Minehead Eastern Esplanade

The Eastern Esplanade stretches along Minehead's seafront like a proper Victorian hangover - all promenade charm and seaside tradition. It's the kind of place where you can walk for a good mile or so with the Bristol Channel spread out in front of you, taking in views that shift depending on the light and the season.

You're essentially walking alongside the beach here, with the town rising up behind you. There's a genuine sense of escape about it, particularly if you catch it early morning before the ice-cream vans roll out. The shingle beach itself is fairly typical Somerset coast - grey-brown pebbles, rockpools to poke about in, and on a clear day you can see Wales. Kids will fidget if you just stand about looking at the view, but they'll happily spend an hour hunting for crabs and collecting stones.

It's free to access and works brilliantly as part of a seaside day out rather than a destination in itself. Allow thirty minutes to an hour for a proper walk, maybe longer if you're stopping to explore the beach. The esplanade gives you a genuine feel for Minehead as a working seaside town rather than a theme-park version of one.

Stay at Hoburne Blue Anchor Holiday Park just 3.5 miles away, and the esplanade becomes a natural extension of your morning routine. It's the sort of place that doesn't Instagram well but feels proper when you're actually there.