Low prices, no crowds – the best places for a winter staycation in Britain

What’s the old adage? There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing? Broadening “bad weather” to encompass winter in general, I would add – and the wrong attitude. Because it strikes me that what is most wrong with winter in the UK is the way it is framed – the way it is dismissed as the “off” season. Because if you are willing to look at things a little differently, you will find that winter can be very much “on”.

Take long, dark, gloomy nights, for instance. See them instead as a canvas for spectacular stargazing. Horribly short days? More like dramatic sunrises with lie-ins – after 8am in December! Stark landscapes and leafless trees? All the better for spotting wildlife, not to mention a welcoming environment for migrating birds. Unreliable weather? That’s simply the potential for storm-watching, bracing strolls or feeling the magnified joy of a surprisingly crisp, blue-sky day.

Unpopular also equals great value. If you are prepared to visit that smart hotel or cute cottage in January rather than July, you might well nab it for half the price. This is especially true in places that are over-loved in warmer months, such as Cornwall, Norfolk and the Isle of Skye. Even better, in winter these locations are delightfully crowd-free.

There are downsides, of course. It is undeniably colder, though low temperatures do have pleasingly hygge-ish side effects – notably the chance to embrace rosy cheeks, woolly jumpers and roaring fires. More annoying, perhaps, is that some things just close. January seems to be the top choice for hotel refurbishments, and many tours and attractions hibernate until Easter or at least the February half-term (be sure to do some pre-trip research).

There is so much unexpected beauty to be found in winter – as you’ll see below – and so many outright bargains, too. Just don’t forget the right coat.

North Norfolk

Visit North Norfolk in winter and you’ll hit the jackpot. (And we don’t mean the amusement-arcade sort – though you can do that in Hunstanton and Cromer, if you like.) No, you’ll avoid summer’s crowds, but arguably still see it at its best. Because off-season in North Norfolk means the long, golden beaches are empty and the coast-path walks are extra invigorating (the coast-hopper bus continues, too). It means spotting seal pups and masses of migrating birds. And it means spectacular big skies, including dark, clear nights when you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye.

What to do

Blakeney Point is home to England’s largest seal colony, where around 4,000 pups are born annually, November-January. Board a boat to see the spectacle up close (£25 adult/£15 child). Also, with a bounty of nature reserves, North Norfolk is brilliant for birding, especially in winter when – among other species – pink-footed geese arrive in their tens of thousands. See them roosting at dawn and dusk at RSPB Snettisham (free).

Or look for large gaggles in the fields flanking Lady Anne’s Drive, which links glorious Holkham Park (open year-round) and immense Holkham Beach, a contender for the country’s finest. Holkham Hall is closed for regular admissions, though magical candlelit tours run on select December dates (from £32/£16).

For an expert and intimate expedition, join wildlife cameraman Martin Hayward Smith in his classic Land Rover (from £110pp). Alternatively, hop aboard Selkie, a Stiffkey Cockle sailing dinghy, to explore the area’s creeks and coast; trips could include sailing instruction, cold-water swims or pottering through the saltmarsh to Cley Windmill (£240 for two hours, for up to four; staynextthesea.co.uk).

Where to stay

Stay at Sarah’s, a stylish Georgian townhouse apartment on Holt’s charming High Street (from £330 for two nights). Or try the Control Tower, a former RAF lookout turned vegetarian B&B with 1940s touches (from £125pn B&B). The Little Stables, between Cromer and Blickling Hall, is a dog-friendly couple’s bolthole, with a pub nearby (from £240 for two nights).

Plan the perfect holiday in Norfolk with our guide.

Cornwall

Back in the day, Cornwall would have shut up shop at the end of summer. But not so much now. As part of the EU-funded Experience project, the county has spent the past few years promoting sustainable tourism with the aim to boost visitor numbers between October and March and reduce the impact of overtourism in this most overloved of counties. Expect to find it windswept, magnificent, uncongested and largely open for business.

What to do

Winter doesn’t mean you can’t have a Cornish beach holiday, you just need to think of it in a different way. For example, you could take an e-bike ride around Mount’s Bay and over to St Michael’s Mount, tides permitting: Ride On has rental locations in Penzance, Newquay and Porthleven (from £40pp for four hours); its funky fat-tyred Super 73s, which absorb all the lumps and bumps, might just be the best way to explore Cornwall’s shores. Or scour the littoral with a marine biologist on a Night Rock Pool Safari to see what creeps about after dark (private safari from £98 for up to eight people).

