The idyllic English villages favoured by the A-list
With its wide, sandy beach, lively Atlantic swell and tall, picturesque cliffs, the Cornish village of Mawgan Porth has long been a favoured spot for holidaymakers hoping to escape the crowds of nearby Newquay. Its inns serve fine crab sandwiches, there’s great rockpooling as well as surfable waves, and dolphins are regularly sighted breaching the surface of the water in the white-peaked cove.
These days, there’s another draw too, with Hollywood A-listers as numerous as surf dudes and marine mammals in the seaside hotspot Cornish folk have come to nickname “Hollywood on Sea”. Aquaman and Baywatch star Jason Momoa, Hollywood hardnut Jason Statham and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin all have multi-million pound digs at this seaside spot, with Australian actress Cate Blanchett and playwright husband Andrew Upton currently causing a ruckus with the redevelopment of a ￡1,6 million cottage overlooking Mawgan Porth as a five-bedroom “eco” holiday home.
Yet this bolthole on the north Cornwall coast is just one surprising British celebrity enclave. Below we list eight of the best coastal and rural spots with secret A-lister links.
Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
Why it lures the A-list
With the fine-dining of Padstow a short drive down the coast, broad golden sands and excellent surf, Mawgan Porth offers a characteristic Cornish seaside experience, but with privacy borne of topography: its towering surrounding cliffs and steep, sea-fronting cliffs offer plenty of opportunities for the well-heeled to holiday away from prying eyes and lenses. Make like an A-lister and grab a candy cane Bucca Gelato on the private terrace of Mawgan Porth’s Beach Box Café with its fine sunset view (Tom Cruise wraparound shades optional).
Celebs to spot
Cate Blanchett, Chris Martin, Jason Momoa, Gary Barlow and Jason Statham.
Where to see them
Mamoa and Barlow have been spotted on the broad sandy beach, Barlow walking a Pomeranian named Hugo and a terrier called Cooksy. Chris Martin has been spied in beachside café-boozer The Merrymoor Inn. Blanchett is keeping her head down.
Go there in style
New to luxury provider Unique Homestays’ collection for 2024, Talisman is a showstopping architectural beach house with unobstructed views over Mawgan Porth’s golden sands, an indoor swimming pool, outdoor sauna, and cliffside ice bath. The property sleeps 15 guests (10 adults and five children) and is priced from ￡7,495 per short break, ￡9,995 per week (uniquehomestays.com).
West Wittering, Sussex
Why it lures the A-list
With its well-kept beach huts and duned-backed Blue Flag beach, cosy trad pubs and colourful bobbing boats, good-looking West Wittering has been dubbed “God’s Pocket” by locals. Draws for well-heeled incomers, such as homeowner Kate Winslet, include indie shops such as eco knick-knacks store New Waves Box (newwavesbox.co.uk) and pampered pooch outpost Salty Dog Emporium (saltydogemporium.co.uk). There’s also excellent surfing, kayaking and paddleboarding on offer.
Celebs to spot
A varied bunch, from Hollywood A-lister Winslet to rock legend Keith Richards, crooner Michael Ball and actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, freshly flushed with fame from his star turn in the Frasier reboot.
Where to see them
Down-to-earth Winslet, who famously eschews a vast staff at her ￡4 million seafront mansion, has been spotted shopping in Waitrose in nearby Chichester. Richards, who famously bought the Grade II-listed Redlands Cottage inland from West Wittering beach in 1966 after he made a wrong turn in the area, has a reputation as a “Nimby” and has been known to put in an appearance at council meetings opposing new beachfront developments. Lyndhurst is regularly spotted at West Wittering’s dog-friendly Beach Cafe.
Go there in style
Boutique the Crab & Lobster in nearby Sidlesham has doubles from ￡155 B&B (crab-lobster.co.uk).
Sandringham, Norfolk
Why it lures the A-list
The villages around the Royal Family’s Norfolk country seat are a magnet for incognito luvvies, especially since the small village of Sandringham got a lick of paint at the Crown’s expense last year. The rolling greens of the wider Sandringham Estate are open to the public year-round and nearby Castle Acre has a Norman motte-and-bailey castle and priory ruins to poke about. Snettisham is a charming coastal village with a shingle beach where toffs and plebs alike can enjoy the sea air.
Celebs to spot
The Prince and Princess of Wales received Anmer Hall, on the grounds of the Sandringham Estate, as a wedding gift from the late Queen in 2011, boosting the region’s star power. Stellar luvvie Olivia Colman bought a historic Grade II-listed barn nearby in 2022. Colman’s friend and rising Hollywood star Jessie Buckley lives nearby in a 17th-century house, which she bought in 2021.
Where to see them
The Prince and Princess of Wales put in an appearance at Christmas at Sandringham’s St Mary Magdalene Church. Colman and Buckley are notoriously private, though gastro boozers The Black Horse Inn in Castle Rising and The Rose and Crown in Snettisham are a good bet for celeb-spotting.
Go there in style
The Dabbling Duck in Great Massingham is a pub with laid-back boutique rooms offering upper-grade grub in a library-themed dining room. It has doubles from around ￡100 B&B (thedabblingduck.co.uk).
