Welcome to the 16th edition of the Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches guide — still the only gazetteer of the British and Northern Irish coasts in which every stretch of sand, shingle and rock has been personally inspected this year.
The 2024 tour of inspection took place in two parts: short trips on the south and east English coasts, totalling 12 days in early spring, and a 36-day tour from May 18, travelling anticlockwise from Norfolk to Dorset via northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the southwest. My Jack Russell, Dave T Dog, and I have travelled 5,583 miles and visited a total of 543 beaches, ignoring any beach that took more than an hour to get to and from on foot. Of those we saw, 261 made it onto a longlist for the final 50. As always, this guide covers only mainland beaches.
Notwithstanding the most miserable weather I’ve experienced in 16 years of inspecting the coast, I’m still in awe of the beauty of the UK. From Kynance to Caithness and Brancaster to Benone, the beaches of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are the most magnificent on earth.
Our 11-point checklist covers everything from cafés to car parking, loos to dog-friendliness. Most importantly our guide only features beaches where the bathing water quality is rated Excellent.
The 50 beaches described in this guide, though, offer excellence in far more than water quality. They are the best we have: blessed with outstanding natural beauty, superb infrastructure and loved by those who live, work and play there.
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• Read more about how we judge The Times and Sunday Times Best UK Beaches guide
Southwest England
Overall winner and regional winner: The Towans, Hayle, Cornwall
The Times and Sunday Times beach of the year is the wild three-miler known as the Towans in Hayle. The 1,700-acre expanse is an unspoilt, undeveloped and largely unknown stretch of sand, rock, cliff and dune across the bay from the overcrowded St Ives. There are fantastic sunsets, water sports equipment rental and two excellent cafés (Cove Café and the Jam Pot Café). As for the important stuff: the Towans’ water quality is excellent, it’s dog-friendly and it’s clean. That’s why, after visiting 543 beaches this spring, I’ve declared it the UK’s best.
Loos, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
• Read more about why we picked the Towans as our beach of the year here
Woolacombe, Devon
This three-mile swathe of north Devon sand has earned its place in the pantheon of British beaches by consistently achieving something close to seaside perfection. Encircled by National Trust land that prevents the village’s expansion, yet with room for all, Wooly has beach huts for hire (£140 for four days; parkinestates.co.uk), surf schools, food trucks, a river running through it and Bucky’s, the friendliest surf shop in the southwest. Plus it has two of the best beach cafés in the country: the Beachcomber for breakfast and the Barricane Beach Café for Sri Lankan curry dinners.
Loos, dogs on a lead allowed in certain zones May-Oct, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Summerleaze, Bude, Cornwall
When the Environment Agency revealed the predicted effects of rising sea levels on the town, Bude chose not to wait for government help but to take charge of its own future. The town’s climate jury is elected to campaign for long-term solutions to climate change but, rather than trying to fight the Atlantic, Bude’s plan is to go with the ebb and flow of coastal erosion. So take a good look around as you wander the joyful sands of Summerleaze beach, clasped between the mouth of the River Neet and the fab tidal swimming pool. It’ll look quite different in years to come.
Loos, dog-friendly, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
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Porthcurno, Cornwall
The essence of Cornwall is enclosed within a single square mile south of Land’s End. Here you’ll find the Minack Theatre — summer shows include As You Like It and Jamaica Inn (from £10; minack.com); dense coastal rainforest; one of England’s loveliest cliff-top campsites (from £15pp; treenfarmcampsite.com); cream teas at the Porthcurno Beach Café and, a couple of minutes’ walk away, a cove of golden sand sliding into a sea so blue it will make you weak at the knees. Get here early to avoid the jams.
Loos, lifeguards. Water quality: excellent
Kynance Cove, Cornwall
I stop at Kynance every year to pay homage to one of the world’s most breathtaking coastal views. The plan is always the same: nip to the Yellow Carn viewpoint, take a picture, then get back to work. The outcome is always the same too: hours wasted on the white sands below, watching the turquoise turn to white as the waves smash against the serpentine stacks protecting the cove. Come midweek, and early, and you can have Kynance to yourself. If you prefer company, Sea Swim Cornwall has a three-day guided swim trip along the Lizard coast running September 3 to 5 (£180; seaswimcornwall.co.uk).
