How many times have you come back from holiday feeling more exhausted than you did when you left? While a busy, action packed trip can be great, sometimes you just want to switch off and unwind instead. So, if you’re looking for a calmer break but don’t know where to start, we’re here to help. We compared 100 different towns and villages, using data from 9 different criteria including accommodation costs, activities, weather, light and noise pollution, to create our ranking of the UK’s most relaxing staycations. The UK’s Most Relaxing Staycation Alresford, in Hampshire, took the top spot as the best place in the UK for a relaxing staycation, earning an impressive score of 75.1 out of 100. The popular Georgian market town scored highly for affordability, good weather and minimal light pollution, as well as RHS Gardens and National Trust sites. Lacock, in Wiltshire, came in second place, with a score of 72.2, followed by nearby Castle Combe, which scored 71.3. Down on the south coast, Wareham and Abbotsbury, both in Dorset, rounded out the top five, with scores of 70.8 and 69.4. The Best Destination for Affordability Woodbridge, in Suffolk, came out on top as the most affordable relaxing staycation destination. The average cost of three star accommodation in Woodbridge is just £58 per night, leaving plenty of your holiday budget leftover for other things! Linlithgow, in West Lothian, was the second most affordable destination, with three star accommodation coming in at just £60 per night. The Best Destination for Weather Having good weather can play a big part in how enjoyable your staycation is - nobody wants to be caught out in the rain on holiday! According to our research, Abbotsbury, in Dorset, is the best place for good weather, with an average of 1,904 hours of sunshine and just 117 rainy days each year. The Best Destination for Peace and Quiet If peace and quiet are the most important things to you, head up to Scotland for your next staycation. Braemar, in Aberdeenshire, took the title of the best place for peace and quiet, with a light pollution score of 0.8 and just 1 annual noise complaint per 1,000 people. The Best Destination for Hiking There’s nothing like getting outside and enjoying some time in nature to help you unwind and relax. So, when you’re planning a staycation, you’ll want somewhere with lots of scenic walking routes to enjoy. Keswick, in Cumbria, takes the top spot for hiking, with a whopping 250 scenic trails to enjoy in the surrounding area. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Lake District featured highly in this category, with Ambleside, Borrowdale and Grasmere all coming in the top five. The Best Destinations for Wildlife For any nature enthusiasts, Norfolk should be top of your list, with Horsey and Cromer sharing the top spot for wildlife sightings. Both locations recorded an average of 211 annual occurrences per 1,000 people. The Best Destination for Day Trips Finally, if you enjoy sightseeing when you’re away, Abingdon, in Oxfordshire, is the place to be. Visitors have access to an impressive 105 RHS gardens and National Trust sites in the surrounding areas - plenty to keep you busy all holiday! Now you’ve got your destination picked out, if you’re hoping to bring a touch of luxury to your next staycation, why not pack some of our luxury shower gels or travel toiletries sets? Or, if you just want to relax at home, take a look at our body care gift sets and bath salts, formulated to revitalise skin, relax the mind and aid restful sleep. Methodology & Sources We compiled a list of 100 towns and villages across the UK, based on various editorial articles listing popular staycation destinations. We then gathered data for the following factors, giving our locations a normalised score for each criteria, before combining these to get our final score out of 100. Accommodation: Average nightly price for 3* accommodation Sunshine: Average hours of sunshine per year Rain: Average number of days per year seeing more than 1mm of rain Light Pollution: VIIRS radiance value Noise Pollution: Average number of annual noise complaints per 1,000 residents Scenic Trails: Number of walking trails in the surrounding area Wildlife: Average annual occurrences per 1,000 residents RHS Gardens: Number of RHS Partner Gardens in the surrounding area National Trust: Number of National Trust sites in the surrounding area Data was gathered from Google Travel, Met Office, Light Pollution Map, All Trails, NBN Atlas, RHS, National Trust, National Trust for Scotland and regional government websites. All data accurate as of April 2023.
