02-05-2025
Tiny tourist town is named as the UK's 'most relaxing'
Staycations promise less hassle and often less financial outlay than a summer holiday abroad - but the UK's famous tourist resorts, from St Ives to Southwold and Margate, can get busy when the sun's high and hot.
UK holiday park brand Parkdean Resorts says searches for holidays at home have skyrocketed by 3,500 per cent since last year, suggesting this summer could see the country's most popular destinations busier than ever.
So, what if you fancy a little peace and quiet with your summer getaway?
The holiday brand has done the legwork and identified Britain's 'most relaxing' tourist town - considering factors such as green space, light and noise pollution, population density and local crime.
The tourism company says Bigbury-on-Sea comes out on top. The sedate seaside town lies in the South Hams region of Devon.
It's just a stone's throw from popular Salcombe, but can't command quite as many tourists - making it the ideal getaway for a tranquil break, says Parkdean.
There's three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty nearby plus Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks - and, even in the town centre, visitors are unlikely to feel like they're mingling with the masses; there's just 484 people per 10km.
The town looks out across Avon Estuary, the popular surfing beach of Bantham and Burgh Island - the setting for several of Agatha Christie's murder mystery novels.
The crime writer wrote And Then There Were None in 1939, and Evil Under The Sun in 1941 there - and it's possible to walk right across the sand to the island when the tide is out.
And its own stretch of sand is certainly worth your time.
Bigbury beach is one of the region's largest sandy spots and favourite TV series of yesteryear, including Poirot and Lovejoy, once used it as a backdrop.
This week, England's worst beaches were highlighted ahead of staycation season, with 19 making the second annual 'Brown Flag Awards'.
The team at looked at the Environmental Agency's summertime water quality data to determine which beaches have failed to make the cleanliness grade.
Brown Flag beaches are those that are rated 'poor' by the Environment Agency due to the amount of bacteria in the water caused by sewage and waste.
Sadly, the number of Brown Flag beaches in England has soared from 13 in 2024 to 19 in 2025, an increase of 46 per cent.
Somerset and Kent have the highest number of Brown Flag beaches, with each county having three beaches on the list.
At the other end of the scale, Northumberland officially has the country's cleanest beaches.
More than 90 per cent of the county's beaches achieved the highest possible score for water cleanliness.
Agatha Christie made Burgh Island her second home accessing it by trolley from Bigbury (pictured right) when the tide was high
Dorset, Devon and Cornwall also scored well when it came to cleanliness although each of the counties is also home to a Brown Flag beach.
Lincolnshire and Hampshire are the next cleanest counties.
And only St Mary's Bay in Kent had managed to clean up its act since the last Brown Flag Awards and is no longer on the concern list.
has said it will be handing out free brown flags, each emblazoned with the poo emoji, to the counties with dirty beaches.
Robbie Lane, a keen sea-swimmer who works at says: 'I would like to extend my sympathies to beaches in Worthing, Lyme Regis and the other newcomers who have given Brown Flag Awards for the first time.
'Commiserations also to Weston Super Mare, Blackpool and other resorts that have retained their "awards", like a stubborn barnacle clinging onto a sewer pipe.
'We had hoped that we'd handing out fewer Brown Flags this year - but the numbers have surged.
'Several of the newcomers are newly designated swimming spots whilst others have gone down the pan since last year.
'The good news is that two-thirds of beaches in England are rated as "excellent" for their water quality.
'Do your research this summer and you'll be saying "wish you were here" rather than "wish I'd worn a hazmat suit".
'Let's give a shout out to St Mary's Bay in Kent, which is the only beach in the whole country that managed to wipe away its Brown Flag!'