Loos. Water quality: not rated
Mothecombe, Devon
The River Erme rises on Dartmoor and runs down through Ivybridge, where it was painted by Turner, and on to the sea, 15 miles from its source. It’s a short but pretty journey, saving the best for last as it flows past Mothecombe beach. There’s something of the Famous Five about this playground of sand, rock, river and sea, and if you need somewhere stylish to picnic, rent the Victorian Beach House at the foot of the slipway for £125 per day (flete.co.uk).
Loos. Water quality: not rated
Soar Mill Cove, Devon
The honeypot that is Salcombe seems stickier every year, but with a bit of effort you can find peace in this busy neighbourhood. The nearest car park to Soar Mill Cove is a mile from the beach. Getting to the sands means walking along quiet lanes and through a cow field, following a stream downhill until you come to a sandy pulpit offering views across the beach to clear waters sheltered by the black crags of the Priest and Clerk rocks.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
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Mattiscombe Sands, Devon
Walk for half a mile west from the car park at Start Point and you’ll find an exquisite beach of silver shingle and low-tide golden sand, scattered with rock pools and boulders the size of shipwrecks. Mattiscombe’s unofficial name is More Rope Bay — that’s thanks to a local legend that recounts a time when villagers rushed to the aid of a ship smashed on those rocks and found their lines were too short to reach the survivors. “More rope,” cried the sailors as the sea took them away.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Budleigh Salterton, Devon
Leave the car in the Lime Kiln car park and follow the prom east towards the mouth of the Otter River to discover the clear water flowing fast from the Blackdown Hills, looping through an estuary of grassy islands and past the teetering, red pinnacle of Otterton Ledge. For lunch, walk west to the Longboat Café, which serves crabs and lobsters delivered by its own boat, the Calypso, and specialises in a scallop and bacon roll.
Loos, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Branscombe, Devon
Just west of Beer — where Chapples café serves the best alfresco beach breakfast in the country — you’ll find the shingle beach at Branscombe, cut in two by a stream. The swimming is good here, but neoprene slippers will make your entry and exit more comfortable. Turn left on the beach and you can walk a mile up to Beer Head. Turn right and it’s a five-mile hike along a sunlit emptiness of pebble and flat water via the Littlecombe Shoot to Sidmouth.
Loos, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: not rated
Wales
Regional winner: Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire
Freshwater West is a west-facing wilderness of dunes, sand and rocks that draws surfers from across the world to ride its winter waves. On the flatter summer days, though, Freshwater West is a terrific place to learn (lessons £40; outerreefsurfschool.com). There are two small car parks off the B4319 but the southernmost is where you’ll find the toilets, the surf-school van and the easiest access to the sands. Boardriders and sandcastle builders should turn right. Adventurers should turn left to explore the Flimston Bay Fault, characterised by deep rock pools and tall, grass-topped outcrops that become islands at high tide. Whatever your inclination, bring everything you need because there’s neither a café nor a shop for miles.
Loos, dog-friendly, lifeguards. Water quality: excellent
Llanddwyn, Anglesey
Llanddwyn’s magic emerges after a walk through the Newborough Forest on Anglesey’s south coast. On the left, the tidal island with its lighthouse and the ruined church of St Dwynwen: Wales’s female alternative to St Valentine. There’s a complicated back story involving a frozen lover and a fish that can tell your romantic fortune. To the right, three and a half miles of shell-littered sands, clear waters and sublime swimming. Across the bay is the fairytale backdrop of the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia).
