What's life like in the UK's priciest seaside town?

"I was 1 of the holidaymakers who made it my home," says Sam Long, who moved to Salcombe successful 2009. Fourteen years aboriginal helium has nary regrets.

Salcombe, successful southbound Devon, has been named Britain's astir costly seaside town, with an mean location terms of much than £1.2m, according to Halifax.

The picture-postcard scenery speaks for itself - but its popularity comes with a cost. Rising location prices marque it unaffordable for galore locals, and extracurricular of tourer season, tons of the homes are empty. So what's it really similar to unrecorded there?

Anyone who has lived oregon worked successful Salcombe knows that the summertime flood of tourists - and the accompanying conflict to uncovering a parking abstraction - is present the norm. Walking down the precocious thoroughfare successful August tin beryllium similar tackling an obstacle course.

When the prima shines, families hurry astir successful hunt of crystal cream, cars compression past pedestrians connected constrictive lanes and radical dodge greedy seagulls that are anxious to drawback up immoderate pasty near concisely unattended.

The buzzing atmosphere, seaside views and (mostly) affable "grockles", oregon holidaymakers, marque it each worthwhile for galore radical - portion spotting celebs is an added perk.

"It's beauteous and perfectly the astir stunning spot I'd ever been to," says Sam, who grew up successful London. "I fell successful emotion arsenic a kid and perpetually begged my parents to determination here," helium says.

As a child, being capable to locomotion down to the section bakery for breadstuff connected your ain was a freeing treat, helium says - and a alteration from his beingness backmost successful London.

Sam, who moved to Salcombe aft university, runs Devon Boat Sales and Salcombe Sea School, and asks: "Where other would you alternatively beryllium if you enactment with boats?"

There is simply a "great section assemblage present which I deliberation radical forget", helium says. He has volunteered for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, is progressive with the rugby club, and each twelvemonth helium helps different section residents enactment the town's Christmas lights up.

"Everyone looks aft everyone and I consciousness precise harmless and blessed bringing my kids up here," helium says.

The estuary is arguably the focal constituent of the town. During the highest play the partition astatine Victoria Quay is afloat of crabbers competing to capable their buckets, vessel users battling for h2o abstraction and teenagers jumping disconnected the partition astatine precocious tide.

Walking circular the corner, to Fore Street, you travel crossed 1 of Salcombe's galore crystal pick shops.

Lucia Bly, the co-owner of Salcombe Dairy, says that moving successful the store is "relentless" arsenic "generations of holidaymakers travel backmost for an crystal pick connected the beach".

Salcombe Dairy is adjacent a park-and-ride driblet off, which is simply a life-saver for galore due to the fact that the town's fewer car parks often lucifer the Boxing Day sales.

Lucia, who owns the concern with her hubby Dan, says they emotion that radical travel connected vacation present - "but it would beryllium amended if they didn't each travel astatine once".

For a fewer years, the ice-cream store thrived successful the summertime but past mislaid wealth successful the winter.

Lucia says it is inactive "very hard" successful winter, but that the concern has adapted to support its unit employed each twelvemonth round, specified arsenic by stocking different products and selling crystal pick online for transportation astir the country.

She says she'd similar much of the gross Salcombe generates successful the summertime to beryllium utilized to assistance locals, and suggests improving the roads and a rhythm way into the town.

Further down the constrictive street, tourists measurement successful and retired of the autarkic cafes, sandwiched betwixt precocious thoroughfare names specified arsenic Joules and Fat Face.

Then passing Whitestrand car park, which sees ferries prime up visitors to instrumentality them to section beaches, a cardinal diagnostic of Salcombe emerges - 1 of its galore hills.

The municipality consists of steep winding roads climbing up the cliffside, connecting the much tourist-heavy country of Salcombe adjacent the h2o with the much lived-in conception astatine the apical of the hill.

As good arsenic the superior schoolhouse and the rugby nine astatine the apical of the hill, Salcombe besides has 2 churches and 1 supermarket.

They're sustained by a section colonisation of astir 2,000, compared to the astir 25,000 radical who travel successful the summer, says property cause Theo Spink, a nonmigratory for the past 10 years.

Tourists are fundamentally the "lifeblood" of the town, she says - and Salcombe has a akin second-homeowner occupation to galore seaside towns.

"I deliberation 75% of the houses are not lived in."

This week, section councillor Julian Brazil, told the Guardian that immoderate cardinal workers specified arsenic nurses, teachers, attraction workers and cleaners could nary longer spend to unrecorded successful the area,

"In the winter, successful February, you'll look crossed astatine Salcombe, and determination aren't immoderate lights on," helium said.

Theo says it tin beryllium a "struggle" to find properties for section radical due to the fact that of "the influx of holidaymakers pushing prices up".

It's a "big problem", she says, and radical person to compromise to get what they privation oregon determination to comparatively cheaper towns nearby, specified arsenic Marlborough.

Sam acknowledges that successful the wintertime you tin "walk from 1 extremity of the precocious thoroughfare to the different and not spot anyone".

"But if you privation to unrecorded present it's portion of the parcel," helium says.

Current listings connected Luscombe Maye's website amusement properties ranging from £2.6m for a two-bed penthouse to £350,000 for a one-bedroom flat.

And a section rental spot website suggests renting a location for 4 radical for a week tin outgo much than £1,200.

But contempt precocious prices, and celebrated faces being spotted passim the municipality implicit the years, it inactive feels similar location to galore people.

Theo says it's inactive a "bucket-and-spade benignant place" with nary Michelin prima edifice and not galore hotels.

The municipality is inactive "about being successful a small vessel successful the rainfall successful your wellies", she says.