How better to round off an autumn walk by the coast than with a delicious cream tea and a cracking sea view?

By Eddi Fiegel  

Idle Rocks Hotel, St Mawes, Cornwall
Perched on the edge of the harbour wall in the fishing village of St Mawes - on the outermost tip of the Roseland Peninsula - Idle Rocks is in an enviable spot. Afternoon tea is served on the terrace, perfect for watching the action float by in the harbour. If you fancy staying for dinner, the hotel's acclaimed Water's Edge restaurant serves locally caught crab and lobster.

Traditional Cornish cream tea, £6.95. Harbourside, St Mawes, Cornwall (0844 502 7587, www.idlerocks.co.uk). Open daily.

Ocean Bay, Swanage, Dorset
If it weren't for its spectacular location on Swanage North Beach, this quayside restaurant's super-cool indigo-and-white décor would make it feel like a bar or club. Dorset cream teas are served inside or on the terrace overlooking the water, as are cocktails and an extensive menu of local produce with a modern twist. If you prefer to arrive by water, guests have use of eight moorings and a floating pontoon.

Dorset cream tea, £4.50. 2 Ulwell Road, Swanage, Dorset (01929 422222, www.oceanbayrestaurant.com). Open daily.

Walk off your tea with this coastal walk from Swanage to Corfe Castle

Wish Tower Café, Eastbourne, East Sussex
Rows of easy chairs line the edges of this rickety, conservatory-style tearoom, facing the sand-and-shingle beach on three sides. The teapots are stainless steel and the cakes are old school, too: cream buns and iced sponges aplenty. Walk off the calories on the Victorian pier nearby, with Beachy Head to one side and the South Downs to the other.

Afternoon tea, £2-£3. King Edwards Parade, Western Lawns, Eastbourne, East Sussex (01323 649572). Open daily.

Harbour Bar, Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Virtually unchanged since it opened in 1945, Harbour Bar's interior is a tribute to the American soda parlour, with its red leatherette banquettes, gleaming chrome and riot of yellow and white Formica. Run by the Alonzi family, it's famed for its knickerbocker glories.

Tea and cake, £1.70. 1-3 Sandside, Scarborough, North Yorkshire (01723 373662). Open daily. Closed Wednesdays in winter and all November.

Work up an appetite with a walk from Cloughton to Scarborough

Soar Mill Cove Hotel, Salcombe, Devon
Gaze up the steep, gorse-covered valley from the sheltered sandy bay of Soar Mill Cove, and you'll see this single-storey, Modernist hotel, in a fold of National Trust land. Many of its rooms, including the lounge where afternoon tea is served (noted for its homemade scones, tea cakes and
Dundee cake), have expansive views of the coast.

Afternoon tea, £10. Near Salcombe, South Devon (01548 561566, www.soarmillcove.co.uk). Open daily. Closed Christmas to mid-February.

The Dennis Café, Tenby, Pembrokeshire
It's not swish, but it's charming. The old-fashioned booths of this family-run café on Castle Beach are always filled with coast-lovers, looking out to sea beside cups of tea, coffee and slices of Welsh cake and apple pie. Full Welsh breakfast, burgers and veggie options are available, too.

Tea and cake, £2.50-£3. St Julian's Terrace, Tenby, Pembrokeshire (01834 842298). Open April to late October.

Nevin's Nibbles, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland
Newbiggin made the news in 2007 when Sean Henry's massive sculpture, Couple, was installed 300 metres out to sea on the breakwater. Looking onto the promenade is this pale-pink, Art-Deco café run by Colin and Jackie Nevin, who push the boundaries of scone baking with options such
as ginger and pineapple or chili, chive and cheese.

Tea and cake, £2-£3. 4 Bridge Street, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland (01670 816271). Open daily. (You can buy over 100 scone varieties to try at home from Colin and Jackie at www.sconemad.co.uk)

Romney Bay House, Romney Bay, New Romney, Kent
This hotel was originally built in the 1920s for American actress and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper by architect Clough Williams-Ellis (best known for Portmeirion). Cream teas, breakfast and main meals are served on the terrace or in the conservatory looking out to sea.

Cream tea, £4.50. Coast Road, Littlestone, New Romney, Kent (01797
364747, www.signpost.co.uk). Call ahead for opening times.

Stay longer: plan a weekend in Thanet

Skoon Art Café, Isle of Harris
Perched high on rocky coastline and looking across the sea to Skye, this tiny art gallery/café feels like it's at the edge of the world. Along with its chilled atmosphere, you will enjoy its wide selection of teas, freshly ground coffee, delicious cakes and oil paintings of the local coastline by co-owner Andrew John Craig.

Cream tea, £3.10. 4 Geocrab, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides (01859
530268, www.skoon.com). Open March-October, Tuesday-Saturday;
November-February, Friday-Saturday.

Sea Marge Hotel, Overstrand, Norfolk
With its mock-Tudor gables, oak panelling and latticed windows, this Grade II-listed house looks like the setting for a period drama. It was built in 1908 by banker Sir Edgar Speyer, founder of London Underground. When it opened as a hotel in 1935, Winston Churchill was among the first A-list guests. Traditional Norfolk cream teas are served in the Winston room, with views of the lawns and sprawling beach beyond.

Norfolk cream tea, £2.95. 16 High Street, Overstrand, Norfolk (01263 579579, www.seamargehotel.co.uk). Open daily.

Enjoy a day out at a seaside garden