The UK’s best seaside town has been crowned – and it’s just 90 minutes from London

London in the heat can be absolutely glorious, but it can also get a bit unbearable. So, we wouldn’t blame you for wanting to escape the clammy city temperatures for somewhere more fresh and airy over the summer. Need some inspo? Well, now that beach season is finally upon us, Time Out’s writers have ranked their favourite seaside towns in the UK for a summer getaway. And our number one spot happens to be within very easy reach of the capital city.

Time Out’s top UK seaside town for 2025 is Margate. Londoners can get there from London Victoria, St Pancras or London Bridge, with journeys normally lasting around an hour and a half to an hour and 50 minutes. One-way prices start from just £12, so how could you resist? 

Chiara Wilkinson, Time Out’s deputy editor, said: ‘Once a sleepy coastal town, [Margate is] now a cool creative hotspot – it’s even (dare we say it) deserving of its new nickname, ‘Hackney on sea’. But it’s not all about being annoyingly trendy. There’s a real charm to this strip of Kentish coast, where golden sands and fading arcades compliment a buzzing art scene and thriving hospitality offering.’

Once you’re there, Margate really does have something to satisfy every taste. For culture fiends, there’s the Turner Contemporary and Tom Thumb Theatre; for foodies, we recommend the barbecued octopus paired with seasonal wine at Pomus or the famous anchovies at Sargasso; for revellers, there’s the LGBTQ+ hoedown, Queer Cxntry, and for water babies, there’s the Walpole Bay Tidal Pool, the largest saltwater pool in the UK. Plus, no one can miss Dreamland or the Grade I-listed Shell Grotto. Explore the rest of the very best things to see and do in Margate here. 

Number two on our list was the Yorkshire fishing town of Whitby, a place that we said ‘exudes more gothic splendour than David Bowie in The Hunger’. And in third place was Brighton (also a short trip from London), for its parties, pubs and pebbled beach. 

The best seaside towns in the UK, according to Time Out.

The historic English city that is the best day trip within one hour of London.

The best beaches near London for a sandy escape.