Carbis Bay

Carbis Bay is what happens when a beach that good turns up next to a town that famous and quietly decides not to compete. St Ives gets the galleries, the gulls and the queue for parking; Carbis Bay gets the sand, the sea-facing bungalows and the smugness of being four minutes away on the train. It hosted a summit of the world's most powerful leaders in 2021 and the most lasting local consequence was a row about a marquee. That tells you roughly everywhere you need to know about the place: enormous view, modest fuss, and a very firm sense that nothing should be allowed to get above itself.