Winter is a good time to get in the water, too, especially for surfing and kitesurfing. Book a break at the hip Watergate Bay hotel, which has a swimming club, a boardwalk onto the beach and a partnership with Wavehunters, which offers surfing lessons for all abilities (from £280 B&B, surfing lessons from £45pp).

Where to stay

Penzance remains vibrant year-round, and the Chapel House makes a fine winter base here – most rooms have woodburning stoves, and hot-water bottles are available on request (from £200 B&B).

If you want to bring the whole family, consider Scandi-inspired Sky House, in St Agnes – its enormous windows and hot tub are perfect for making the most of its Dark Sky status location; also, January prices are half those of peak summer (sleeps seven; from £1,565 per week).

Add a bit of sparkle to winter’s long nights by staying at Kilifreth Stamps. This striking converted tin mine in St Agnes has enormous windows, a balcony and hot tub – perfect for making the most of its Dark Sky Discovery Site location; also, January prices are more than half those of peak summer (sleeps four; from £995 per week).

Walkers might prefer the Mullion Cove hotel, with a Lizard Point location ideal for winter sunsets, storm-watching and bracing hikes, and a good collection of maps you can borrow. Stay two nights between 1 November and 31 March and you get a third night half price (from £135 B&B).

Also worth noting, in winter it’s easier to bag a table at one of Rick Stein’s restaurants. Available November-March is the Winter Dinner, Bed & Breakfast break, which includes a two-night stay at one of the chef’s places in Padstow and a three-course dinner each night at either The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc’s Bistro or Rick Stein’s Café (from £516 for two).

Plan the perfect holiday in Cornwall with our guide.

Pembrokeshire

Whipped by Atlantic waves and salty breezes, Wales’s south-west corner provides the perfect winter refresher. Its idyllic beaches – Barafundle, Whitesands, Marloes – will be emptier in low season, as will the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail, which wraps around the region’s entire coast. Its cute cottages will be cheaper, too – for example, luxe bolthole-for-two Awel Deg, on Abergwaun’s charming harbour, costs £401 for a long weekend in January compared with £797 in August.

What to do

You could do worse than simply walking bits of that coast path. Coastal bus services are reduced October-May, making linear walks a little tricker, though you could try the fflecsi demand-responsive bus service. Alternatively, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has devised over 200 circular walks – perhaps try the lovely 2.5-miler from St Davids, via Porth Clais and St Non’s Well.

To get intimate with the waves, join the Real Adventure Company, which offers surfing, kayaking and coasteering along the cliffs in all seasons for private groups (from £45pp).

Or put together a bespoke weekend of adventures with Preseli Venture, which offers a mix of land and water exploits from its eco-lodge base.

For something a little less energetic, Coastal Foraging’s trips will take you on a search around the shores of Tenby – winter is especially rich for pepper dulse (known amongst chefs as the “truffle of the sea”) and shellfish. Join a Classic Course to sustainably gather wild delicacies and cook the spoils (from £90pp).

And if it’s unbearably chilly, head for the Melin Tregwynt woollen mill, which has been producing blankets since the 17th century. Watch the mill in action and buy something cosy from the shop, both open year-round.

Where to stay

“Camp” whatever the weather at the Little Retreat. This woodland-tucked glamping resort by the Cleddau Estuary has luxury eco-domes with log-burners and wood-fired hot tubs plus telescopes and stargazing guides (sleeps four; two nights from £320).

Award-winning Penally Abbey, perched on a hill near Tenby, has delightfully designed rooms and a top-notch, candle-lit restaurant (from £195 B&B).

Or cosy up in two-bedroom Trehilyn Isaf, on wild Strumble Head, one of the Georgian farm cottages here lovingly restored by Griff Rhys Jones (three nights from £389).

Plan the perfect holiday in Pembrokeshire with our guide.

