Anna Melville-James picks six of the best British seaside destinations

surfersSurfers at Bude, Cornwall (Image: Getty Images/Cultura RF)

SURF'S UP 

North Cornwall's coast is a prime surfing and bodyboarding spot and on sunny days - and even those with persistent drizzle - you'll see figures bobbing in the surf at Bude's two beaches, Summerleaze and Crooklets.

You don't have to be an expert - surf schools will take those from eight years up out for group lessons amid the salt tang thrill of the Atlantic waves. Pristine sands stretch and contract with the tides, next to a landscape of charcoal mark rocks that cradle a seawater swimming pool at Summerleaze.

Or hire a brightly coloured beach hut overlooking the beach for the week and you can relax in a deckchair while watching younger family members build sandcastles and paint pebbles at the activity spot by the lifeguard station.The town itself is a 10-minute stroll away with seafood restaurants, cafes and plenty of places selling wetsuits if you change your mind.

The Beach At Bude (0128 838 9800/thebeachatbude.co.uk) offers doubles from £125, B&B and family suites from £195 per night, (sleeps four) B&B.

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CLOUD NINE 

Traditional seaside holiday fun lies up the road at Skegness but at Anderby Creek you'll find a mellower stretch of Lincolnshire coast that feels as if it's been happily bypassed by everyone but the seagulls.

Tucked between the small seaside towns of Chapel St.

Leonards and Sutton-on-Sea, Anderby is also home to the UK's first purpose-built cloud-viewing platform, the Cloud Bar. This handsome wooden structure is full of mirrors that can be swivelled to reflect different parts of the sky, reclining cloud-viewing seats and cloud menus to help you identify the formations overhead.

If skies are unsporting and blue then you always have the vast sandy beach to enjoy, backed by dunes whiskered by long grasses.

Stay in a fisherman's cottage with sea views; if you sit out on the decking on a warm day you might even be able to spot seals who often come out of the sea to sunbathe on the sand.

Thorganby Hall offers three nights at The Beach Cottage at Anderby Creek from £450 (sleeps two); 0147 239 8270/thorganbyhall.co.uk.

castleDunstanburgh Castle overlooking the shore at Low Newton, Northumberland (Image: Robert Harding World Imagery/Getty Images)

BIG SKIES 

Out of season you'll have the beach at Low Newton to yourself pretty much, bookmarked at one end by the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle silhouetted against huge Northumberland skies.

Even in high season, this tiny, remote hamlet of a few rental cottages and one road in and out barely registers more than a sociable gathering of people unfurling towels, windbreaks and kites on its sweeping sandy crescent.

You'll have to be brave to swim - the waters are chilly - but paddling, rock pooling and rolling down the dunes that back the beach will keep children entertained. Behind the dunes, the Newton Pool Bird Reserve has two hides from which to watch wildfowl and seabirds - before enjoying a pint or two at the tiny whitewashed pub The Ship Inn at the corner of the tiny village green,

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