Welsh seaside town among UK’s happiest places
A Welsh town has made it onto a list of the top ten happiest places in the UK, following a survey of 12,000 holidaymakers.
Welsh coastal gem Tenby earned a spot in the top five, with a scenic walk along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path also voted one of the happiest activities in the county.
The survey, conducted by holidaycottages.co.uk, set out to find the towns and villages that the UK’s staycationers considered their ‘happy place’, as part of the company’s 2025 ‘Happiest Places’ campaign.
Storybook town
Tenby earned the fourth spot in the list of ‘happy places’ for those seeking a staycation, bested by Whitby, Keswick and St Ives.
Holidaycottages.co.uk wrote: “Tenby’s pastel-painted harbour, sandy beaches, and medieval town walls feel like stepping into a storybook. Visitors can enjoy hopping on a boat to Caldey Island, relaxing and exploring the rock pools at Castle Beach, or wandering the charming streets lined with independent shops and cosy cafés.”
Other popular activities among respondents included relaxing on North Beach and exploring the Tenby Castle ruins.
The Cumbrian market town of Keswick was revealed as the second happiest place in the UK, gaining 268 votes in the survey and ranking after the Cornish coastal town of St Ives in first place, with 436 votes, and the North Yorkshire fishing town Whitby in third with 189 votes.
The UK’s happiest places were revealed as:
- St Ives
- Keswick
- Whitby
- Tenby
- Bamburgh
- Newquay
- Padstow
- Ambleside
- Wells-next-the-Sea
- Bude
By the seaside
Topping the list, the coastal town of St Ives also boasts a seaside walk along the South West Coast Path. Keswick was listed as a peaceful escape for nature lovers, while Whitby’s harbour-side fish and chips were noted as a key selling point.
Interestingly, coastal towns dominated the top ten with Bamburgh and Padstow also among those featured. Holidaycottages.co.uk noted that there’s something “undeniably uplifting” about being by the sea, so it’s of little surprise that beaches were where most holidaymakers found their happiness.
Sarah Pring, Digital PR Manager at holidaycottages.co.uk, said: “Joy and happiness can be found in so many areas of life – whether that’s getting active in some of the UK’s most scenic locations, sharing a laugh with family over fish and chips on the beach, or seeing the wonder of wildlife through the eyes of your children.
“Although everyone’s happy place is different, we wanted to explore some of the shared moments of happiness experienced across the UK, in the hope of inspiring more travellers to discover their own.”
For more information on the happiest places study and to read more about the top ten destinations, click here.
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My wife and I were in Tenby today. The best place to visit in the whole of the UK. Had a really nice meal. Two negatives and the first was the number of dogs there. The trend seems to be to have two or three dogs per couple. My wife, who is disabled, nearly tripped over three dog leads. Dangerous. Second was having to see dogs doing their business and the owners picking the steaming soft mess up into bags within feet of restaurants.