Scarborough Spa

Nowhere is Scarborough less package-holiday-bucket-and-spade and more genteel-Queen-of-the-Resorts than at the Spa, the magnificently restored Victorian concert hall and entertainment complex that dominates the far end of the sweeping South Bay. On sunny days, light pours in to the open-air Sun Court – there are café seats here, as well as several other bar areas inside – while the promenade to either side offers majestic beach and ocean views. The Scarborough Spa Orchestra (the UK's only surviving resident summer-season orchestra, founded in 1912) plays here for three months every summer, morning and evening, inside and out, while the rest of the annual programme – largely hosted in the very grand Grand Hall – is a familiar seaside mix of big-name concerts, magic shows, children's entertainment, stand-up comedy and other events from antiques fairs to Northern Soul weekenders.