Families could face a £1,000 fine for ‘innocent' beach ‘mistake' this summer
FINE PRINT Families could face a £1,000 fine for 'innocent' beach 'mistake' this summer
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HOLIDAYMAKERS could face fines of up to £1,000 this summer for the seemingly innocent act of taking pebbles, shells or sand from beaches
Visitors who take beach 'souvenirs' home with them risk breaking the law under the Coast Protection Act 1949.
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The law applies to the whole UK coastline and covers shells, stones, driftwood and other natural materials
What may seem like a harmless keepsake, a smooth stone, a scoop of soft sand, or a shell from the shoreline, is actually protected by law.
Removing these items can lead to fines, confiscation, and, in rare cases, prosecution.
Why the rules exist?
The law applies to the whole UK coastline and covers shells, stones, driftwood and other natural materials.
It was introduced to protect delicate marine habitats and to stop the gradual erosion of our beaches.
These natural defences play a vital role in protecting wildlife and shielding coastal areas from storm damage.
Empty shells are often taken over by creatures such as hermit crabs, while pebbles help break the force of waves hitting the shore.
Even small amounts taken by millions of visitors each year can add up to a significant loss.
Experts warn that once these natural buffers are gone, they can take decades to return — if they return at all.
With more Britons than ever opting for seaside staycations this summer, environmental pressure is growing.
Research shows nearly 69 per cent are holidaying in the UK this year, rising to over three-quarters among 25-44-year-olds.
Popular beach spots include Weymouth, Brighton, Sandbanks, and Durdle Door.
Woman fined £1,600 after visiting 'hidden gem' pink beach during European holiday
'it's not JUST a shell'
Neil Atkinson, travel expert and owner of Luxury Group Stay, said: 'The UK's coastline remains one of our most cherished national assets, drawing an increasing number of visitors opting for staycations close to a beach this summer.
'It's essential that holidaymakers understand how even small actions can have a significant impact.
"From many perspectives, taking shells or pebbles comes across as a harmless token to represent your trip, but these natural elements are vital for preserving our beaches and supporting local wildlife.
"There's a surge in staycations, especially to seaside spots, so respecting regulations is hugely important to safeguard these stunning environments for years to come.
"The threat of fines reflects the need for responsible tourism and sustainable enjoyment of our coastlines."
Authorities say they're not trying to spoil people's fun, but to ensure future generations can enjoy the same pristine beaches.
They urge visitors to take only photographs and leave only footprints.
Other strict beach laws around the world
Spain Leaving the beach without covering up swimwear - fines up to £500
Smoking on the beach - fines up to £1,700
Swimming in the sea after midnight- fines up to £1,020
Being naked on non-nudist beaches - fines up to £560
France Smoking on beaches
Italy Taking pebbles - fines up to £2,500
UK Walking dogs on certain beaches between May 1 and September 30 - fines of £1,000
Dropping rubbish - fines up to £2,500
Taking pebbles - fines up to £1,000
Camping on beaches - fines up to £1,000
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Times
19 minutes ago
- Times
An expert guide to a great (and affordable) late-summer break in Croatia
Here's a tip you can have free: late summer to early autumn is when Croatia is at its best. Temperatures ease, resorts relax and the sea is its warmest. That's not an observation based solely on my 20 years of visiting. Last month the European Travel Commission noted that about nine per cent of European travellers had switched to holidaying in so-called shoulder seasons. Why? Friendly temperatures and prices reduced by half from peak season. Ah yes, the prices. You can spend big on Croatia nowadays, dropping more than a grand a night on premium stays during high season. The question is — whisper it — do you need to? Sure, luxury hotels feel like a treat, a proper indulgence, but if there's one thing I've learnt about Croatia it's that a memorable stay can be found anywhere. You won't find a place with a warmer welcome, and the seas are some of the cleanest in Europe. That's why we've compiled this list of hotels for September and October breaks. It includes a few expensive stays for a splurge, but most are priced for affordable holidays, especially if you look beyond poster destinations such as Dubrovnik and Split. Given our term-time dates, we've skipped family hotels for adult stays: wellness specialists in quiet areas, such as Maslina Resort on Hvar and rural wine hotels including San Rocco in Istria; chic city stays in Dalmatia and rustic bolt holes on island backwaters. All are places to remember how to relax, to discover what Croatians call pomalo, which translates roughly as living free from schedules. You'll know it better as the holiday jackpot. