Secret BRITAIN

1 Ross Back Sands, Northumberland

This gloriously deserted sandy spit extends for 5km from Budle Bay to Lindisfarne. Access is via a 1.5km-long footpath through Ross Farm and across the dunes, which puts off the few travellers who venture here. Your reward, however, is an unbeatable panorama: all sky, sea and white sands with Lindisfarne Castle (pictured) at one end and, at the other, Bamburgh Castle and the Farne Islands. A pair of binoculars will come in handy, not only to check out the seals lazing on Lindisfarne’s bay (best viewed from Guile Point) but also to scan the sea for divers, grebes and scoters in winter, and terns in summer. GH

2 Walberswick, Suffolk

Walberswick was formerly a small trading port before its harbour silted up. Long adopted as a bohemian retreat by artists like Philip Wilson Steer and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the former fishing village has long-since morphed into a enclave for media-types. These days it is popular with walkers and birdwatchers, and young families who come here to relax and go crabbing in the creek. The most atmospheric way to reach Walberswick, though, is by way of the rowing-boat ferry across the River Blyth from Southwold, an enterprise that’s been in the same family for five generations. LM www.explorewalberswick.co.uk

3 Carn Euny, Cornwall

Although this ancient hut settlement is managed by English Heritage, the sense of private discovery is overwhelming. To get here, it’s an easy walk from Chapel Carn Brea car park north-east over Tredinney Common past a very natural, gurgling holy well that marks the site of St Euny’s Chapel. The low stone walls of the roundhouses are clearly visible, beneath a soft blanket of turf and wildflowers and the entrance to a mysterious fogou (underground structure) is also apparent. This remote and beautiful acre lies on a south-facing slope; it’s a place to linger, maybe with a picnic and a jug of local cider. KF www.english-heritage.org.uk

4 Hunstanton, Norfolk

Standing a short walk along the beach from the Victorian resort