10 Hidden Gem Destinations in the UK for Summer Holidays 2026

Skip the traffic jams and packed car parks! Head to one of the UK's hidden gems for your 2026 summer holiday instead. Our top picks include the Isles of Scilly (sub-tropical beaches off Cornwall with no cars), the Northumberland Coast (empty white-sand beaches and castles), the Welsh Marches around Hay-on-Wye (hill walking and river canoeing), and the Lizard Peninsula (turquoise coves without the Cornwall crowds). Scroll down to discover more hidden gems across the UK, with details on what makes it special, how to get there, what to do and when to go.

How We Chose These Hidden Gem UK Destinations

According to VisitBritain's regional domestic tourism data, Devon saw 5.0 million overnight trips, with total expenditure of £1.2 billion, while North Yorkshire recorded 4.9 million overnight trips, with total expenditure of £0.9 billion. Regions like these attract a huge share of UK staycation traffic, much of it concentrated on a handful of well-known beaches and towns - which is exactly why a few miles' detour to a quieter stretch of coastline can make such a difference, even within a popular county.

We didn't select these destinations purely on raw visitor-count comparisons - reliable, like-for-like footfall data isn't published for every location on this list, and a fair comparison would need to account for how visitor numbers are spread across a whole region rather than concentrated at a single beach or town. Instead, we used three practical filters:

• Lower concentration, not necessarily lower total visitors: these are places where crowds are thinner relative to their most famous neighbours, based on published regional tourism data where available and consistent, on-the-ground travel reporting where it isn't
• Real natural or cultural distinctiveness: not just "quiet because there's nothing there"
• Realistic accessibility: every place on this list can be reached without a full day of travel from a major UK city, so this isn't a list of remote spots only a hardened adventurer could enjoy

1. Isles of Scilly, Cornwall

Sub-tropical islands 28 miles off Land's End that feel more like the Mediterranean than mainland Britain.

What makes it a hidden gem: The Isles of Scilly are a small archipelago with white-sand beaches, turquoise water and a climate mild enough to grow palm trees. The main island, St Mary's, has no cars for visitors to worry about, and the smaller islands (Tresco, Bryher, St Martin's, St Agnes) each have their own character. Tresco's subtropical Abbey Garden is a genuine oddity this far north.

Best for: Couples, families with older children, wildlife and garden lovers.

How to get there: Ferry from Penzance (around 2 hours 45 minutes) or a short flight from Land's End, Newquay or Exeter airports.

What to do:

• Island-hop by small boat between St Mary's, Tresco, Bryher and St Agnes
• Visit Tresco Abbey Garden
• Snorkel or kayak in the clear water around the smaller islands
• Spot puffins and seals on a boat trip around the uninhabited islands

When to go: June and July usually have the best weather with slightly fewer visitors than the August school holidays.

Where to stay: Small hotels and self-catering cottages on St Mary's or Tresco; book early, as capacity is genuinely limited.

2. Northumberland Coast & National Park

Some of England's emptiest, most dramatic beaches, backed by castles and dark skies.

What makes it a hidden gem: Northumberland has more coastline than crowds. You can walk for miles on beaches like Bamburgh or Embleton without seeing more than a handful of people, all under the gaze of genuine medieval castles. Northumberland National Park is a designated Dark Sky Park, making it one of the best places in England for stargazing.

Best for: Families, walkers, castle and history enthusiasts, stargazers.

How to get there: Around 45 minutes to 1.5 hours by car from Newcastle, which has direct trains from London (about 3 hours) and its own airport.

What to do:

• Walk the sands beneath Bamburgh Castle
• Cross the tidal causeway to Holy Island (Lindisfarne)
• Cycle or walk sections of the Northumberland Coast Path
• Stargaze in the National Park after dark

When to go: July and August for warmth, but note this is also peak season for the coast. Visit on weekdays if possible for the quietest experience.

Where to stay: Coastal villages like Seahouses, Bamburgh, or Craster; farm stays inland near the National Park.

3. The Welsh Marches (Abergavenny to Hay-on-Wye)

Rolling border country between England and Wales, built for slow travel, good pubs and secondhand books.

What makes it a hidden gem: The Marches don't have a single headline attraction, which is precisely why they stay quiet - but the area rewards a few days of unhurried exploring. Hay-on-Wye is a genuine one-off, a small town with around twenty bookshops and an internationally known literary festival, while the surrounding hills and the River Wye offer some of the best low-key outdoor activity in England or Wales.

Best for: Couples, walkers, readers, food and pub lovers.

How to get there: Around 2-2.5 hours by car from Bristol or Birmingham; Abergavenny has a direct train line from London Paddington via Newport.

What to do:

• Browse Hay-on-Wye's secondhand bookshops
• Canoe or kayak a stretch of the River Wye
• Hike the Sugar Loaf or Skirrid Fawr near Abergavenny
• Go pony trekking in the Black Mountains

When to go: June is ideal - good weather, fewer visitors and long daylight hours for walking.

Where to stay: Farmhouse B&Bs and small independent inns scattered through the villages between Abergavenny and Hay.

