London is famously bad in a heatwave — the tubes are stifling, the parks are packed and the lidos are harder to get a ticket for than Glastonbury. So unless you’ve got a members’ club pass that’s your ticket to a rooftop pool for the day, or are are willing to blag your way in, there’s only one thing for it: head for the coast.
Luckily we’re spoilt for choice with picturesque stretches of seaside just a couple of hours’ drive — or an even speedier train ride — from the capital. East Sussex and Kent hotspots such as Deal and St Leonards-on-Sea punch well above their weight for restaurants, pubs and chic places to stay. The seafood is just-caught, the ice cream is clotted and the locals are as creative as they come.
