The best UK staycation ideas according to the Condé Nast Traveller editors
For our latest issue, a special edition with the theme of Under One Sky, we asked our favourite globetrotters to open up their address books to support the one in 10 people worldwide who rely on the tourism industry. The idea is to shine a light on businesses big and small – and here, we round up our editors' and contributors' all-time favourite staycations, from across the best places in the UK.
For more global recommendations, plus love letters to travel from writers including Bernardine Evaristo, David Sedaris and Sebastian Faulks, download the current issue of Condé Nast Traveller.
Getty ImagesShropshire
Melinda Stevens, Editor-in-chief
'Lucky me in that two of my oldest friends live in different parts of wondrous countryside. And because of our relationships I’ve managed to get to know firstly, parts of Somerset and secondly, parts of Shropshire. Somerset is for me tiny windy lanes, lined with hedges and forests full of wild garlic and really cloudy cider in some totally down-at-heel pubs. Then there’s all the lovely shops in Bruton. Shropshire for me is walks on the Long Mynd with birds of prey circling above and the wind in our hair and muddy ponies. We always seem to end up going to wicked parties and driving back far too late - peeking out at those dramatic dune-like hills by the light of the moon.'
Cumbria
Grainne McBride, Chief sub-editor
‘The Malabar guesthouse in the rolling dales of Cumbria. The lovely owners, Graham and Fiona, lived in South Asia and the Far East for years, so there are beautiful touches of sari-pink and saffron-yellow fabrics alongside India-inspired motifs against the old stone walls of this former barn. Graham’s father and grandfather were tea planters in Kerala. And the best bit is the ritual of bed tea: a tray laden with china teacups and heavy silver pots of house-blend tea and hot water that’s left outside your bedroom door with a tap-tap-tap every morning.’
London
Sarah James, Online associate
‘London. I’ve lived here for four years, but it’s still my favourite city anywhere in the world. And it’s such a rare joy to be here with nothing to do and nowhere to be. I’d wake up early at Hazlitt’s in Soho, which feels like a very rich person’s very grand country house, and walk through the neighbourhood’s windy streets, past the people just heading home from the night before, to Covent Garden restaurant Balthazar for a big, bustling breakfast. I’d pop by Somerset House to peek at its latest exhibition, then head for a stroll along the river. Lunch at Borough Market, including a doughnut from Bread Ahead, and then I’d lose the afternoon at the George Inn. I’d sober up with supper at Bao, for pillowy buns stuffed with soft pork confit or crispy fried chicken, and then meet friends for cocktails on the roof of The Hoxton, Southwark, which is like summer in a rooftop bar. And then I’d file for bankruptcy.’
Jenny ZarinsSomerset
Juliet Kinsman, Sustainability editor
‘My last foray before we were all confined to our homes was to The Newt in Somerset. The perfect last hurrah, and my memories of those afternoon teas and my spell in the salt room in the spa are a joy to recall. The gardens are open to non-guests too, and I urge everyone to take little folks to the immersive experiential museum called The Story of Gardening. Virtual reality and multi-sensory installations bring the importance of nature to life, from courtyards that recreate what it was like to step into those of the ancient world to the hanging gardens of today’s megacities. Heckfield Place in Hampshire is an elegantly reincarnated 18th-centuryGeorgian estate where you can taste sustainability at every turn. Award-winning chef Skye Gyngell, of London's Spring restaurant and previously Petersham Nurseries, is well known for her wild- loving ways; under her direction, almost everything you eat here is grown in the compost-sprinkled biodynamic farm amid 400-plus acres. Skye’s ambition is to unearth the purest way to capture the flavours of produce grown in good, clean soil: "It’s really important that the work we do has a positive impact on the environment. We need to step away from the highly industrialised food system created over the last few decades and return to a more authentic and connected relationship with the land. Food grown in healthy soil is full of energy and flavour and a joy to work with! It’s addictive!” As well as eating the view, there are walled gardens galore to explore, an arboretum and riversides and lakes to wander around, but the outside is also invited in thanks to Kitten Grayson’s floristry skills with home-grown blooms. Even the cocktails celebrate ingredients from the estate, and the bath and spa products have 18th-century horticulturalist William Wildsmith as their muse.’