Padstow, Cornwall
Why it lures the A-list
This charming port town on the north Cornwall coast is known for its picturesque harbor, sandy beaches, and top-notch seafood restaurants.
Celebs to spot
Comedian Dawn French and presenter Fern Britton have homes here and salty restaurateur Gordon Ramsay lives in a new-build pile, estimated to be worth ￡6 million, in nearby Rock. Rick Stein, the celebrity chef who built his seafood empire from Padstow, also has a home here and now offers Rick Stein-branded holiday packages.
Where to see them
French, who was born in Fowey, has gone on record to recommend tourists visit her favourite local spot the Lost Gardens of Heligan, a recreation of the grounds of a Victorian stately home with its colossal rhododendrons and camellias. Ramsay protégé Paul Ainsworth’s Paul Ainsworth at No 6, Padstow’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, is a honeypot for visiting A-listers. It serves modern British cuisine with a focus on local Cornish produce.
Go there in style
Located in the heart of Padstow, self-catering stay 21 New Street is well placed for fine dining and coastal walks or bike rides along the Camel Trail. It costs from ￡1,148 per week for spring visits and sleeps eight, (harbourholidays.co.uk).
Great Tew, Cotswolds
Why it lures the A-list
A Cotswolds’ stone’s throw from Chipping Norton and Blenheim Palace, Great Tew is a village of picture-postcard thatched honey-coloured cottages bordering Great Tew Estate, a sprawling private estate with rolling parkland which was bought by Rupert Murdoch and then spouse Jerry Hall in 2020. Chic private member’s getaway Soho Farmhouse is on the village outskirts.
Celebs to spot
David and Victoria Beckham bought their converted barn on the Great Tew Estate in December 2016 (although there are reports the couple are trying to sell their property and move within the Cotswolds due to noise from Soho Farmhouse); Kate Moss lives in nearby Little Faringdon.
Where to see them
George and Amal Clooney, Eddie Redmayne, and David and Samantha Cameron have all been spotted at Soho Farmhouse. Chipping Norton’s antique shops are thick with weekending slebs from spring to autumn.
Go there in style
Non-members can book a stay at Soho Farmhouse with a “Soho Friends” annual membership. The property has cabins, studio bedrooms and a Farm Cottage, with guest access to the club, restaurants and spa; friend membership ￡100 a year, doubles from around ￡300 (sohohouse.com).
Sonning, Berkshire
Why it lures the A-list
This charming English village, located on the banks of the Thames in Berkshire, is known for its historical buildings, quaint pubs and megawattage star residents George and Amal Clooney, who bought a 17th-century mansion in the village in 2016.
Celebs to spot
The Clooneys; Led Zeppelin guitar god Jimmy Page bought the Edwin Lutyens-designed Sonning estate Deanery Garden in 1998; ex PM Theresa May.
Where to see them
George Clooney is a fan of local boozer The Bull Inn and The Mill theatre at Sonning Eye and the starry couple have been spotted strolling Sonning’s country lanes.
Go there in style
The Great House at Sonning, Coppa Club is a historic Thameside pile in a former Elizabethan coaching inn with dining igloos and plush trad-meets-modern doubles and suites. Doubles cost from ￡101 B&B, (coppaclub.co.uk).
Bath, Somerset
Why it lures the A-list
World Heritage Site Bath is famed for its Roman-era baths and fine Georgian architecture. Its elegant good looks have attracted myriad A-listers over the years, although some exit (see Cage) due to the tourist hordes.
Celebs to spot
A-lister Nicholas Cage was the first to bring some Hollywood dazzle to Bath’s august Royal Crescent in 2009 (though he has since moved to the village of Baltonsborough after his home began to feature on tourist walking tours). Johnny Depp bought a 850-acre estate with its own walled garden and dairy near to Bath in 2023. Grumpy comic John Cleese bought a flat on Bath’s Royal Crescent in 2016.
Where to see them
Depp has been spotted at the Michelin-starred restaurant, The Olive Tree; The Gainsborough Bath Spa features a stunning indoor-outdoor pool with underwater music and mood lighting, Espa treatments and a luxurious hammam and is catnip for the well-heeled.
Go there in style
Luxe boutique Queensberry Hotel in Bath is above The Olive Tree and ranges across four beautiful Georgian terrace buildings in the former home of the 8th Marquess of Queensberry. Doubles cost from ￡131 for spring dates, room only (thequeensberry.co.uk).
Framlingham, Suffolk
Why it lures the A-list
Loomed over by a muscular 12th-century castle, Anglo-Saxon market town Framlingham has a charming square and a quirky attraction in the smallest house in Suffolk. Local vineyard Shawsgate Vineyard produces a crisp, elderflower-scented white.
Celebs to spot
Pop star Ed Sheeran owns a sprawling estate, nicknamed “Sheeranville”, just outside Framlingham, his home town, and is often spotted there. Pals Stormzy and Sir Elton John have visited Sheeran in his Suffolk bolthole.
Where to see them
Sheeran is often spotted in the stands at Ipswich Town FC and at Castle Inn, a cosy traditional boozer in Framlingham town.
Go there in style
Local boozer The Crown has been revamped as a hip pub with rooms. Doubles cost from ￡100 B&B (crownframlingham.co.uk).