Lake District

The Lake District is just not designed to host its legions of fans. Its roads are too windy, its honeypot villages too tucked away, its signature trails too narrow and vulnerable. But winter, at last, sees the national park empty out, even though the attractions are manifold: frost-crispy fields, mist whirling over frozen lakes, snow carpeting the fell tops, Herdwick sheep sporting their fluffiest fleeces, pubs stoking their open fires.

Indeed, this is probably your best bet for an English white Christmas or cheeky slalom – the Lake District Ski Club on Raise, near Helvellyn, runs a button lift in winter, provided there’s enough snow (£20 per day).

What to do

If you want to walk with others, book a winter break with HF Holidays, staying at its Derwent Bank Country House. Sitting on the shores of Derwentwater, it’s a beautiful base for guided hikes (four nights from £559pp half-board). Those seeking a greater challenge could join a Winter Skills course on Helvellyn with the national park’s Fell Top Assessors (£125pp; select dates).

To get into the lakes themselves, join a winter swim with ice swimming expert Colin Hill at Another Place, on the banks of Ullswater. Suitable for beginners, the hour-long sessions include cold water acclimatisation and tips for winter dips (£40pp, including wetsuit). Another Place also offers accommodation in its handsome Georgian house hotel or in heated shepherds’ huts (B&B from £235), plus there’s an on-site ice rink.

Where to stay

You can channel snug-country-pub vibes at the 17th-century Hare & Hounds Inn at Bowland Bridge, near Windermere, which has comfy rooms with views of the fells (from £123 B&B­).

Or perhaps you’d prefer to snuggle up in your own Lakeland bolthole? Quirky Dovecoat Cottage, in Grasmere, has a woodburner, roll-top bath and cosy Hobbit-like appeal (sleeps two; from £463 per week).

Alternatively, you could head to the Quiet Site, an award-winning glampsite overlooking Ullswater that stays perfectly cosy into winter, thanks to its hillside-burrowed ‘Hobbit Holes’ and well-insulated, eco-heated Cabins (glamping burrows from £180 for two nights).

Plan the perfect holiday in the Lake District in our guide.

Isle of Skye

The second most popular Scottish tourist spot after Edinburgh, Skye is cursed by its own rugged good looks. Which is why you should go in winter, when it’s just as gorgeous – possibly more so – but the hordes (and midges) aren’t around. Sunrises and sunsets are particularly good, and can be watched at iconic sites such as the Quiraing without the crowds. For the best night skies, head to the Waternish peninsula, where there isn’t a single street light. Who knows, you might even see the northern lights…

What to do

Many businesses shut for winter, including boat operators, but you can still catch a ferry to wee Raasay (25 minutes), walk to deserted Hallaig, ruined Brochel Castle and flat-topped Dun Caan hill, and finish with a tipple at the Raasay Distillery.

There’s plenty to do back on Skye, too. Skye Wildlife’s island tours run year-round and might reveal seals, deer and otters (which are more easily spotted with fewer people around) as well as golden and sea eagles starting their displays (£68/£50 adult/child).

Challenge-seekers could tackle the formidable Cuillin range. Sky Adventure runs guided winter walking and climbing days on the snowy ridges (£200 for one, £30 per additional person).

If you don’t want to drive yourself around on slippy winter roads, Real Scottish Journeys can organise private winter bus tours from Portree. These are flexible, working around weather conditions, but visit highlights such as Lealt Falls and the Old Man of Storr, with storytelling en route (from £80pp).

If it’s truly dreich, then there’s cockle-warming comfort to be found at whisky distilleries such as Talisker and Torabhaig, and at the Stein, the island’s oldest inn.

Where to stay

Monkstadt 1745 sits on the Trotternish peninsula, by the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie came ashore. It has classy rooms and cottages (from £280 for two nights self-catering).

For your own architect-designed bolthole, check out Waterside Skye, which offers three jaw-dropping retreats. The Shorehouse (sleeps four), on Broadford Bay, is virtually all windows, ideal for watching storms roll in and seabirds fly by (from £400 for two nights).

Or book in at waterside Kinloch Lodge, which is like a home from home – if your home happens to be utterly gorgeous, with a top-class chef. Guests staying two nights from November to mid-April can add on a third night’s stay for free, including dinner and full Scottish breakfast (from £500pn, including dinner and breakfast).

This article was first published in November 2022, and has been revised and updated.