Plan a UK stay without the brochure fog
Guide me to UK explains what a place is actually like to visit, and what sort of accommodation fits it. The site covers seaside resorts, Devon and Cornwall towns and villages, Dartmoor, the Isles of Scilly, Edinburgh and Scotland, and a few inland towns that make useful bases. Each guide says how to get there, which part of town to stay in, what to see, when to go and what to check before you book.
We do not sell rooms, take payments, or run a call centre. A hotel, cottage agency or bed and breakfast mentioned on a guide is an independent business. You book with them, or with a booking site you choose yourself, on their terms.
New and updated guides
- New, 1 November 2026: St Ives, Padstow, Falmouth, Exeter and Dartmoor.
- Expanded, 1 November 2026: every existing destination guide, from Blackpool to Welwyn Garden City, now has sections on getting there, where to stay, things to do, seasons and a short itinerary, plus photographs.
- Revised: the destinations page is now grouped by region, and the useful resources list covers ferries, walking and heritage sites.
Pick a base that matches the trip
- A long sandy resort with a pier and a promenade: Bournemouth, Blackpool or, at a gentler pace, Southport.
- A week in the far south-west: read Cornwall before you choose a town, because the peninsula is too large for one base. For the north coast, see Padstow; for the far west, St Ives; for the south coast, Falmouth.
- The English Riviera and the Teign estuary: Torquay, Dawlish, Teignmouth and Shaldon, all on or near the Riviera railway line.
- A surf beach rather than a town: Croyde in north Devon.
- Walking and open country: Dartmoor, or the Highlands in the Scotland guide.
- Islands and quiet: the Isles of Scilly.
- A city break: Edinburgh, with its castle and festivals, or Exeter, with its cathedral and trains to the coast.
- A stopover on a long drive: Hook near the M3 and Heathrow, Towcester near Silverstone, or Welwyn Garden City north of London.
How UK accommodation usually works
A hotel is the straightforward option in a city or large resort: a reception desk, more rooms, and usually dinner nearby if the hotel does not serve it. A bed and breakfast or guest house is often a house with a few rooms. Breakfast is part of the stay, parking may be in the driveway, and someone will tell you if they cannot take a late arrival. An inn can be either a pub with rooms or a more formal restaurant with rooms. Self-catering, especially a cottage or apartment, is the usual week-long holiday in Cornwall, Devon and much of rural Scotland. Campsites and holiday parks sit behind a lot of the bigger beaches. The quieter stays page goes into the differences in more detail.
Before you pay, check what the price includes. Ask about parking, whether breakfast is cooked or continental, whether a minimum stay applies at weekends, and what the cancellation rule is. School holidays, the Edinburgh festivals in August, Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone and Blackpool's Illuminations fill the obvious rooms first. Shoulder seasons, meaning late spring and early autumn, are often easier and cheaper.
Getting around
Trains are the simple way into Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Exeter, the south Devon resorts on the Riviera Line, Blackpool, Southport, St Ives and Falmouth. Cornwall's main line ends at Penzance, which is the wrong end of the county if you are staying in the north, and Padstow and Croyde have no station at all. Devon's lanes and Cornwall's summer traffic both take longer than a map suggests. Ferries to the Isles of Scilly and to Scottish islands should be booked, and they can be cancelled in bad weather.
For official transport planners, ferry operators and weather forecasts, use the useful resources page.
Guide me to UK is an independent information site. We do not own hotels or take bookings. Fares, opening hours and timetables change, so confirm them before you travel. Last updated 1 November 2026.