Relax on the sandy-shores of the Netherlands

Running from the Belgian border to the Wadden Sea Islands, the Netherlands' best-kept secret is its sandy shores and laid-back hang-outs. Check out Hippie Fish in Zandvoort, a rattan-clad, rustic haven with on-point design credentials and a family-friendly outlook. Book in for a leisurely lunch at a beach table groaning with fresh seafood, then seek out a cooler corner in the airy clapboard pavilion to enjoy fresh fruit cocktails. Or join Amsterdam day-trippers beachside from dawn ‘til dusk, clinking bottles of wheat ale and eating Cali-style salad boxes.

Stay in a design-focused Corsica villa

The glittering waters of the Gulf of Ajaccio are never far from sight for those lucky enough to be residing at Casa Santa Teresa.

While renovating the 1950s Corsican villa last year, architect Amelia Tavella ensured that the island's burnished sunsets and cool sea breezes were invited into every whitewashed corner of the five-bed home. It provides an idyllic base from which to explore the beach-laden Route des Sanguinaires. Spread across four floors, with honey-toned interiors to match the soft sands tickling the villa's garden wall, this sun-kissed villa provides built-for-purpose beach living.

A shady terrace hides an expansive outdoor kitchen and dining area – ideal for daytime feasting in the Mediterranean tradition – while a dip in the saltwater plunge pool refreshes after an afternoon siesta. Inside, bright interiors populated with warm wood furnishings and sun-bleached linen accents bring to mind the barefoot luxury of vintage European travel. Venture beyond the beach to explore the Sanguinaires Islands, the bustling capital, Ajaccio and prime snorkelling spots.

Forage along the Dorset coast

Making the most of Studland’s bountiful shoreline and sea, a half-day coastal foraging course with Fore Adventure requires you to scour below Dorset's dramatic cliffs, up narrow creeks and along shingle beaches in search of the area's superb sea purslane, sea aster and rock samphire. Along the way, you'll be catching crabs and digging cockles from the breakwater, before heading back to camp for a fireside feast cooked over coals, using the day's harvest. With a crack team of experts on hand, it's a great chance to learn vital skills in identifying and preparing a wild banquet. Feeling more adventurous? Try their five-hour kayaking course, during which you'll access hard-to-reach rock stacks and fish for mackerel, too.

Eat at Britain's best seaside shacks

Superlative beachside feasting awaits at Hive Beach Café on the Jurassic Coast. With a menu shaped by what arrives out of the shimmering Lyme Bay, this Burton Bradstock joint makes the perfect pit stop on a South West Coast Path walk. Gobble down platters piled high with langoustines, mussels, lobster and crab, enjoy grilled herrings doused in garlic butter or revel in good old dish and chips. Their hand=picked crab roll is a top-notch post-amble pick-me-up. Further around the coast, between the butter-coloured shore and rocket fringes of South Milton Sands, the Beachhouse draws from the same fish-wealthy waters. A casual menu brings 'bang bang' chilli-laced jumbo prawns, smoked fish cakes and cheesy chips together on picnic-table seating under balmy West Country skies. The other end of our beautiful isle doesn't disappoint, either: in Tynemouth, at Riley's Fish Shack North Sea monkfish, kippers and squid are cooked over fire pits, then devoured on deckchairs a stone's throw from the crashing waves.