7 unmissable UK beaches to visit this summer
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Don't believe anyone who says the United Kingdom is a poor comparison to the likes of Australia, or South Africa when it comes to beaches. What the country lacks in palm trees or exotic wildlife, it makes up for in the sheer variety of its coastline. Somewhere in its four nations, your perfect beach awaits: places with birdlife or wild beauty and destinations where fish and chips with your feet in the sand is an essential part of the beach-going experience. You may need a windbreak but what could be more British than shrugging off a bit of weather? 1. Porthcurno, Cornwall
All of Cornwall's magic is concentrated in these couple of acres. The sand is a deep wedge, which expands at low tide, the sea is of a blue that would make a peacock blush and pillar-like granite cliffs ripple along the coast like fortifications. There's culture, too, at the open-air Minack Theatre, where the backcloth is the horizon of the Atlantic. The price of such beauty is crowds in the summer months — traffic jams on the approach lane are legendary. Arrive early- or mid-afternoon or try the quieter sister-beach, Pedn Vounder. It's accessible on foot around a headland at low tide. Porthcurno beach is located at the very tip of Cornwall, in southern England. Photograph by Getty Images, John Harper 2. Weymouth, Dorset
For 12 years, George III holidayed at Weymouth, transforming a fishing village into a resort for flaneurs — then, in the late-1800s, for the public arriving on the London train. Come for a classic English seaside experience — deckchairs on the promenade, donkey rides on the pampered beasts of West Hill Donkeys, pedalos, Punch and Judy shows twice a day and sand perfect for castles. Factor in toddler-friendly shallows and you have a favourite with young families. And for fish and chips? There are over a dozen options in town but there's a reason why family-owned Marlboro has been around since 1974.
(Welcome to Weymouth, the British seaside resort with a twist.) 3. Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan
The Highlands are an idea of isolated beauty as much as a real destination. Enter Sanna Bay, the most westerly point in Britain. To get there, you take a pretty drive snaking along the shores of Loch Sunart. Beyond Kilchoan village, you're on a single-track lane — over moors and past white smallholdings, sheep and Highland cattle — to reach a remote carpark at the end of the road. Even so, you won't be prepared for the impact of walking through dunes to these icing-sugar sand arcs before turquoise shallows. Smaller beaches notch beyond headlands and sunsets are otherworldly. Better still, there's usually a breeze, which means none of Scotland's infamous midges. The isolated beauty of the Scottish highlands is what makes the beach at Sanna bay so appealing. Photograph by Getty Images, Simon Hodgkiss 4. Bamburgh, Northumberland
There's a debate to be had about the appeal of cosy coves versus epic beaches. If you lean towards the latter, this is your spot. Bamburgh beach is vast: four magnificent miles from Seahouses harbour to a monster castle at Bamburgh, all backed by silver-green dunes and dotted with rockpools to poke at with a shrimp net. Walk the lot and you can stop for king prawn chilli burgers at Creel & Reel food truck at the carpark in Waterford. You will also deserve a pint of Bamburgh Blonde at the Bamburgh Castle Inn back at Seahouses. 5. White Park Bay, Antrim
A public campaign raised £15,000 to safeguard this beauty for the National Trust. Now, otters gambol at dusk (a sure sign of eco-health), 17 species of butterflies and countless rabbits flit in the grasslands behind. Not forgetting the most-photographed cows in Northern Ireland, known for grazing on the beach, swaying along sands whenever a local farmer moves his herd. The squeaky 'singing sands' (the sand is known to produce a humming or buzzing sound) hold fossils — bullet-like squid and the shells of extinct mollusks, commonly known as devil's toenails. The absence of people will put you in mind of Australia rather than Antrim. Just be wary of swimming: the current can be vicious. 6. Holkham, Norfolk
On summer weekends, when up to 1,000 cars fill the parking area, it can seem like half of Norfolk has arrived. Through a fuzz of pine trees and a small sea of dunes, you will wonder where they all went. Holkham is big — two-miles long and 1,640-foot wide at low tide. Co-ordinate a visit for that time because it's the scale that wows at Holkham. This is a beach for cricket and kite-flying, to throw balls for madly excited dogs or to lie behind a windbreak and watch vast cloudscapes roll past like galleons under full sail. The beach at Holkham is one of the longest stretches of sand in the country. Photograph by Getty Images, Jackie Bale
(How to spend a weekend in North Norfolk, UK.) 7. Whitesands Bay, Pembrokeshire
