Back in 2014, the South Devon coastal village of Bantham went up for sale. Yes. For a mere £11.5million, you, too, could own an actual village. A beach! 20 thatched cottages! A village shop! And 728 acres of land! To be honest, if I had a few million sat in my bank account, I would have snapped it up. But I don’t, so it was up to someone else to buy it, enabling the rest of us to settle for the most perfect off-grid British holiday here instead.

Driving down the single-track road into the village, 4G dissolving to not a single bar of reception (there really is no reception here. None), you’ll catch your first sight of the sea. The beach is primarily what draws people to Bantham: a huge expanse of sand and rock pools nestled behind stretches of rolling dunes; Britain at its most unbroken. Precariously balanced houses peer down from the surrounding cliffs, toward Burgh Island, whose iconic art deco hotel makes you feel like you’re in an episode of Poirot (Agatha Christie did a lot of her writing here) and the waves of the Atlantic make it a surfer’s paradise. Bantham Surfing Academy sets up shop during the tourist season to rent wetsuits, boards (of the surf and paddle variety) or you can book in for a lesson if the beach’s slightly fearsome rip tide feels a bit too intimidating to ride solo.

UK staycations: relax off-grid in Bantham, the Devon village with no phone reception