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Here's a stay in the north Adriatic, and the Kvarner Gulf mountains that most visitors bypass. Restored by a German-Croat family, its farmhouse has expanded organically into an eight-room bohemian village. It's a stay of simple rustic-chic rooms with pea-green shutters, stone the colour of shortbread and original beams (the best have balconies); a bolt hole for reading books and dips in a small pool, and for good organic vegetarian food eaten at a communal table. In short, it is a stay of heart and soul. It's not even remote — the beach at Crikvenica is four miles away and Rijeka is a 30-minute B&B doubles from £87 ( Fly to Rijeka It's a sign of where Cres may be heading that Marriott chose this rustic island for Croatia's first Autograph Collection hotel, which opened in March. It's quite a shift for Cres, a nicely scruffy, Italianate medieval town where you'll eat gelati as small fishing boats chug from the harbour at dusk, yet ten minutes' walk away there's this slick wellness hotel, with sunloungers before the sea and a chef who's shooting for Michelin stars in nine-course tasting menus. The marketing people are calling Cres 'Croatia's often forgotten island'. I'd come soon if I were B&B doubles from £212 ( Fly to Rijeka Before you read this, check the price below. Astonishing isn't it? That's not the reason the Romans called Rab 'Happy Island' (Felix Arba), nor is it why Edward VIII, holidaying here with Wallis Simpson in 1936, felt so, um, joyful he went skinny-dipping. It'll boost your mood too. Rab, in north Croatia, is a love letter to the art of gentle holidaymaking: slow days in a villagey medieval capital, long lunches, 22 sand beaches. The Arbiana was around in Edward's time, and while its classic decor won't make the heart beat faster, it's a charming stay with the sea just Seven nights' B&B from £1,070pp, including flights and car hire ( The Alhambra's Cube Spa was named world's best at the Luxury Lifestyle Awards last year. In 2023 Alfred Keller, its Michelin-starred restaurant, took the top prize at the World Culinary Awards as Europe's best fine-dining hotel restaurant. Not bad for a five-star on a Croatian island few Brits have heard of. Modern Mediterranean sums up the decor in a hotel created from two art nouveau villas integrated by a glass-skinned block. Refined describes the atmosphere in a secluded pine-cloaked bay. Come to indulge between spa and sunloungers on the bay. B&B doubles from £352 ( Fly to Rijeka I chose a backstreet one-star rather than paying over the odds for an out-of-town mega-resort when I first visited Zadar two decades ago. Since then a new breed of central independent boutique stays has helped to raise the profile of Dalmatia's historic third city. This one's as central as it gets, scattering 16 rooms across an early 20th-century house, a 19th-century former military building and a medieval monastery. Such is Zadar's jumble. All are different but united in being elegant, modern and arty without showing off. Delightful breakfasts in a verdant courtyard B&B doubles from £122 ( Fly to Zadar Croatia's first Hyatt Regency arrived in May not in Dubrovnik, Split or Rijeka, but in Zadar. The five-star was installed in the former distillery of Maraska cherry liqueur — Alfred Hitchcock was a fan, which explains Alfred's Bar, with its sea views. Elsewhere the spa hotel has a Mad Men glamour to its streamlined lines. Befitting the brand, it's a work-and-play address with plenty of marble and wood in the 133 rooms but a fine pool on a vast waterside terrace that begs for cocktails. The old town is ten minutes' walk away, or two minutes by barkajoli (rowing boat) B&B doubles from £196 ( Fly to Zadar Exclusivity on Croatia's glossiest island doesn't come cheap. Ultimately it's up to you whether the four luxury suites here on Palmizana island are worth it. 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This month it launched a smart 13m speedboat for private excursions or celeb-style transfers from Split airport. Details B&B doubles from £437 ( Fly to Split I was sceptical when this opened in 2021. It looks like the lair of a Bond villain, and you'll need a similar bank balance to afford it. What were eight ultra-luxury suites doing carved into the hillside of an island backwater of the Zadar archipelago? The answer is Croatian starchitect Nikola Basic's concept of a 'landlocked yacht', where glass-fronted rooms frame views of seascapes (and olive groves, but you get the point). Like an exclusive cruise ship, it's escapism with an infinity pool, gourmet restaurant and spa. Unlike a cruise ship, you can leave whenever you want B&B doubles from £666 ( Fly to Zadar • 17 of the best cruises in Croatia The thing you need to ask about Dubrovnik is whether you genuinely want to be in the old town. Magical first thing, it's chocka by 10am in summer. 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Expensive, perhaps, but what price the opportunity to live out the Mamma Mia! fantasy of a simple, stylish life for a fortnight?Details Two nights' B&B from £728 ( Fly to Split This is the year to visit Hvar, Croatia's glitziest island. Negative headlines from a modest beach club scene led authorities to introduce noise restrictions in March (85 decibels, in case you're wondering) and there's a no-nonsense approach to misbehaviour. The goal is to return Hvar Town to being a buzzy small harbour with Venetian Renaissance architecture. Good luck to them, but if you're choosing to visit you'll probably seek some nightlife, so it makes sense to stay somewhere modern, stylish and beside the water. This fits the bill. Boats bob outside, Carpe Diem cocktail bar is opposite and Hula Hula beach club is just around the bay. Details B&B doubles from £253 ( Fly to Split The Elafiti island Lopud has shifted from backwater to Dubrovnik day trip in the 20 years I've been going. 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Details Seven nights' B&B, including flights and transfers, from £1,533 ( Do you have a favourite hotel in Croatia? Share it in the comments
