The beautiful UK seaside town ‘far from civilisation’ with ‘best fish and chips’

In Cromer’s heyday, it was a retreat for wealthy Victorian beach-goers.

Nowadays, it has managed to retain much of its original allure that drew prominent figures like Sherlock Holmes’ creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

This charm includes pictureqsue guest houses perching on cliffs, and fishing boats coming and going.

The town is therefore perfect for a mini getaway, if you are in need of some time off and relax by taking things at a more leisurely pace.

On Cromer’s seafront lies its jewel – the pier. The 151-metre-long Victorian structure boasts a sign at its entrance declaring it the ‘2024 Pier of the Year’.

It clinched the title for the third time at the National Piers Society awards.

The Mirror describes the pier as a “symbol of resilience”, with some parts of its structure dating back to the late fourteenth century – 1391.

During the Second World War, the Government blasted a hole in the pier’s centre to stop invading forces from using it as a landing strip, inadvertently using so much dynamite that debris landed in the town centre.

The repaired pier nearly found itself submerged in the North Sea eight years post-war, when a fierce gale caused significant damage.

Further storms have resulted in seven major repair works since then.

The Mirror’s travel editor Milo Boyd spent a “delightful” weekend in Cromer.

Cromer Crab is a restaurant reportedly not to be missed. This is because of its food’s “distinctive sweet flavour”, said to be caused by the area’s shallow, chalky and nutrient-rich local waters.

Another must-try is the No1 Cromer, a quaint fish and chip shop with an upscale eatery upstairs.

Milo wrote: “A charming young waiter regaled us with stories of how his grandfather is now keeper of the Cromer lighthouse as we happily tucked into the restaurant’s delicious offering.”

He added: “The crab received two thumbs up from everyone in our party and the blackboard providing provenance details of the fish (from the Norwegian vessels Gacialis and Romeon, ‘caught in the clear waters of the Barent Sea) also won nods of approval.”

As well as its stellar food, Cromer also boasts a zoo and golf club.