Burnham-on-Sea

Burnham-on-Sea makes a relaxed base for a Somerset coastal break, with accommodation to suit most budgets within easy walking distance of the beach and the town's famous low lighthouse. Seafront guesthouses and small independent hotels along the Esplanade offer sea views and easy access to the pier, shops and cafes, while self-catering apartments and cottages scattered through the town suit couples and families wanting more flexibility. Dog-friendly options are common, reflecting the town's popularity with walkers heading out along the beach and dunes.

For a wider choice, Highbridge and the villages just inland offer farmhouse bed and breakfasts and country inns with rooms, often at lower rates than the seafront while still being only a short drive from the sand. Golfers may prefer to base themselves near Burnham & Berrow Golf Club, one of the top-ranked links courses in England, with several places to stay clustered nearby. Families looking for a livelier, activity-packed stay tend to head slightly further along the coast to the large holiday parks around Berrow and Brean, which combine hotel-style amenities such as pools and entertainment with direct beach access.

Whichever type of accommodation you choose, Burnham's compact size means most places to stay are within easy reach of the seafront, the shops on the high street and the leisure centre, and the M5 at Junction 22 keeps the whole area well connected for exploring the wider Somerset coast, the Mendip Hills and the Levels beyond.

Burnham rewards a slow wander rather than a packed itinerary, but there is a good spread of things to see and do along the seafront and just inland.

• The Low Lighthouse — the town's emblem, a Grade II listed lighthouse on stilts right on the sand, still an active navigation light and one of the most photographed spots on the Somerset coast.
• Burnham-on-Sea Beach — a wide, gently shelving sandy beach with lifeguard cover in summer, popular for kite flying, sandcastles and watching the huge tides roll in.
• St Andrew's Church — known locally for its crooked tower, which has leaned since it was built, plus an elaborate Baroque reredos inside said to have come from a royal commission.
• Burnham-on-Sea Pier — one of the shortest pleasure piers in Britain, with amusement arcades and seafront entertainment that have barely changed in spirit for decades.
• Berrow Beach and dunes — a quieter stretch of sand just north of town, backed by a nature reserve of dunes and marram grass, part of one of the longest continuous beaches in Europe.
• Brean Down — a dramatic limestone headland a few miles up the coast, owned by the National Trust, with a Palmerston-era fort at its tip and sweeping views across the Bristol Channel to Wales.
• Burnham & Berrow Golf Club — regularly rated one of the best links courses in the country, welcoming visiting golfers alongside its members.
• River Parrett and Highbridge — the neighbouring town of Highbridge, with its old clock tower and river heritage, makes an easy add-on for a longer visit.

The town has a good spread of unpretentious seaside eating, from fish and chip shops along the Esplanade to traditional tea rooms serving cream teas within sight of the low lighthouse. Pubs such as the Somerset Arms and the Ship Inn offer solid pub food and local ales, while the Saturday and Sunday markets bring fresh produce and street food stalls into the town centre. A short drive out, Coombes Cider Mill near Burnham is a working traditional cider farm where visitors can sample local scrumpy straight from the source, a proper taste of Somerset to round off a day at the coast.

Camping around Burnham-on-Sea takes full advantage of one of Somerset's finest stretches of coast, with the wide sands of Burnham and Berrow beaches and the dramatic headland of Brean Down all within easy reach of the region's campsites. As in the rest of England, wild camping is not permitted here without the landowner's explicit permission, so this stretch of coast is best explored using one of the many established touring parks, campsites and glamping sites in the surrounding villages of Berrow, Brean and Highbridge, most of which welcome tents, touring caravans and motorhomes.

The terrain is flat and low-lying, typical of the Somerset Levels meeting the coast, with sandy dune systems, grazing marshes and a scattering of working farms that have diversified into camping and caravanning. Several sites, such as those near Coombes Cider Mill, sit on working farms and combine touring pitches with a genuine taste of Somerset agricultural life, while larger holiday parks toward Brean offer bigger, more resort-style camping with on-site pools, entertainment and shops, better suited to families wanting facilities close at hand. Smaller, quieter touring sites tend to cluster around Highbridge and the villages just inland, offering easy access to the coast without the scale of the bigger parks.

The best camping season runs from late spring through early autumn, when the huge tidal beaches are at their most inviting and the coastal paths over Brean Down and along the dunes are at their driest and most walkable. Even in a wet British summer, the flat, well-drained sandy ground around Berrow copes better than heavier inland clay. For those who prefer a roof over their heads without giving up the outdoor feel, a growing number of glamping options in the area offer bell tents, pods and shepherd's huts, giving campers the Somerset coastal air with rather more comfort than a standard tent, and often within walking distance of the beach itself.