Why More Brits Are Choosing UK Staycations as Summers Get Warmer

There was a time when a “British summer” was a punchline — pack a jumper, hope for the best, and treat any sunshine as a bonus. That’s changing. Recent Met Office figures show the UK is warming at roughly 0.25°C per decade, and summer 2025 came close to being the warmest on record for the UK as a whole. The chance of the UK seeing a 40°C day again in the next 12 years is now estimated at around 50-50. None of that is good news for the planet — but it does mean a UK break in June, July or August looks less like a gamble than it used to.

So while nobody’s cheering for climate change, it’s fair to ask: does a warmer UK make the case for staying closer to home this summer? Here’s what the evidence actually says.

Why a UK staycation makes more sense than it used to

Summers like 2018, 2022 and 2025 all rank among the UK’s warmest since records began in 1884 — and four of the five hottest UK summers on record have happened since 2003. That’s a real shift, not a one-off heatwave. It means long, warm evenings on the coast are becoming a more reliable part of a UK holiday, rather than a happy accident — and a cottage by the sea in Cornwall or a sea-view stay overlooking the water makes a lot more sense as a summer booking than it once did. If you’d rather come home to a warm soak after a day on the beach regardless of what the weather does, a cottage with a hot tub covers you either way.

It also cuts both ways abroad. A 2022 UK survey found most Brits already expect parts of Spain, Greece and Turkey to feel uncomfortably hot for a summer holiday within a few years, and this year’s travel insurance research shows UK holidaymakers increasingly weighing up extreme heat, not just price, when they decide where to go. Academic research has pointed the same way for years: by making northern Europe’s summers more pleasant, climate change is expected to gradually shift some demand away from the traditional Mediterranean hotspots.

It’s worth being honest, though: it’s not a clean trend in either direction. Some recent tracking data shows UK staycation intent actually dipping as heatwaves hit, with holidaymakers citing air conditioning, shade and heat-adapted infrastructure abroad as reasons to still go overseas. The truth is probably that a warmer UK strengthens the case for staying home — but it isn’t the only factor in the decision, and it’s not a reason to be complacent about how UK towns and attractions cope with extreme heat.

Sea View, East Parade
Llandudno, Conwy

Even our homes are adapting

One of the clearer signs that Brits are taking warmer summers seriously: demand for air conditioning at home has been climbing fast. During the record-breaking heatwave of summer 2022, Rightmove reported that searches for homes for sale with air conditioning more than tripled year-on-year, and searches for air-conditioned rentals rose sharply too. Even so, fewer than 5% of UK homes currently have air conditioning installed — far behind countries like France and Germany — so demand is still running ahead of supply. It’s a small but telling signal that people are no longer treating hot UK summers as a one-off; they’re planning around them, at home and, increasingly, when they choose where to holiday too.

It’s good for local economies, not just your bank balance

Staycations aren’t just a personal money-saver, though they usually are that too. Tourism contributes an estimated £147 billion to the UK economy each year and supports around 2.4 million jobs, according to VisitBritain’s most recent Economic Impact Study — and the government expects that to keep growing towards £161 billion by 2030. Every cottage booking ripples outward: local pubs, farm shops, attractions and the people who clean and maintain the properties all see the benefit in a way that spending abroad simply doesn’t return to the UK.

The sustainability case is genuinely strong

This is where staying local has the clearest win, regardless of how the weather trends play out. Domestic flights emit roughly 400g of CO₂ per kilometre per passenger, compared with around 6g for a train journey of the same distance — and short-haul flights are especially carbon-intensive because take-off and climb use disproportionately more fuel than cruising. A UK cottage break reachable by car or train, rather than by plane, is one of the more meaningful ways a family can cut its holiday carbon footprint without sacrificing the holiday itself. Choosing smaller, independent accommodation over larger chains can cut emissions further still.

The Jurassic Coast in Devon, Drive to your holiday destiantion rather than fly

The upshot

A warming UK doesn’t make climate change good news — the same warming trend brings real risks, from heatwave strain on infrastructure to drought and wildfire risk in places that have never had to plan for it. But it does mean that, purely as a holiday choice, a UK break is becoming a more genuinely pleasant option than it once was — not just the sensible fallback when flights get too expensive. Add in the local economic benefits and the much lighter carbon footprint, and it’s easy to see why so many of us are looking closer to home this year.

If you’re weighing up where to go, our guides to the Lake District and Cornwall’s coastal cottages are a good place to start. Fancy the coast this year? Take a look at our pick of sea view cottages in Cornwall or seaside holidays and beach cottages across the UK. Want to add a little luxury to your stay? Browse our hot tub cottage getaways — or browse all our UK cottages to find your own patch of good weather.

Bubbling hot tub, UK Cottage