With wedding season in the GCC right around the corner and wedding season in the UK in full swing, many soon-to-be-wed couples will be looking to decide their dream honeymoon destination. While tropical escapes like Maldives, Seychelles and Zanzibar, alongside African safari escapes, are some of the most idyllic and popular honeymoon destinations, the UK also offers some gorgeous, more low-key destinations.
Offering some guidance to said couples, one British company has discovered and ranked 44 of the most popular romantic honeymoon hotspots in the British Isles, having extracted Google search trend data and compiling them into a handy report. The UK is a country with fantastic natural beauty, thriving cities and sweeping beaches, but many of its holiday spots are forgotten in favour of romantic European destinations and island escapes.
Coming in at number one is the charming seaside town of Portmeirion, a remarkably picturesque village in the scenic county of Gwynedd in north-west Wales. Designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975, the folly village is landscaped in the Baroque style, and resembles a movie set more than a British countryside village. Pastel houses tumble down hillsides reminiscent of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, and a green-domed building commands attention in the centre. There’s a beautiful beach, secluded gardens and wooded trails, which all frame the Italianate village. According to the report, this fascinating destination garnered 110,000 searches, taking a spot as the most popular honeymoon destination in the UK.
Next on the list, are the Cornish Isles of Scilly – islands so beautiful they’re often confused with those in the Mediterranean. There are white sands, warm turquoise waters, wildflower-covered hillsides, sub-tropical gardens and a mild climate, and the capital, Hugh Town is simply adorable. On Tresco, the second largest of the five inhabited islands, visitors will find Tresco Abbey Garden (home to subtropical plants), the Valhalla Museum, displaying shipwrecked figureheads and the tower of the 17th-century Cromwell’s Castle in the north. The magnificent archipelago has 90,500 searches, coming in at the UK’s second most popular honeymoon destination.
Next, with approximately 74,000 monthly searches in the UK per month, are Tenby, Pembrokeshire in Wales and Beer, Devon in England, jointly ranking as the UK’s third most popular honeymoon destination. The seaside town of Tenby has a picturesque harbour, plenty of kitschy shops and restaurants and stunning natural scenery. On England’s south coast, the picture-perfect fishing village of Beer offers stunning views of the sea and its beaches, perfect for romantic walks and picnics.
The most popular honeymoon destinations in the UK
| 1 | Portmeirion | Gwynedd | 110,000 |
| 2 | Isles of Scilly | Cornwall | 90,500 |
| 3 | Beer | Devon | 74,000 |
| 3 | Tenby | Pembrokeshire | 74,000 |
| 5 | Keswick | Lake District | 49,500 |
| 5 | Castle Combe | Cotswolds | 49,500 |
| 5 | Robin Hood’s Bay | North Yorkshire | 49,500 |
| 8 | Polperro | Cornwall | 27,100 |
| 8 | Bibury | Gloucestershire | 27,100 |
| 8 | Staithes | North Yorkshire | 27,100 |
