This past weekend, I went away for the weekend to Salcombe in Devon. It’s about four hours drive from London, but it’s stunning – and well worth it.
We stayed at the Salcombe Harbour hotel, which is right on the edge of the estuary looking out on the to bay. You can walk the entire town in an hour, and the best pub is the Victoria Inn. You can get a pint of Salcombe’s Best for £2.90 a pint, which is a rebadging of St Austell’s Cornish Best ale as the pub’s own.  Tim and Liz, the owners, are real ale enthusiasts – and hold the Cask Marque award. They also have on tap the award winning Tribute and a guest ale which varies from week to week. Plus they serve the most incredible Seafood Plate for £9, featuring crayfish, locally caught crab, and smoked salmon – plus freshly baked bread and dill mayonnaise.
Head in to town and you can try Roly’s Fudge (the crumbly kind), which has numerous Great Taste awards – the Vanilla Clotted Cream, and Salted Caramel flavours won this year – plus  tuck in to some real Salcombe ice cream and insanely good pasties from fifth generation butcher P.W. & J. Coleman.
When the sun shines (which it did on Friday and Saturday!) – it’s a beautiful little town that’s peaceful, quiet and a real escape.