Dog-friendly (dogs not allowed on western section May-Sept), accessible. Water quality: excellent
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Porth Iago, Gwynedd
The most beautiful swimming beach in North Wales is this hard-to-find cove on the sunset side of the Llyn Peninsula: a rectangle of sand bordered by straight edges of schist. Between them, a swimming pool shaped expanse of sheltered blue water, clear to the bottom and perfect for snorkelling. There’s a campsite on the clifftop, and if you walk out to the tip of the headland you can pitch your tent in a spot all but surrounded by the Irish Sea (£20pp, £5 for car, £6 per night for dogs; fb.com/chrisporthiago). Book via email (porthiagocampsite@gmail.com) although day visitors can pay at the pay and display machine.
Loos, dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Penbryn, Ceredigion
A lot of Penbryn’s fun is in getting there: a 20-minute trek across a stream and through broadleaf jungle down to a mile of sands with rock pools, caves, airspace for kite-flying and that stream bisecting the sands. The swimming is good, limited parking keeps the crowds away and the National Trust staff allow those of reduced mobility or with small children to be dropped at the sands by car.
Loos, dog-friendly (on the right of the river), accessible. Water quality: excellent
Mwnt, Ceredigion
If you’re lucky you may spot the sand art of Rachel Shiamh on the beach at Mwnt. Created with just a stick, some string, a rake and pure genius, her intricate, often mystical designs exist only until the tide washes them away. What’s left is no less mesmerising: a sheltered cove, crossed on its southern side by a cascading stream, served by a fab little café, and a bay visited, on occasion, by dolphins.
Loos. Water quality: excellent
Manorbier, Pembrokeshire
Manorbier seems the fairest of all the beaches in Wales: a sandy cove, bound by rock and backed by dunes, cliffs and woodland. A stream runs across the foreground, while the turrets of the Norman castle dominate the backdrop (£6.50; manorbiercastle.co.uk). There’s enough surf here for the kids, dams to rebuild and maintain, and shelter from the breeze at the south end of the sands. The biggest attractions, though, are the rock formations, where deep parallel ravines offer terrific rockpooling.
Loos, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Pendine Sands, Carmarthenshire
Pendine Sands offers seven miles of flatness from Pendine village up to Dragon Point at the mouth of the Taf. It’s famous for multiple land speed record attempts — the new Museum of Land Speed, which opened last year, tells the story (£7; cofgar.wales). Most visitors stay close to the slipway, where there’s good ice cream from Cambrian Ice Cream Parlour and deckchairs for hire from £4 per day. The more adventurous can find seclusion at the base of the cliffs in the lee of Dolwen Point at the right-hand end of the beach.
Loos, dog-friendly, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
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Mewslade, Gower
A mile east of Rhossili on the B4247 you come to the village of Pitton, where an easily missed acute right turn leads to Mewslade’s car park. From here, walk left on to the lane and immediately right on to the path signposted Mewslade Bay. Follow the trail for 550m to a rocky, V-shaped cove with caves, rock pools, empty sands and a distant view of the Worm’s Head promontory. This is arguably the most beautiful beach on the Gower Peninsula, but time your visit for a falling tide using the Tides Near Me app.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Oxwich, Gower
Where do I begin with Oxwich? Is it the Michelin-starred Beach House on the sands, where the £74 midweek lunch menu includes scallop and wakame mousse, clams, and charred gem lettuce in a clam and cider sauce (£74, beachhouseoxwich.co.uk)? The wood-fired barrel sauna? The two miles of sand? The dunes? The sheltered waters at the west end, the enchanting glades of Nicholaston Woods or the unexpectedly good chippy at the Dunes Café and Gift Shop? If it had a decent pub, Oxwich would be perfect.
Loos, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Monknash, Vale of Glamorgan
Monknash was the recommendation of a farmer drinking in the nearby Plough and Harrow pub. I asked what the beach looked like. “Go and see for yourself,” he said, so I walked along a woodland path above a stream and a ruined watermill, and crossed a log bridge on to a beach paved in rock. Then I saw the cliffs, rising in hundreds of thin layers of Liassic limestone, and felt as though I was somewhere between prehistory and another planet. Monknash is as weird and spectacular as the Giant’s Causeway, but, like the man said, you need to see for yourself.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
North England
Regional winner: Beadnell Bay, Northumberland
Beadnell’s beach offers shelter on an otherwise exposed coast. Backed by low dunes and protected by a hook of headland, the waters can be as flat as the Med here when neighbouring beaches are being thumped by the North Sea. Beadnell is also becoming quite the gastronomic hotspot, with upmarket dining and cocktails at the Beadnell Towers Hotel (mains from £20; beadnelltowers.co.uk), locally caught fish at the Landing (mains from £22; northcoastcollective.co.uk), Geoff’s Fish and Chips van near the village shop, and authentic Italian pizza from the BAE food truck in the beach car park. Stay at the Beadnell Bay Camping and Caravanning Club Site (pitches from £35; campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk).
