Jeremy Clarkson has named Aberaeron in Wales as his new favourite UK holiday destination, praising the Welsh harbour town's Harbourmaster hotel as 'the best in the world'. The former Top Gear presenter championed the 'achingly beautiful' fishing village as an ideal choice for a staycation, as overseas travel becomes increasingly expensive amid the US and Israel's conflict with Iran.
Clarkson's Welsh Discovery
Discussing his short break in a column for The Sunday Times, Clarkson offered reassurance to worried holidaymakers: 'Don't worry though because I have a solution. Last week, I went to Wales for a couple of days and I'm talking about real Wales.' He described his Welsh adventure as feeling 'delightfully foreign' and was sufficiently impressed to rank it alongside his other cherished UK locations – north Devon and Yorkshire.
Aberaeron, an old shipyard and fisherman town on the Welsh coast, is now a popular tourist destination. It features a harbour lined with elegant Regency-style buildings. Clarkson noted: 'We don't have colourful hedgerows in England and we don't have smooth, deserted roads that dip into pretty valleys before rearing onto the next moorland pass. I rarely say that anywhere in the UK is better than north Devon, but this is. It's nearly as good as Yorkshire.'
An Evening in Aberaeron
Clarkson praised an evening he enjoyed in the picturesque harbour town of Aberaeron, situated in Ceredigion with stunning vistas across Cardigan Bay. Describing the settlement, the broadcaster said: 'Every one of the terraced cottages around the harbour is a different colour. There was a trendy-looking shop selling honey ice cream and an old Citroën van where you could get Hackney-style hipster street food. It was achingly beautiful and it was full of Enid Blyton kids going fishing and eating chips out of newspaper.'
The Best Hotel in the World
Clarkson even claimed his experience at the coastal town's upmarket Harbourmaster hotel surpassed his recent visit to the Four Seasons in Miami, Florida, which admittedly was 'very good, but this is better'. The hotel also earned his seal of approval by stocking drinks from Hawkstone Brewery, in which the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? host owns a substantial stake.
The Clarkson's Farm star declared: 'This is the best hotel ... in the world. The staff were fantastic, the view was pretty, they sold Hawkstone, and for dinner, I had deep fried cockles followed by sea trout.' Following his meal, he took a stroll along the sea wall to watch the sunset, revealing that despite the considerably cooler temperatures, the scenery rivalled that of the Caribbean.
Hotel Details
Clarkson's top-rated hotel occupies a prime spot in Aberaeron, with its website promising guests 'a comfortable seaside stay with a modern maritime theme, original Melin Tregwynt fabrics throughout and lovely views of Cardigan Bay'.