4. The Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall

Cornwall's southernmost tip, with turquoise coves that rival the county's famous ones - minus the traffic.

What makes it a hidden gem: Most Cornwall visitors head for the north coast or the far west; the Lizard, further south and less signposted, gets overlooked as a result. Kynance Cove has the same white sand and turquoise water as Cornwall's more photographed beaches, with serpentine rock formations and sea caves that are genuinely distinctive.

Best for: Couples, swimmers, coastal walkers, photographers.

How to get there: About 20-30 minutes by car south of Helston, itself roughly an hour from Truro.

What to do:

• Swim or paddleboard at Kynance Cove (arrive early in summer - the car park is small)
• Walk the coast path to Lizard Point, mainland Britain's southernmost tip
• Visit Kynance Cove's beach café for a low-key lunch with a view
• Explore rock pools and sea caves at low tide

When to go: Early morning visits in July-August avoid both crowds and the tightest parking; June is quieter overall.

Where to stay: Small villages like Coverack or Cadgwith for a genuine fishing-village feel.

5. Isle of Jura, Scotland

A wild, sparsely populated Scottish island with more deer than people.

What makes it a hidden gem: Jura has one road, one distillery, one village, and a population of a few hundred. Its three quartzite peaks, the Paps of Jura, dominate the skyline and offer serious but rewarding hill walking, while the island's red deer population outnumbers residents by roughly 30 to 1.

Best for: Serious hikers, wildlife watchers, people who want genuine remoteness.

How to get there: Ferry from the Scottish mainland to Islay (via Kennacraig), then a short ferry crossing from Islay to Jura.

What to do:

• Hike the Paps of Jura (a full-day, challenging walk)
• Look for red deer, golden eagles, and otters
• Visit the Jura Distillery
• Walk out to the Corryvreckan whirlpool viewpoint at the island's northern tip

When to go: July for the best chance of stable weather; midge repellent is essential in summer.

Where to stay: Jura has very limited accommodation - book months ahead, or stay on Islay and day-trip across.

6. North Norfolk Coast

Salt marshes, seal colonies, and big skies, without the traffic of the West Country.

What makes it a hidden gem: North Norfolk gets a fraction of the visitor numbers of Devon or Cornwall despite having some of England's most distinctive coastal scenery - vast tidal marshes, flint-built villages and one of the country's most accessible grey seal colonies at Blakeney Point. For a historic-town base within easy reach of the coast, King's Lynn puts you 30-40 minutes from Wells-next-the-Sea and Holkham.

Best for: Families, birdwatchers, wildlife lovers, slow-travel couples.

How to get there: About 2.5 to 3 hours by car from London; direct trains run from London Liverpool Street to Norwich, with local connections onward.

What to do:

• Take a boat trip to see grey and common seals at Blakeney Point
• Walk or cycle the Norfolk Coast Path
• Go crabbing at Wells-next-the-Sea
• Birdwatch at Titchwell Marsh or Cley Marshes nature reserves

When to go: June and July, when the marshes are at their most colourful and seal pups aren't yet crowding the main viewing season (which peaks later, in autumn).

Where to stay: Stay at King's Lynn, Norfolk's Hanseatic market town for a base. Or you can stay at flint cottages in villages like Blakeney, Burnham Market or Cley-next-the-Sea.

7. Isle of Mull, Scotland

Dramatic Hebridean coastline and some of the UK's most reliable wildlife-spotting, a fraction as busy as Skye.

What makes it a hidden gem: Mull offers similar scenery to the Isle of Skye - sea cliffs, colourful harbour towns, mountains - with noticeably fewer visitors and traffic. It's also one of the best places in Britain to reliably spot white-tailed eagles and otters in the wild.

Best for: Wildlife watchers, road-trippers, photographers, families with a car.

How to get there: Ferry from Oban (about 45 minutes) to Craignure; Oban is roughly 2.5-3 hours by car or train from Glasgow.

What to do:

• Take a wildlife boat trip to look for white-tailed eagles, otters, and minke whales
• Explore the colourful harbour town of Tobermory
• Drive or cycle the single-track roads around Loch na Keal
• Day-trip by boat to Iona or the basalt columns of Staffa (home to Fingal's Cave)

When to go: June to August for the calmest boat conditions and longest daylight for driving the island's single-track roads.

Where to stay: Base yourself in Oban, the mainland gateway to Mull, before the short ferry crossing - Oban's own harbour, McCaig's Tower, and whisky distillery make it worth a night in its own right.

8. Pembrokeshire's Northern Coast (Newport to St Dogmaels)

The quieter, wilder half of one of Wales's best coastlines.

What makes it a hidden gem: Most Pembrokeshire visitors cluster around Tenby and St Davids in the south. The northern stretch, around Newport (Pembrokeshire, not the city), the Preseli Hills, and the Teifi estuary, has the same dramatic cliff scenery and clean beaches with a fraction of the footfall.

Best for: Coastal walkers, surfers, families wanting a quieter beach base.

How to get there: About 4-4.5 hours by car from London; roughly 1.5 hours from Cardiff.

