponds, fed by spring water, and properly Olympic-sized lidos, including at Tooting Bec and London Fields. If you want something a bit more exclusive, the Soho House group popularised rooftop hotel swimming pools here. One of the biggest in London is at White City and rates are a relative bargain in July and August, plus you may not have to fight for a sunlounger. Details Room-only doubles from £260 (sohohouse.com)
On the reed-fringed banks of Lough Erne is this superb adults-only hot weather escape, where woodland paths lead through to spas, saunas and jetties with steps into the water. A 90-minute drive from Belfast, this low-impact resort sees guests bed down in 21 PVC bubbles or forest lodges. There's a full spa but also saunas that lead into the lough. On sunny days the Bay café is a scenic spot for toasties and burgers. Details B&B doubles from £303 (finnlough.com)
Tucked away on a country lane near the Helford River is an estate that's been owned by the same family for 600 years. The latest generation have opened it up with holiday cottages ranging from 16th-century thatched beauties to 21st-century sustainability-minded billets. The houses all share a huge open-air (and heated) swimming pool, which is surrounded by lawns and sunloungers. The grounds include woodlands to explore, a folly and Iron Age fort, a tennis court and — should you not want to slave over a stove in soaring temperatures — Flora, a boho posh restaurant that uses estate-grown vegetables and fruit. Details Seven nights' self-catering for six from £2,250 (trelowarren.com)
Edwardian enough to still do afternoon tea in a big way — including a traditional high tea for children — and modern enough to be genuinely family-friendly, Watersmeet, to one side of Woolacombe Bay, has 29 rooms, two restaurants and views (on a good day) onto Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel (as well as a bit of a breeze during heatwaves). There's an outdoor swimming pool and best of all, the hotel has steps that lead onto Combesgate Beach, a small, sandy cove that's fantastic for rock-pooling and is usually quieter than Woolacombe.Details B&B doubles from £360 (watersmeethotel.co.uk)
This American-inspired, wilderness-style camp amid glorious Highland scenery will bring a sense of cool to any temperatures. With cabins and B&B rooms and a shop selling posh ready meals and snacks, there's a BYOB bar, jukeboxes and wood-fired saunas, plus axe-throwing and bushcraft as well as hikes to local swimming spots. This summer, weekends will also see the Seed Store providing restaurant-quality food, including trout smoked over birchwood and venison from the estate. Details B&B doubles from £200 (glendyecabinsandcottages.com)
Country house hotels that have outdoor swimming pools and lovely deep sunloungers to sink into tend to be eye-wateringly expensive but the Retreat, 40 minutes by train from Paddington, manages to make it a more affordable extravagance, especially if you can slope off midweek. Alongside the hot tub, there are also cold-plunge tubs, a tennis court and outdoor yoga in summer. The Retreat's two restaurants and Stores café spill out into the countryside, shaded by red striped awnings. Details B&B doubles from £160 (retreatelcotpark.com)
• The Retreat at Elcot Park hotel review: playful design and fun food in the North Wessex Downs
Grown-up Swallows and Amazons pleasures abound at this hotel on the banks of Ullswater. A thorough renovation of a stern Victorian hotel has put its Lake District setting at centre stage. Many of the activities, including kayaking, sailing and stand-up paddleboarding, start from the hotel's own jetty. Like its sibling in Cornwall, Watergate Bay, this is very much a place where you can pad back to your treehouse — or other accommodation — while still towelling off. Another Place even has its own open-water swimming guide who runs courses and excursions. Details B&B doubles from £295 (another.place)
An outdoor swimming pool has been at the centre of this town's life since 1936. The water at Hathersage is kept at about 27C and there are regular evening swimming sessions with live music (£8; hathersageswimmingpool.co.uk). But basing yourself here also allows you to dip into the other Peak District watery pursuits, including paddling down the River Derwent at Matlock (from £75; intotheblue.co.uk) and a collection of hikes that let you cool off with dips in pools and waterfalls. The George, an old coaching inn with 24 rooms, is a five-minute walk from Hathersage's swimming pool. Details B&B doubles from £120 (sawdays.co.uk)