Gavin and Stacey filming location named one of UK’s most stress-free staycation spots

A Welsh location famed for its association with Gavin and Stacey has been named as one of the UK’s most stress-free staycation spots

As the school holidays draw to a close, many of us will be breathing a sigh of relief and looking to beat the crowds and round off the summer.

Over the past month, searches for ‘best beach in the UK’ have surged by 74%, which comes as no surprise after it was revealed that Brits are prioritising UK trips closer to home*.

In response, car leasing experts, Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, have revealed the top five coastal destinations in the UK that are the easiest to navigate by car, making it simple for drivers to enjoy a stress-free road trip.

UK Top Five

These are the top five coastal destinations that are the easiest to navigate:

What’s occurin’?

According to the research, iconic Barry Island is one of the easiest places to drive to this August.

Coming in at number three, Barry, famously known as the filming location for the hit TV sitcom Gavin and Stacey, has been ranked as one of the easiest seaside towns to get around this August and is just a short drive from nearby Cardiff (35 minutes) and Bristol (1 hour, 32 minutes).

The Welsh coastal spot recorded just 44 collisions in 2023 and has a lower-than-average number of vehicle miles travelled, at 682.2 million.

Visitors can enjoy Whitmore Bay Beach, a stretch of sand often featured in the show, which also marks the starting point of the Wales Coast Path, which is perfect for walkers.

You’ll also find the Pleasure Beach, featured on the show and known for all the nostalgic seaside attractions, although Nessa doesn’t work at the arcade!

Also featuring in the top 5 is Swansea, which not only benefits from its long sandy beach in close proximity to the city centre, but its closeness to the world-leading beaches of Gower such as Three Cliffs Bay and Rhossili.

Swansea’s road and rail links make it an ideal choice for a quick break too, with an ability to pack a lot in during just one visit.

Methodology

Nationwide Vehicle Contracts looked at various factors to create a ranking to identify which cities and towns across the UK are the most difficult to navigate by car. We analysed search volumes for Difficulty Navigating Searches, Estimated Yearly Traffic (Vehicle miles travelled (VMT) All Motor Vehicles (Local Authority), Average Mobile Internet Speed (Mbps Download), Congestion Zone/Clean Air Zone/Zero Emission Zone, Traffic Index Numbeo, Vehicle Collisions (2023 latest data), and tags from open street maps for the number of roundabouts, railway crossings, street crossing (pedestrian), traffic signals, pedestrian only streets and cycle lanes in each area. OSM Data is based on what people have tagged and predefined areas of coordinates. If there was no data for a certain town or city, the nearest city was taken.