Autumn is quietly becoming the smartest time to holiday in the UK. Accommodation prices drop, crowds thin out, and the sea is still carrying summer's warmth — all without the fare hikes and airport chaos of flying. If you're tempted to keep the passport in a drawer this season, here are five swaps worth considering.
Trade Biarritz for St Ives, Cornwall. The north coast town's sheltered bay delivers golden sand and consistent autumn swells, with Porthmeor Beach at its best once summer's crowds have gone. A 45-minute session at the new Kiln Sauna above the beach costs £12, with picture-window views, cold plunges and a silent sauna for those who want it. Between surfs, browse the cobbled streets' artists' studios, the Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum, then book dinner at Michelin Guide-listed St Eia for seasonal small plates. Groups could take Bamboo House, ten minutes out of town, with three en-suite doubles and a private sauna from £630 a night.
Swap Finnish Lakeland for the loughs of Northern Ireland. Finn Lough is a 50-acre woodland retreat on Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, where days revolve around wild swims, kayaking, paddleboarding and a lakeside spa trail of hot and cold therapy rooms. There's folklore-rich exploring beyond the retreat too — the Lough Erne Pilgrim Way links 14 early Christian monastic sites. River Cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows and onsen-style baths start at £195 a night, breakfast hampers included.
Trade the Swiss Alps for the Cairngorms. Britain's largest national park offers ideal hiking and biking temperatures come autumn, plus dark-sky stargazing and rutting season, when roaring stags roam the glens. For going properly off-grid, the new Kabn retreat near Aviemore is a remote architect-designed cabin with whisky-stocked minibar and Porsche e-bikes from £525 a night; Glen Glack's five stilted larch cabins by Cally Loch sleep two to four from £231, with ospreys, beavers and red squirrels for neighbours.
Swap the Italian Riviera for the Isle of Wight. The island gets more sun than anywhere else in the UK, and a warm microclimate on the south coast gives it a palm-dotted, almost Mediterranean shoreline. It's also a fast-rising food destination: long seafood lunches at The Hut in Colwell Bay, pan-Asian at Smoking Lobster, and lobster classics at Robert Thompson's RT Cafe Grill in Ryde. Base yourself at The Terrace Rooms & Wine in Ventnor, where stays include a nightly wine tasting run by a top-ten UK sommelier, from £250.
Finally, trade Bordeaux for Sussex's Rother Wine Triangle, officially recognised just last year. It links six vineyards, including organic Oxney and biodynamic Tillingham, with a warming climate broadening the grape varieties grown. Vine and Country Tours runs full-day visits with lunch pairings at £640 for up to four, with pick-ups from local stations. Stay at Boys Hall in Ashford, a Grade II-listed nine-bedroom manor with a Michelin key and a 4,000-bottle cellar, from £180 a night.
For anyone priced out of autumn flights or simply worn out by airport queues, these breaks deliver the same ingredients — surf, lakes, peaks, coastline and wine — closer to home.
Original reporting: The Independent Travel