Wales has bigger beaches like the Gower's Rhossili and pretty coves like Mwnt or Porth Iago. This stretch of coastline near St Davids wins because it has all you need from a beach. The pale sand gets emptier the further you go from the carpark. There's surfboard rental to ride friendly summer waves, plus seasonal lifeguards. Footpaths track to St Davids Head, the Land's End of Wales, marked by a neolithic tomb or to the rocky ridge of Carn Llidi hill, which rises above the beach. Save an ascent till dusk to see islands scattered in a sheet of golden sea. To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
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The price of such beauty is crowds in the summer months — traffic jams on the approach lane are legendary. Arrive early- or mid-afternoon or try the quieter sister-beach, Pedn Vounder. It's accessible on foot around a headland at low tide. Porthcurno beach is located at the very tip of Cornwall, in southern England. Photograph by Getty Images, John Harper 2. Weymouth, Dorset For 12 years, George III holidayed at Weymouth, transforming a fishing village into a resort for flaneurs — then, in the late-1800s, for the public arriving on the London train. Come for a classic English seaside experience — deckchairs on the promenade, donkey rides on the pampered beasts of West Hill Donkeys, pedalos, Punch and Judy shows twice a day and sand perfect for castles. Factor in toddler-friendly shallows and you have a favourite with young families. And for fish and chips? There are over a dozen options in town but there's a reason why family-owned Marlboro has been around since 1974. (Welcome to Weymouth, the British seaside resort with a twist.) 3. Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan The Highlands are an idea of isolated beauty as much as a real destination. Enter Sanna Bay, the most westerly point in Britain. To get there, you take a pretty drive snaking along the shores of Loch Sunart. Beyond Kilchoan village, you're on a single-track lane — over moors and past white smallholdings, sheep and Highland cattle — to reach a remote carpark at the end of the road. Even so, you won't be prepared for the impact of walking through dunes to these icing-sugar sand arcs before turquoise shallows. Smaller beaches notch beyond headlands and sunsets are otherworldly. Better still, there's usually a breeze, which means none of Scotland's infamous midges. The isolated beauty of the Scottish highlands is what makes the beach at Sanna bay so appealing. Photograph by Getty Images, Simon Hodgkiss 4. Bamburgh, Northumberland There's a debate to be had about the appeal of cosy coves versus epic beaches. If you lean towards the latter, this is your spot. Bamburgh beach is vast: four magnificent miles from Seahouses harbour to a monster castle at Bamburgh, all backed by silver-green dunes and dotted with rockpools to poke at with a shrimp net. Walk the lot and you can stop for king prawn chilli burgers at Creel & Reel food truck at the carpark in Waterford. You will also deserve a pint of Bamburgh Blonde at the Bamburgh Castle Inn back at Seahouses. 5. White Park Bay, Antrim A public campaign raised £15,000 to safeguard this beauty for the National Trust. Now, otters gambol at dusk (a sure sign of eco-health), 17 species of butterflies and countless rabbits flit in the grasslands behind. Not forgetting the most-photographed cows in Northern Ireland, known for grazing on the beach, swaying along sands whenever a local farmer moves his herd. The squeaky 'singing sands' (the sand is known to produce a humming or buzzing sound) hold fossils — bullet-like squid and the shells of extinct mollusks, commonly known as devil's toenails. The absence of people will put you in mind of Australia rather than Antrim. Just be wary of swimming: the current can be vicious. 6. Holkham, Norfolk On summer weekends, when up to 1,000 cars fill the parking area, it can seem like half of Norfolk has arrived. Through a fuzz of pine trees and a small sea of dunes, you will wonder where they all went. Holkham is big — two-miles long and 1,640-foot wide at low tide. Co-ordinate a visit for that time because it's the scale that wows at Holkham. This is a beach for cricket and kite-flying, to throw balls for madly excited dogs or to lie behind a windbreak and watch vast cloudscapes roll past like galleons under full sail. The beach at Holkham is one of the longest stretches of sand in the country. Photograph by Getty Images, Jackie Bale (How to spend a weekend in North Norfolk, UK.) 7. Whitesands Bay, Pembrokeshire Wales has bigger beaches like the Gower's Rhossili and pretty coves like Mwnt or Porth Iago. This stretch of coastline near St Davids wins because it has all you need from a beach. The pale sand gets emptier the further you go from the carpark. There's surfboard rental to ride friendly summer waves, plus seasonal lifeguards. Footpaths track to St Davids Head, the Land's End of Wales, marked by a neolithic tomb or to the rocky ridge of Carn Llidi hill, which rises above the beach. Save an ascent till dusk to see islands scattered in a sheet of golden sea. To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