Getty ImagesScottish Highlands
Olivia Morelli, Digital assistant
‘A few years ago I went on a winter staycation to Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands. We stayed in the Stonehouses, two retreats sculpted into the landscape overlooking the village, Loch Broom and the Summer Isles. We did absolutely nothing except eat good food, read books, watch films and go for long, rambling walks through mulchy moors and hills covered in thick blankets of heather. It’s so silent in the hinterlands surrounding Ullapool you could trek for hours without seeing anyone. One of our favourite hikes was up snow-covered Stac Pollaidh – watch out for the occasional storm swooping between the mountains, a thrilling interruption to the peaceful serenity. Reward long walks with a trip to Lochinver Larder for the best pie you’ll ever have.’
Ollie HarropMargate
Tabitha Joyce, Deputy digital editor
‘The Reading Rooms in Margate is one of the most considered hotels I’ve ever stayed in. Really, it’s a B&B with just two huge rooms kitted out in ornate antique chandeliers and reclaimed cast-iron radiators. The best bit? There’s no awkward mingling in anyone’s private kitchen come morning, as pre-ordered eggs and juices are delivered with the morning papers to your room.’
Getty ImagesIsle of Man
Natasha Callin, Creative partnerships manager
‘A trip back to the Isle of Man where I grew up is just a one-hour flight from London or you can get the ferry from Liverpool (though hope for fair weather!). You get the best of both country and seaside and I love to go for long walks in the fresh air. A hike up our mountain, Snaefell, on a clear day rewards you with an amazing 360-degree view of Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland. There are a number of brilliant little restaurants with fresh produce and seafood on the menu, particularly along the quay in Douglas. My favourite will always be Enzo’s for its delicious lobster and Manx queenie dishes.’
Sophie KnightBraemar, Scotland
Sophie Knight, Digital picture editor
‘Braemar in the Scottish Highlands, which is one of the most beautiful places in Scotland. It’s somewhere I’ve been visiting with my family since I was a child. Memories of swimming in the breathtakingly cold mountain water of the Linn of Dee, climbing multiple munros and heading out with torches at night to spot the deer on the roadside.’
Devon
Rosalyn Wikeley, Creative content editor
‘Gara Rock in Devon. The interiors of this chalet-on-sea-style hideaway are more rustic Soho House than authentic Devonshire coast but the Poldark views out to sea from Deckler’s Cliff are lip-wobbling stuff. Sunny afternoons are spent sipping local cider and sharing cheese boards in the beer garden; evenings are for tucking into fresh seafood and the fruits of the surrounding farmland, followed by a film in the private cinema, or a board game over another glass of red. Watching the waves pound the cliffs in stormy weather through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, you feel blissfully insignificant in the grand scheme of things, vulnerable and carefree at once.’
Getty ImagesGlasgow
Steve King, Editor-at-large
‘Home. Glasgow. A leisurely walk from my flat to the municipal swimming pool. A great walk, as it happens, through some of the more architecturally notable neighbourhoods of this colossally underrated place. Maybe drop in and pick up some guitar strings and have a wee blether with Jimmy at Jimmy Egypt and Sons Musical Instruments – Glasgow is the most rock’n’roll city in the UK and he knows everyone. Possibly a drink or two at the Kelvingrove Café afterwards (the café bit is ironic). And lunch at Rogano: lobster thermidor and a bottle of Chablis. Then a taxi home.’
