A seaside town just a short drive away from Bristol has been lavished with praise by tourists who have fallen in love with the "charming" place - and even earned a comparison to a popular European destination. Famed for incredible views, tourists from across the country flock to the picturesque town of Salcombe.
Boasting a myriad of local shops, and ice cream parlours, DevonLive found the town packed full of visitors during the busy half-term holiday. A truly traditional seaside town, families crabbed together at the waterfront, building sandcastles and enjoying renowned local pasties and ice cream.
Salcombe is described as "not spoiled" by life-long visitors, who long ago committed themselves to holidaying in the town. Jules and her son Josh McDonald, from Twickenham, have been visiting for 30 years as a family for the "perfect English holiday".
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Jules told the publication they love "everything" about the town. She said: "The beaches, the weather, the town.
"It's just the perfect English holiday, you don't need to be anywhere else, you have Sunny Cove. It's just heaven and the weather has been amazing this week, fabulous.
"We love to see our friends every year, cooking for each other, going around and going for hikes. We just love the beaches.
"There are lovely clothes shops and we love the fabulous pasties and the crab man, down Island Street. We just love the beaches. It's also so dog friendly and relaxing."
Son Josh, a student at Birmingham University, said: "The sweet shop, I loved it when I was a kid."
Jules went on to say it was "the most beautiful part of England". "You can't find a nicer beach. Even the wildlife, the trees and the shrubby of the wildflowers, it's just so pretty," she added. "And there's no hugely tacky hotels, it's all tasteful and it's the perfect English resort really, and is just beautiful and not spoiled."
Shinead Kenny, 20, the manager of a family-run ice cream shop, moved to Salcombe 18 months ago. Harbour Cafe, on Fore Street, sells ice-creams from the Salcombe Dairy Factory up the road along with drinks and other treats.
Shinead said: "I recently moved to Salcombe with my boyfriend, so life's going good so far. I love living here.
"It's easy to get around and the people are lovely. I moved from North Yorkshire, but I'm originally from Ireland and moved seven years ago.
"I like to take the ferry, on nice days, across to the South Sands beach, or Sunnydale beach, there really good places to go. Or just nice walks through the fields."
"It gets so hectic, the streets are packed," she continued. "We have queues all the way to the other side of the road for ice-creams here. We sell local ice-cream which is made here at Salcombe Dairy Factory, which is just down Shadycombe road, and we sell coffees."
Asked why people should visit the town, she added: "Salcombe has a lovely atmosphere and the views are beautiful. There's plenty of things to do here, there's loads of walks, so if you're outdoorsy, then it's better."
While tourists visit the town in their thousands each year, Salcombe has also been branded the most depressing town in the UK due to the amount of second homeowners reportedly driving up housing costs and pricing locals out of the town. For far-flung visitors, however, with an ice cream in hand and sand in their shoes, it is simply a case of enjoying Salcombe for all it has to offer.
Family-of-four Lauren, Jim, their son Finn and daughter Indie were among the many who visited Salcombe for a family half-term holiday. Jim, who lives with his family in Wiltshire, said: "We are staying in Marlborough so we have just driven into Salcombe today to have a look around."
Lauren added: "We wanted a family getaway for the half-term holidays for a change of scenery and it's really nice. We've never been to Salcombe before, I went to University of Plymouth and never saw this bit, so thought it was somewhere different to come.
"And it's Indie's first holiday. It's lovely, a pretty little town, once we found a parking space which was very difficult, but we found one. It's busy, but the couple of beaches look nice to go to, so we will probably go there over the next few days. It's nice, tidy and a classic seaside town.
"We will catch a ferry over to the beach over the next couple of days. We had lunch at the Pasty Shack, and it was nice, you can't beat a pasty."
Meanwhile, South Londoners Olivia and George Whittingham have become regular visitors to Salcombe. George, whose parents live nearby, said: "I've been coming to Mill Bay for the past 30 years, we like the ice-cream and clotted cream in Salcombe, although sometimes they do run out. Mill Bay is awesome though."
Olivia added: "On a day like this, it reminds me of being in a different country, somewhere in Europe. I haven't been to Italy, but we always say it's like being there.
"If you're sitting looking from the beach or Mill Bay, the water is beautifully blue, and you see all of the lovely houses on the hill. It's very quaint and charming."
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