Channel Islands

By day, this pocket-sized paradise bustles when the ferry arrives from Guernsey (they call it the ‘mainland'!) and day trippers descend to eat, shop and explore.

Those in the know, however, spend their entire holiday here – and have the place to themselves once the ferry departs.

Activities tend to be of the spontaneous variety - crabbing and rock pooling, kayaking (with ‘puffin patrols' from April until July) and Stand up Paddleboarding.

The whole island is walkable in two hours, taking in hulking cliffs, rolling fields, wild flowers, dreamy beaches and a tiny chapel.

The very best thing to do here, however, is to be inactive. What a pleasure not to feel the need to visit a castle or a museum, to be able to stretch out on a perfect stretch of sand and totally unwind. We love the long sweep of Shell beach (it really is made up of millions of tiny shells) and Belvoir Bay's cove of ice-cream coloured sand – like something from an Enid Blyton novel.