Daily Mail says to ‘forget Cornwall’ and buy a ‘beachfront bolthole’ in Welsh location

The Daily Mail has shared its ‘ultimate guide’ to little-known ‘up and coming’ coastline havens (without the massive premium) – featuring a Welsh location ‘popular with buyers from Cheshire and the North West’ cheaper than ‘over-priced hotspots’.

In a piece titled ‘Forget Cornwall, these are the best places to buy a beachfront bolthole: Ultimate guide to little-known ‘up and coming’ coastline havens (without the massive premium)‘ by the Mail’s Ben West, the publication lists a number of alternatives to in-demand areas across the UK.

He writes: “As the first rays of sunshine stretch across spring skies, many of us will be clambering to get by the sea. And where better to enjoy brighter days than a coastal bolthole, all of your own?

“Seaside property, unsurprisingly, usually comes at a premium – with top resorts pricing out many buyers.

“However, if you’re desperate to bag your own coastal cottage, don’t despair: there are several up-and-coming destinations across the country requiring considerably less dosh.

“We’ve asked experts to recommend the top alternative spots to buy by the sea – just down the road from the usual over-priced hotspots.”

Featuring Eyemouth in Berwickshire, Morecambe in Lancashire and many more locations, only one Welsh location made the cut, namely Criccieth

Tom Carter, director at estate agent Fine and Country, shares: “Particularly popular with buyers from Cheshire and the North West, Abersoch commands a real premium on the property market.

“Criccieth is a more affordable alternative. Something of a hidden gem at the opposite end of the Llyn peninsula, it has a more quiet, laid-back aura, retaining a more traditional feel – yet, as a coastal town, is equally well equipped.”

He adds: “Criccieth Castle is a striking centrepiece and constant reminder of the history here. The beaches are arguably less crowded than those in Abersoch.

“Independent shops survive and for those needing connectivity there is a railway station where it is 20 minutes quicker to get to Chester than from Abersoch.”

“Cheshire and the North West”

A Sunday Telegraph article has highlighted a record high in migrants from England moving to other parts of the UK amid cost of living struggles – with Wales seeing the most dramatic increase.

Discussing data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Economics Reporter, Melissa Lawford, shared that net migration out of England to other nations in the UK ‘soared by 53pc’ in the year to June 2023 to hit 31,393.

Wales has seen the most dramatic increase in migration from England, with a 65% increase year on year to 17, 559 – again, a record high save for 2020, standing in stark contrast to the net outflow seen a decade ago.

Using data from Centre for Cities from 2022, Lawson explained that “people are most likely to move to Wales when they are student age; when they are in their early 30s; and aged between 55 and 64”.

This data comes as official data showed the largest rise in the UK population on record since 1971 – figures Lawson says ‘masks a major internal movement within the UK population’.