Loos, café, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Cayton Bay, North Yorkshire
Scarborough is just a couple of miles north but the crowds are absent from this rural beach where Philip Larkin holidayed as a kid. These days Cayton Bay ― aka K10 Bay ― is home to the Yorkshire surf scene (two-hour lesson £80pp; scarboroughsurfschool.co.uk). There’s a pop-up sauna on the old bunker at the north end (from £13; whitbywellbeing.com), and if you climb the path from there you’ll reach the Salty Dog café, which is very proud of its £6 smash burgers.
Loos, café, dog-friendly, lifeguard. Water quality: excellent
Boggle Hole, North Yorkshire
Boggle Hole lies half an hour on foot, or 12 minutes by car, south of busy Robin Hood’s Bay. A short descent from the tiny car park brings you to the wooded mouth of the Mill Beck, running wide and shallow across a beach paved with Yorkshire mudstone. They used to believe hobgoblins live in the caves here, but you’ve more chance of spotting an ammonite. Time your visit for the falling tide, and try the cake in the YHA tearoom.
Loos, café, dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Whitby, North Yorkshire
A seaside town that has it all: fab fish and chips, a fascinating working harbour, a problem with vampires and, in West Cliff, a world-class beach. The old cliff lift has been out of order since 2022 and there’s little chance of any change this summer, but the town council will be operating a bus service to ferry passengers between the clifftop lawns and the sands, where beach huts are available for £22 a day (northyorks.gov.uk) and surf lessons cost from £35 (whitbysurf.co.uk).
Loos, café, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Redcar, North Yorkshire
Redcar is not only a town with history, soul and public art — look out for the colony of penguins waddling down the prom — but also an impressive stretch of immaculate sands running eight miles from Teesmouth, past the ruins of the steelworks and on via Marske to Saltburn. Furthermore, there’s nowhere else on earth to try the Redcar Lemon Top: a tub of vanilla with a scoop of lemon sorbet. Get it from Pacitto (£3; 15 The Esplanade).
Loos, café, dog-friendly, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Rose Sands, Northumberland
Two and a half miles north of Warkworth on the A1068 there’s a left turn to High Burston. Park at the foot of the lane and continue for 100 yards along the A1068 to the big oak tree. Take the footpath opposite and follow it east for half a mile until you reach Buston Links dunes. Rose Sands lies on the other side: a mile and a half of gloriously wild Northumberland that you’re all but guaranteed to be sharing only with the oystercatchers and the odd curious seal. Bring everything you need because there are no facilities.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Bamburgh, Northumberland
In the past I’ve dismissed Bamburgh as a monster dominating the Northumberland coast in much the same way that the monstrous castle overshadows its sands. This year, having walked the entire length again, from St Aidan’s Dunes in Seahouses up to the Black Rocks Point lighthouse, I’ve changed my mind. Bamburgh is magnificent. If the Post Office commissioned stamps celebrating the nation’s finest beaches, Bamburgh would be first class. Anyone who has ever said otherwise is a fool.
Dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Northern Ireland
Regional winner: Ballycastle, Co Antrim
Ballycastle feels like a made-up resort. There’s a river running across a beach of flat sands; the best chippy on the coast (Morton’s on the harbour); kayaking; guided wild swimming; boat trips to Rathlin Island just offshore; and a new high-speed passenger ferry to Islay and Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland, which is visible from the beach. Famous for its ice cream and a confection called Yellowman (imagine a Crunchie with the chocolate licked off), Ballycastle rocks by night, with live music in the bars along the seafront and up the hill on North Street. The Marine Hotel is the place to stay (B&B doubles from £140; marinehotelballycastle.com).
