St Ives and Padstow ranked among UK's best holiday hotspots

St Ives and Padstow ranked in third and ninth place in the top 10 list respectively, with St Ives only being beaten out by Ambleside in second and Betws-y-coed in first.

Factors that were analysed to create the ranking included the number of nature and wildlife tours in the nearby area, the number of bike tours, the number of hiking trails, and overall things to do.

Additionally, the average cost of local transport for a one-way ticket and the number of Google searches the location gets annually was also taken into consideration.

This came together for a score out of 10, with St Ives getting 8.1 and Padstow getting 6.97.

St Ives was praised for its list of things to do and its picturesque nature (Image: Boris Stroujko / Getty Images)

What was said about St Ives?

As St Ives made the top three in the research, Go Outdoors directly commented on its positive attributes.

They said: "St Ives completes the top three list with a total score of 8.10. Largely known for its surf beaches and its art scene.

"Voted the best family holiday destination by Coast Magazine, St Ives is a stunning location filled with top-tier restaurants and foodie hotspots – you’ll be spoilt for choice.

"What’s more, this lovely town boasts a maze of narrow cobbled streets, independent shops and fisherman cottages."

St Ives was the most searched-for location on Google, with 119,370 annual searches, as well as 118 nearby nature and wildlife tours, and 118 'things to do'.

It scored relatively lower than the other locations on the list for bike and hiking trails with four each.

Meanwhile, Padstow had 53 hiking trails to choose from, although if you fancied a biking holiday you might have to travel elsewhere as it has none nearby.

Elsewhere, it has 210 'things to do', three nature and wildlife tours and just over 10,000 annual Google searches.