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I was so shocked to give birth on hotel toilet after waking up in pain – I had no idea at all that I was pregnant
Helen, 45, felt an urge to push and looked down to see her baby HOLIDAY PACKAGE I was so shocked to give birth on hotel toilet after waking up in pain – I had no idea at all that I was pregnant Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A BRITISH holidaymaker found out she was pregnant only when she gave birth on her hotel's toilet. Helen Green, 45, rushed to the bathroom when she woke in pain in the night. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Helen Green with baby Olivia and Darcy, 6 Credit: SWNS 3 Helen, husband Mike, Darcy and baby Oliva at Niagara Falls Credit: SWNS She felt an urge to push and looked down to see her baby. Husband Mike, also 45, went to investigate and found his wife, who had periods throughout her pregnancy, cuddling 8lb 3oz Olivia. But the financial services workers, in Canada with their daughter Darcy, six, could not fly home for weeks until they got Olivia's birth certificate and passport. The episode cost them an extra £9,000. The family say most of their costs will hopefully be covered by their travel insurance. Helen, from Bristol, said: 'This was such a huge huge shock, and also such a lovely surprise. 'She just came along and it feels like she's always been with us. 'Everything feels complete now, she has made us all so happy. 'Even the doctors at the hospital were really surprised. 'I had no idea at all that I was pregnant, everything seemed completely normal. 'I worked, exercised, wore the same clothes and ate the same food as usual.' 3 The newly expanded family took in a baseball game while waiting for baby Olivia's birth certificate and passport Credit: SWNS
Wales Online
10 hours ago
- Wales Online
Ryanair baggage rule change could see passengers hit with extra £70 charge
Ryanair baggage rule change could see passengers hit with extra £70 charge Ryanair has updated its cabin baggage rules for summer 2025 and there's one rule that could catch you out if you're unprepared The summer holidays are now upon us and many Britons are desperate to escape the UK for some well-deserved sunshine and coastal tranquillity. Unfortunately there are countless airport rules that could dampen the enthusiasm before it even starts. One rule, concerning Ryanair luggage, risks creating problems for passengers at the airport if they turn up ill-prepared. It's frequently seen as travellers' biggest nightmare – being singled out by airport personnel to check their hand luggage dimensions with sizing frames just before take-off. With budget airline Ryanair passengers are permitted to take a "personal bag" free of charge though it must comply with their strict size requirements. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . After a recent change in line with EU rules these dimensions have been increased to 40 x 30 x 20cm. If their bag surpasses these boundaries passengers face a fee as high as £70. Ryanair operates a card-only payment system at its boarding gates, which could create problems for some holidaymakers. This means that if a passenger is prepared to pay the fee, without a payment card to hand, they could be prevented from boarding with their baggage, reports Lincolnshire Live. A Ryanair spokesman told the Daily Mail: "Our bag policy is simple; if it fits in our bag sizer (which is bigger than our agreed dimensions) it gets on free of charge. Article continues below "If it doesn't fit in our bag sizer you pay a gate bag fee. As our boarding gates are cashless gate bag fees cannot be paid in cash. "These fees are paid by less than 0.1% of passengers who don't comply with our agreed bags rules. For the 99.9% of our passengers who comply with our rules we say thank you and keep flying as you have nothing to worry about." Therefore if you're travelling with Ryanair this summer it would be wise to bring a card to guarantee your holiday begins without a hitch. This warning emerges following reports that a new four-hour regulation has been implemented before the summer holidays, affecting travellers with Ryanair, easyJet, TUI, and Jet2. Following a European Union ruling, the timeframe for claiming compensation for delayed flights has been lengthened. After more than a decade of discussions it has been determined that compensation claims for short-haul flights will only be acceptable following a delay of no less than four hours, which has increased from the earlier three-hour limit. For long-distance trips travellers must endure a delay of six hours or longer before pursuing compensation. The type of delay also influences the amount of compensation granted. Article continues below A4E, which represents leading European carriers, voiced frustration. A spokesman said: "Europe has been waiting for transparent and workable passenger rights for 12 years and member states have fallen at the final hurdle to deliver [...] member states have diluted the European Commission's original proposal and introduced even more complexity."