Loos, café, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
White Park Bay, Co Antrim
When you first lay eyes on White Park Bay, you’ll think of Australia, South Africa or somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway. Not Antrim. And yet here it is: a mile and a half of sand that appears white in bright sunlight and where beachcombers seek the fossilised oysters known as devil’s toenails. The 45-minute walk along the beach and over the rabbit-grazed coastal lawns for a cup of tea on Ballintoy Harbour is one of the world’s great coastal strolls. But beware the new dog-control order in place this year: dogs on leads only.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Benone, Co Londonderry
One of the joys of the Londonderry beach scene is that you can park on the sand, escaping ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) parking and the tedious hike back to the car to fetch whatever you left behind. Plus, if it rains, as it sometimes does in Northern Ireland, your shelter is parked beside you. You can park on the beach at Portstewart Strand and Downhill but the local favourite ― and just as popular for storm-watching as sunbathing, and dog-free in the blue-flag zone ― is the seven-mile epic of Benone Strand.
Loos, café, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Murlough, Co Down
There’s a drive-in church at Murlough but that’s not the only reason to visit this divine stretch of the Down shore. Park for free on the edge of the Newcastle to Dundrum Road and follow the trail through the dunes to a driftwood-strewn beach with the moody, 2,790ft-high summit of Slieve Donard as its backdrop. Follow the beach towards the mountain and you’ll pick up the boardwalk through the dunes to the National Trust car park, where you’ll find loos and a truck selling good coffee and wickedly sweet cookies.
Loos, dog-friendly, lifeguards. Water quality: excellent
Scotland
Regional winner: Gullane Bents, East Lothian
In fine weather, this mile-and-a-half curve of flat, golden, west-facing sand could be in the Aegean, or hidden away on the Datca peninsula in Turkey: a place to fall asleep after a decent lunch to the whisper of the waves. Cross the Hummell Rocks at the west end, and you emerge on the vast sands of Aberlady Bay, from where you might see the wrecks of two submarines at low tide. For that lunch, head down the A198 to Longniddry Bents and order the spicy haddock taco and chips from the Alandas food truck in the car park (£13; alandas.co.uk). The view of the Edinburgh skyline and the Fife coast is fabulous.
Loos, café, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Balmedie, Aberdeenshire
The village of Balmedie lies at the central point of a dune-backed golden beach that stretches more than 13 miles from the Ythan Estuary at Newburgh (where the seals live) to the mouth of the Don in the Granite City. Multiple burns cross the sands, providing superb damming challenges, and the ocean is generally kind to swimmers and paddlers. Take a picnic or buy tea and a Tunnock’s Teacake from the Sand Bothy kiosk (£2.20; thesandbothy.co.uk).
Loos, café, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Findhorn, Moray
Thanks to the Grampian rain shadow, Findhorn’s climate is generally drier than other Scottish beaches, and on a warm day it seems more Iberian than Caledonian. The estuary beach has flatter, warmer water that’s popular with paddleboarders; while the wilder firth beach offers beautiful sunsets. Take a dolphin-spotting Rib tour from the marina (£45pp; north58.co.uk) and eat at the Crown and Anchor (mains from £12.50; crownandanchorinn.co.uk).
Loos, café, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Achmelvich, Highland
Pray before turning off the A837 to Achmelvich. The beach has become a must-see on the North Coast 500 route and the last thing you want to meet on this narrow, three-mile road is a nervous column of camper vans coming in the other direction. Then pray for sunshine to reveal Achmelvich’s white sands, turquoise waters, red-throated divers and, at about 10.15pm in July, the best sunsets in Scotland. No need to pray for loos or parking spaces, though: the council has spent £1.2m expanding the car park and installing new toilets.
