The best rainy day activities close to Britain’s seaside hotspots

From indoor rainforests and castles to art galleries and museums, here’s where to dodge the drizzle on the coast

Don’t let a downpour dampen your day out at the coast. Beyond their beaches, some of the UK’s seaside hotspots are packed with attractions suitable for all weather. There are contemporary art galleries on the south coast and sought-after seafood restaurants in Yorkshire, plus castles, cathedrals and stately homes up and down the country. For families, there’s trips on vintage steam trains, quirky museums filled with curios, escape rooms and indoor mini golf. 

The last couple of decades have seen a revival of many formerly faded resorts. Priced out of big cities, young creatives have breathed new life into the likes of Margate, Whitstable, Eastbourne and Tynemouth. But more traditional towns still appeal in the rain, with their classic tea rooms and museums celebrating writers who once holidayed there. Think Charles Dickens and Broadstairs or Bram Stoker and Whitby. 

Here’s our rundown of the best ways to dodge the drizzle in the country’s coastal hotspots. Because Britain’s seaside towns are for all seasons, not just when the sun is shining. 

It has always been one of England’s wettest counties (with 1,241mm of rain per year, behind only Cumbria and Devon), which may explain why, when summer is a washout, Cornwall has so much to offer holidaymakers. Chief among its indoor attractions is the Eden Project, in a disused china clay quarry outside St Austell and with giant geodesic domes housing exotic plants: one simulates a Mediterranean environment, the other contains the largest indoor rainforest in the world.