What to do:

• Walk sections of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path around Newport and Cwm-yr-Eglwys
• Surf or swim at Newport Sands
• Hike the Preseli Hills, source of Stonehenge's bluestones
• Spot dolphins from the coast near Cardigan Bay

When to go: July for the warmest sea temperatures; weekdays are noticeably quieter than weekends even in peak season.

Where to stay: Newport (Pembs) or St Dogmaels for a coastal base; Wellstone Cottages near Llanfyrnach in the Preseli Hills for a countryside base if you're planning to hike rather than beach-hop.

9. Western Yorkshire Dales (Dentdale & Sedbergh)

The quiet side of the Dales, overlooked in favour of better-known valleys further east.

What makes it a hidden gem: Most Yorkshire Dales visitors head for Malham, Grassington or Wharfedale. Dentdale and the area around Sedbergh - technically in Cumbria but part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park - get far less traffic, despite dry-stone-walled valleys, waterfalls, and fell walking that are every bit as good.

Best for: Walkers, cyclists, people who want the Dales without the tour buses.

How to get there: About 1 hour from Kendal or Lancaster by car; the Settle-Carlisle railway stops at Dent, one of England's highest and most remote stations.

What to do:

• Walk or cycle the length of Dentdale along the River Dee
• Climb the Howgill Fells above Sedbergh
• Visit Dent village, a cluster of cobbled streets and old cottages
• Follow local waterfall walks near Cowgill

When to go: June to August; even peak season here is quiet compared with the Dales' more famous valleys.

Where to stay: Sedbergh (England's official "book town") or small farm B&Bs scattered through Dentdale.

10. The Clwydian Range & Vale of Clwyd, North Wales

A designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty a fraction as busy as Snowdonia, built around a genuine medieval castle town.

What makes it a hidden gem: The Clwydian Range and Vale of Clwyd sit just east of Snowdonia but see nowhere near its visitor numbers, despite offering similarly rolling, green hill walking and a much gentler pace. At the heart of the Vale is Ruthin, a small medieval market town with cobbled streets, a genuine 13th-century castle, and none of the queues you'd find at North Wales' better-known attractions.

Best for: Couples, walkers, history lovers, people wanting a castle stay without Snowdonia's crowds.

How to get there: About 40 minutes by car from Chester, or roughly 1 hour from Liverpool; the nearest mainline stations are Chester or Wrexham, with onward bus/car links into the Vale.

What to do:

• Explore Ruthin's medieval town centre and castle grounds
• Walk sections of the Offa's Dyke Path or the Clwydian Range's hill ridges
• Visit Loggerheads Country Park for gorge walks and wildlife
• Day-trip to the North Wales coast (Llandudno/Conwy) or into Snowdonia itself, both under an hour away

When to go: June to August for the clearest hill-walking weather; this area stays noticeably quiet even at peak times compared with Snowdonia proper.

Where to stay: Ruthin itself for a castle-town base, or smaller villages through the Vale of Clwyd for a quieter, more rural stay.

How to Actually Get an Empty-Beach Experience

Picking a quiet destination is half the job; how and when you travel matters just as much.

• Travel midweek where possible. Even the quietest destinations on this list see a jump in visitors on weekends and bank holidays.
• Avoid the peak school holiday fortnight in late July/early August if you can travel in June or the first half of July instead - weather is often just as good and everywhere is noticeably calmer.
• Book independent B&Bs and small cottages over hotel chains. They tend to be concentrated in the quieter parts of these destinations, away from the handful of larger developments.
• Check tide tables in advance for tidal locations like Lindisfarne (Northumberland). Getting the timing wrong can cost you half a day or strand you.
• Go early or late in the day at popular viewpoints and coves (like Kynance Cove) even within a quiet destination. The first and last two hours of daylight are consistently the calmest.
• Consider arriving by train or ferry rather than car where possible; it avoids the single biggest complaint in rural hotspots - parking.

What is the most underrated place to visit in the UK in summer?

The Isles of Scilly are consistently one of the most underrated UK summer destinations - sub-tropical beaches and a genuinely different pace of life just off the Cornish coast, but far fewer visitors than mainland Cornwall.

Where can I go in the UK to avoid crowds in summer?

Northumberland, the Welsh Marches, the Isle of Jura, North Norfolk and the western Yorkshire Dales all see significantly fewer summer visitors than better-known hotspots like the Lake District, Cornwall's north coast or the Cotswolds' honeypot villages.

Is Northumberland or Cornwall better for a quiet beach holiday?

Northumberland's beaches are generally quieter than Cornwall's, even in peak season, largely because it's further from major population centres. Cornwall has more visitor infrastructure and milder weather, but for genuinely empty sand, Northumberland usually wins - with the Lizard Peninsula as Cornwall's own quieter alternative to its northern coast.

What's the best hidden gem UK destination for families?

North Norfolk and the Northumberland Coast both work well for families - safe beaches, wildlife-watching boat trips and enough on-shore activity for children who don't want a day of hardcore walking.

What's the best hidden gem UK destination for serious hikers?

The Isle of Jura and the Welsh Marches (Black Mountains) both offer genuinely challenging walking without the queues you'd find in the Lake District or Snowdonia in peak season.