Travel expert names Seaham beach as one the UK's best 'secret' beaches to escape to this summer

Simon Calder, travel expert and writer endorsed Seaham beach this morning, Monday, March 1 in his top three ‘secret’ beaches to escape to on staycation when lockdown ends this summer.

The expert said the beach in County Durham was his ‘favourite’ beach on the North Sea, adding that you might not see the “crowds you get on beaches further South”.

Talking on BBC one’s programme Morning Live, Simon was asked which secret destinations that offered both beaches and countryside he would recommend for English staycations.

He said: “On the North Sea, my favourite beach there is Seaham in County Durham. It used to be about the most industrialised place in Europe.

"There are coal mines running out under the sea but now it’s just an absolutely lovely place, beautiful houses, it’s just a wonderful place to get a bit of an escape and not the crowds you get in other resorts perhaps further South in Yorkshire.”

Simon said that there is a ‘huge demand’ for staycations at the moment with the easing of lockdown on the horizon but luckily there are plenty of “fabulous secret beaches.”

The surge in holiday bookings comes after Boris Johnson announced that restrictions on self-contained holiday rentals are expected to be lifted on April 12.

Mr Calder added that there is “no reason” why people shouldn’t book a ‘proper package holiday’ right now with companies offering full refunds if lockdown is extended but highlighted the need to check terms and conditions.

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