Getty ImagesLondon
Katharine Sohn, PA to the editor-in-chief
‘London. I’d probably just eat and drink my way around the city. Starting with an early-morning coffee from Climpson & Sons in Spitalfields Market before indulging in a full English from old school Bethnal Green haunt E Pellicci. Next, I’d bike over the river through Bermondsey and Southwark before strolling to the Tate Modern and along the South Bank to Borough Market. I’d head back up through the City to lower Hackney and make a quick stop at Bright for a glass or two of groovy wine before settling into a cosy table at The Culpeper. I’d then end the night at Shoreditch House for the Negronis and the views.’
Getty ImagesDorset
Becky Lucas, Digital editor
‘My family used to visit the seaside town of Swanage in Dorset most summers when I was a child, just as my dad had done throughout his own childhood. Our tans were so good when we got back that people always thought we’d been abroad. I have lots of sun-dappled memories of being on nearby Studland Beach, spending hours lolling in the dunes shaded by the long grasses. Creatively ramshackle boutique hotel The Pig on the Beach now overlooks the same stretch of sand, offering a way for me to regularly revisit the area in more bougie digs than the dinky caravans we used to rent. It provides the sort of comfort that will make you unwind as soon as you smell the wood-burner from the reception – a breakfast table overloaded with organic sourdough, homemade jam and granola, fresh seafood come dinner time and brightly coloured Hunters by the door for trudging through the mud or sand outside. And the place also just works wonderfully as a start and end point for bracing walks along the Jurassic Coast, past the drama of Old Harry Rocks and into Swanage for epic portions of oily, crispy fish and chips, or to stomp around the sweet ruins of Corfe Castle, a short drive away, before picking up enough local fudge to give you toothache on the way back.’
Getty ImagesMersea Island, Essex
Toby Skinner, Contributing editor
‘I love a day trip from London to Mersea Island. We’ll go to The Company Shed, in a wooden shack, for local oysters and the seafood platter, smug because we brought our own bread like you’re meant to (such a weird rule, but oddly charming). There are so many places I’d like to go but still haven’t been: particularly in the Scillies and the Western Isles. I went on childhood holidays to Islay, and remember machair beaches, peat bogs and papier mȃché competitions. This year I’d love to do a proper West Coast trip, also taking in little islands such as Eigg, Muck and Taransay, up to UIllapool and beyond. I’m not a great believer in learning to like things, but I want to be someone who orders peaty whisky.’
Getty ImagesHampstead, London
Katharina Hahn, Deputy chief sub-editor
‘I no longer live anywhere near there, but when I was a student I used to go walking for hours on London’s Hampstead Heath, completely forgetting that I was in a big city.’
Getty ImagesGower Peninsula, Wales
David Godfrey, Creative partnerships art director
‘The Gower Peninsula, west of Swansea.’
Getty ImagesDevon
Issy Von Simson, Editor, UK
‘South Milton Sands in Devon. It is not summer if we haven’t had a crazy long, rosé-fuelled crab lunch at the Beachhouse with our best friends.’
Getty ImagesScotland
Serena Chambers, Fashion and beauty manager
‘Scotland. Highland air and no phone signal – perfect!’
Alex ChegneDevon
Lucy Farrell, Events and creative partnerships coordinator
‘I will always cherish Thurlestone in South Devon as a place of uninterrupted joy that holds some of my fondest memories of holidaying in the UK. Lilac skies, made-up words in Boggle and trying (but often failing) to keep an open log fire ablaze. The cliff-top walk from Thurlestone greets you with a picture-perfect view of Burgh Island surrounded by a sea peppered with surfers. Stop for a re-energising pint or two at The Sloop Inn before a bracing romp back up the hill.’
Perthshire
Pete Winterbottom, Creative director
‘The Meikleour Arms, Perthshire. It’s a perfect little bolthole, nothing flashy, close to the Lower and Middle Tay beats and is known for some of the best spring salmon fishing in the country. The pub has a hearty fire and serves the best homemade pork scratchings and apple sauce, which goes down very well with a pint of 80 shilling.’
Getty ImagesDevon
Corinne Brooking
‘Devon. Walking along the south coast from Bantham and ending up with a well-deserved pint of ale in the beautiful, tucked-away Hope Cove.’
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