Attend a special evening hosted by Mike Atherton
Aberaeron: Resembling a harbourside fisherman’s cottage on the outside, 3 Pen Cei (01545 571147, www.pen-cei-guest-house.co.uk) is a five-star B&B that looks like a Style-section layout on the inside, with the kind of decor that makes you feel sophisticated, stylish and, this being Aberaeron, ever so grown-up. Which is a good thing, we reckon. Best room is Teifi, at £110 per night.
Little Haven: the Castle (01437 781445, www.castlelittlehaven.co.uk) offers simple rooms with stupendous views across Little Haven’s perfectly framed beach. Rooms cost £80 a night.
Saundersfoot: Yes, yes, I know you’ve all seen infinity pools, but I bet you’ve never loafed in one lined with green slate chosen to match the colour of Cardigan Bay stretched out below. Well, you can at St Brides Hotel (01834 812304, www. stbridesspahotel.com). Seaview rooms start at £190.
WEEK THREE: John O'Groats to Southport
Talmine: Cloisters (01847 601286, www.cloistertal.demon.co.uk) is an artfully decorated converted chapel that offers perhaps the finest sea views in the region, with three beaches, the Rabbit Islands and Eilean nan Ron visible even on a cloudy day. Rooms are £55 a night.
Sheigra camp site: just a couple of miles along from Oldshoremore, turn left past the burial ground and onto a series of sheep-nibbled terraces of emerald grass, just back from a sheltered beach. Campfires allowed and seclusion guaranteed. Put £4.50 in the honesty box on your way out.
Opinan: Na Fir Chlis (01445 731018, www.nafirchlis.co.uk), a mile down the lane from the awesome beauty of Mellon Udrigle, is Penny Van Hinsbergh’s lovely B&B, which overlooks a local secret — Opinan beach. Pictures are uploaded to the website daily, “to give you an idea of the weather”, Penny says. Rooms are £50 a night.
Arisaig: the Old Library (01687 450651, www.oldlibrary.co.uk) is a charming restaurant with rooms, hard by that beach from Local Hero. Book room 6 for spectacular, stay-put-and-drool views across the bay to the islands of Eigg and Rum. “Get up early and you’ll see red deer grazing on the beach,” says the chef, Robert Bowman. Rooms start at £90.
Ravenglass: the Pennington Hotel (01229 717222, www.thepennington.co.uk), owned by the family that has occupied nearby Muncaster Castle for the past eight centuries, combines fine dining, tradition and design to rather satisfying effect in a gorgeous village at the mouth of the Esk. Room 18 offers the finest views, and it’s yours for £140 a night.
WEEK TWO: Skegness to John O'Groats
Filey: boutique style has arrived in pretty Filey with the smart, friendly Downcliffe House (01723 513310, www.downcliffehouse.co.uk), run by the hands-on Lizzi Booth. Sea-view rooms start at £58pp, B&B.
Robin Hood’s Bay: a boggle is a Yorkshire goblin – think Paul Daniels – and the Boggle Hole Hostel (0870 770 5704, www.yha.org.uk) is a converted watermill on an exquisite National Trust beach, a short distance from Robin Hood’s Bay. A sea-view family room starts at just £31.95.
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