Loos, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Mellon Udrigle, Highland
Mellon Udrigle seems like the set of some sword-and-sorcery blockbuster, especially at sunrise, when the Beinn Ghobhlach mountain rises from the haar sea fog like a dragon’s back. The curve of silver sand is just 20 minutes’ drive north of Poolewe, but feels thrillingly remote. There’s a handful of rental cottages scattered around the bay ― Ellen Paterson has an accessible beach house for rent here that sleeps eight (seven nights’ self-catering for eight from £2,225; mellonudrigle.com) ― but no facilities.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Sanna, Highland
The westernmost beach on the British mainland lies at the end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Coming from Fort William, take the Corran ferry across the narrows of Loch Linnhe, buy a picnic at the Salen Jetty Shop, then follow the B8007 for another hour, past Kilchoan, through a volcanic landscape reminiscent of Iceland than Scotland to Sanna. The stillness, white sands, black rocks and the chance of spotting a dolphin make the journey worthwhile.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
East England
Regional winner: Sheringham, Norfolk
Arriving in Sheringham is like driving into the 1930s. There’s a single platform railway station, a high street garlanded in bunting and a fisherman’s quarter reminiscent of St Ives. Old-fashioned B&Bs line the backstreets and fishing boats rest on the slipway in front of a museum dedicated to the town’s last private lifeboat, built in 1894 with local oak timber. A fortress-like concrete prom protects the town from the North Sea ― below it, groyne-sheltered blocks of golden sand with flat waters safe for swimming.
Loos, café, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Walberswick, Suffolk
If you think the best part of Southwold is the scruffy harbour behind Denes Beach, with its clapboard sheds, shipwrights and competing chippies, beware: East Suffolk Council has a vision to “leverage redevelopment to increase visitor footfall” in a space where “artisan shops, local food markets, and maritime services will coexist”. You have been warned. Meanwhile, across the River Blyth, Walberswick remains the better alternative, with an unspoilt sand and shingle beach, backed by low dunes and the grassy banks of the Dunwich River.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Holkham, Norfolk
There’s room for 1,000 cars to park at Holkham, but you’ll never fight for a spot on a beach comprising 20 million sq ft of flat sand, protected by a narrow band of dunes and bordered by a forest of Scots, Corsican and maritime pines. All that space is perfect for kite-flying or beach cricket, and there’s a lovely four-mile walk along the shoreline to Wells-next-the-Sea and back through the woods to Holkham.
Loos, café, dog-friendly, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Brancaster Beach, Norfolk
Jams build mid-morning on the single-track road to Brancaster, but if you’re here early you’ll find the quietude of this golden beach has a yoga-like effect on your mind. There’s a creek half a mile to the west where seals come to rest, and a kiosk by the car park that probably stocks what you’ve forgotten. High tide sometimes floods the road, so check before coming (rwngc.org/tide-times).
Loos, café, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: not rated
Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk
You want remoteness? Park on the riverside quay at Burnham Overy Staithe and follow the levee for a mile or so beside a marsh that teems with more bird life than an episode of Springwatch. Then you cross a mountain range of dunes to reach an emptiness of sand at the mouth of the River Burn. Not wild enough? Swim the river to Scolt Head ― the UK’s only desert island ― but stay on the beach so as not to disturb the birds nesting in the dunes.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Sutton on Sea, Lincolnshire
As the pink sun emerged from the sea mist, I sat beside the pagoda-like beach huts of Sutton on Sea, watching the waves nibble the sands like a shoal of hungry fish. One day the North Sea will consume this coast, but in the meantime Sutton is a big-sky paradise cherished and celebrated by a proactive local arts scene. It can feel like New England but, as it happens, it’s East Lindsey in Lincolnshire.
Loos, café, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
South England
Regional winner: Southbourne, Dorset
Bournemouth’s beach is the finest on the south coast: 9.5 miles of soft sands that run from Hengistbury Head in the east to Sandbanks in the west. I spent two days looking for Bournemouth’s soul and eventually found it four miles east at Southbourne, where the restaurateur Rich Slater has set up SoBo Beach: a restaurant, bar and performance space in a seaside shanty of shipping containers that treats the beach as a year-round community asset rather than a high-season moneymaker.
