The Times includes Welsh location in list of ‘coolest UK postcodes to move to’

Stephen Price

The Sunday Times has compiled a list of the ‘coolest UK places to move to’, with one coastal Welsh location featuring among the ‘hottest postcodes for 2025’ and described as ‘Cornwall without the crowds’.

The 11 featured postcodes cover all corners of the UK, with only Welsh entry for SA42, namely Newport, Pembrokeshire which they say is top choice for ‘laid-back coasties’.

Amongst contenders including Newlyn in Cornwall, described as ‘best for arty types’ and Port Ellen on Islay in the Hebrides which is ‘best for party islanders’, columnist Vicky Brzezinski has high praise for this particular Welsh Newport.

She writes: “This is the other Newport. Trefdraeth, to give this sleepy coastal town its Welsh name, offers a slice of ravishingly beautiful relaxedness in the shadow of Carningli Mountain.”

“Cornwall sans the crowds”

Newport Pembrokeshire is a small bustling coastal town flanked by a mountain, an estuary and beaches, it’s perched in one of the Pembrokeshire National Park’s most scenic parts and is loved by locals and visitors alike.

On the longest day of the year, Newport receives 16.6 hours of daylight, making it an ideal summer venue.

Reflecting tourist numbers in Wales rising since Covid lockdown restrictions, and many in England discovering Wales’ beauty for the first time, Brzezinski writes: “It’s giving off Cornwall sans the crowds, with pretty streets lined with pastel-hued Georgian townhouses and stone cottages from which to soak up the blush-pink sunsets over Newport Sands.

“Head to PWNC Cafe for friendly vibes and healthy fare geared towards active types (the owner James Scale is an avid cyclist), with bookworms well catered for by Brown’s Books upstairs.”

Much like Cornwall, Pembrokeshire has also attracted artists from across the UK, inspired by the dramatic coastline. She adds: “For arty inspiration there’s Newport Collective Gallery, run by local artists and makers, while Ffynnon suits any interiors junkies (think pressed seaweed prints, hand-thrown ceramics by Alanda Wilson and Welsh blankets à gogo).”

Hot tips

Newport is said to have been founded by the Normans in the 12th century, and became busy because when its port, at the Parrog, became a focal point for the wool trade.

Pottery also flourished here: the town’s memorial hall hosts the Medieval Pottery Kiln, excavated in 2017, and believed to be oldest intact in Britain.

Nowadays, it is comprised of two streets: one running from the village’s privately-owned castle on the Carningli Mountain and the A487, which travels west towards Fishguard.

Pembrokeshire’s food scene also came in for a mention in the Sunday Times article, with Brzezinski writing: “There’s plenty more going on too. For foodies there’s fab fish at Tides, a kitchen-cum-wine bar, while Llys Meddyg is a smart hotel and restaurant (with an on-site smokery and “secret garden”) serving a ruddy-cheeked, Hoka-shod clientele, refuelling post touring the nearby hills by ebike.”

Her hot tip is to “nab a seat beside the fire at the Golden Lion, an old coach house that’s been going since the 17th century, for locally sourced pub grub and pints from Bluestone Brewing, a microbrewery harnessing the crystal-clear springwater filtered through the Preseli Mountains.”

Or for those in the know, she recommends “porpoise watching at Ceibwr Bay, a wild and windswept rocky inlet six miles up the coast.”

Read the ’11 coolest UK postcodes to move to in 2025′ in full at The Times.