I visited the this beautiful seaside town - this is how I dodged the crowds of tourists

Last weekend I visited one of the UK's most popular fully prepared to face swathes of crowds in the middle of the half-term holidays. However, when I arrived, I was quite confused. There were no crowds, no bustling arcades and no human traffic.

The last time I visited the UK coast was to , and I distinctly remember being shuffled along without moving my feet because of the momentum from the other tourists. We were literally packed in like sardines, and I went to Cornwall fully prepared to experience the same. We stepped off the train at and smelled the sea air, and all we could hear were seagulls. The boardwalk was busy but not overcrowded, and we barely encountered anyone on our walk to the house.

It was sunny and a Friday. The beach had plenty of space - of course, it wasn't empty, but we never encroached on each other's space.

Outside of peak season - which I'm told is particularly chaotic - St Ives was restful and peaceful, and nothing in comparison with the packed streets of Whitby.

Of course, aren't a golden bullet. The quietest day was a non-working day on Friday, and it was also rainy on Saturday, which may have put people off.

But if you asked me if I would go again, the answer is yes. I would aim for a cloudier day, take one day off work to enjoy the quietest beach days, and I wouldn't visit in Summer.

If you can brave slightly colder weather in the shoulder seasons, I believe it is well worth the trek.

Of course, the area has a huge problem with holiday lets and second homes, which have taken houses off the markets for locals and made prices unattainable. So much so that as of 1 April,

Maybe the quieter streets are a signal that new measures are working.

In April, Bradley Start from Start & Co in Newquay, told the BBC that interest in second properties in Cornwall had "fallen off a cliff" with more inquiries now coming from owners who wanted to sell.

Tourism has long been an issue in Cornwall, and I'm not suggesting we all flock there at once, but visiting in the off-peak seasons could help spread out the demand, and lessen the need for as many Airbnbs in Summer.