“As well as having a positive effect on local businesses, SoBo has become a community hub, with beach yoga classes, arts and craft groups, live music and holiday workshops for kids,” he says. “We’ve raised money for the local food bank, homeless charities, pet food banks with our Doggy Disco, and the Surf Life Saving Club.”
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All of the above takes place on an immaculate urban beach that looks more SoCal than SoBo. Sadly, though, its future is in the balance: some residents have lodged noise complaints, and the project is bogged down in what Slater calls “a quagmire of red tape designed, it seems, to deter businesses investing in the community”. Having just toured the British and Northern Irish coasts for the 16th consecutive year, and seen the run-down resorts, boarded-up cafés and atrophied local services, I’d argue that seaside economies need more people like Rich Slater.
Loos, dog-friendly, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Hive beach, Dorset
The sun was shining for the first time in weeks when I arrived at this gap in the cliffs at Burton Bradstock. I was hungry and the Hive Beach Café wasn’t busy. I bought a fresh crab sandwich (£13) and spicy chilli and lime squid, served with aioli and chips (£18, hivebeachcafe.co.uk). Then I withdrew to one of the grassy knolls above the shingle and dozed under the dog’s accusing glare. If you find yourself in the neighbourhood around lunchtime this summer, I suggest you follow my lead. Bookings are usually essential.
Loos, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Man O’War, Dorset
The promontory of Portland stone protruding from the Dorset coast at Lulworth has Durdle Door on one side and Man O’War beach on the other. The Whovians and Bollywood fans rush to the former, but those who take the steps to the latter are in for a much more satisfying experience. It’s a steep climb down but once on the shingle you’ll find delightful swimming and snorkelling in the clear, sheltered, Med-blue waters of this curvy suntrap.
Dog-friendly. Water quality: not rated
Middle, Dorset
Middle beach at Studland is the grown-up alternative to family-friendly Knoll, but because it’s also run by the National Trust you can trust the facilities, from the café and the loos to the beach hut bookshop. Unlike Knoll there’s a bit of a descent to the sands, but the path is suitable for wheelchairs. Beach huts are available for £50 a day in summer (email studlandbay@nationaltrust.org.uk) and you’re close to the well-loved Pig on the Beach hotel.
Loos, dog-friendly, accessible. Water quality: excellent
Birling Gap, East Sussex
Of the south coast’s 28 designated bathing sites between Selsey Bill in West Sussex and Camber in the east, just 11 — or 39 per cent — are rated excellent. For comparison’s sake, of the 28 beaches between Fuengirola and Malaga on Spain’s Costa del Sol, 100 per cent are rated excellent. In the meantime, Birling Gap is my pick of the clean beaches here: come on the ebb and descend the steps to a flinty foreshore and chalk reef with dazzling views of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head.
Loos, dog-friendly. Water quality: excellent
Sandgate, Kent
There’s a cheerful nonchalance about Sandgate: the misleadingly named village just west of Folkestone. It has a lovely shingle beach running parallel to the high street but, apart from a new deck chair rental outlet, there’s been little effort to monetise it. There’s a castle too, which no one pays much attention to, and while Cap Gris-Nez in France is visible across the shipping lanes, it’s rare to see anyone looking. It’s like visiting an old couple so comfortable in each other’s company that they don’t need to talk any more.
Loos. Water quality: excellent
Westbrook Bay, Kent
“The skies over Thanet are the loveliest in all Europe,” the artist JW Turner once remarked. Shame the same can’t be said for the bathing water quality: of the 13 designated bathing waters in the local authority district, only six are rated excellent and four have deteriorated since 2022. Westbrook, though, in Margate, is one of the good ones: vast at low tide, cove-like at high water and backed by a shanty of beach huts. The 18-hole adventure golf course above the eastern end — where four-time world crazy golf champion Marc Chapman plays — is seriously challenging (£6.50pp; margateminigolf.uk) and the sunsets are, well, Turneresque.
Loos, dog-friendly, lifeguards, accessible. Water quality: excellent
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Illustrations by Megan Beckwith; animation by Darren Burchett
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