Latest news with #BlueFlagAwards
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
The seven Kent beaches crowned UK's best with Blue Flags
Seven beaches within 90 minutes drive of south east London have been named among some of the UK's best. Keep Britain Tidy recently announced the winners of the 38th Blue Flag Awards, with 76 beaches across the UK receiving the coveted award. The awards recognise beaches for their quality, management and facilities, with beaches scored on a number of factors from environment to accessibility. Additionally Keep Britain Tidy also named 120 beaches for the Seaside Award 2025, with 17 in Kent. Out of the 76 beaches named, eight of them were in Kent, with seven being within easy reach of south east London by car or train for a day trip to the coast. Here's what you need to know: A short walk from the popular seaside town of Whitstable, Tankerton Beach offers a single beach flanked by a grassy promenade and its colourful beach huts. This beach is well known for its cleanliness and good water quality for water sports. The quiet beach offers a good spot to relax with friends and family and is a short walk from Whitstable, where you'll find a plethora of cafes, restaurants and shops vying for your attention This postcard-perfect beach, with its striking white chalk cliffs and sea stacks, is the perfect spot for photographers and nature lovers looking for a scenic beach to frequent for the day. This postcard-perfect beach, with its striking white chalk cliffs and sea stacks, is the perfect spot for photographers and nature lovers. (Image: Tourism @ Thanet District Council) This beach holds the Blue Flag and Seaside Award in 2025 and was rated for its cleanliness and safety with seasonal lifeguards and nearby toilets and cafes. But Broadstairs isn't far away if you fancy heading into the town for some lunch or to explore its independent shops as well as its local museums. 6 minutes drive from Broadstairs, Joss Bay offers a sandy stretch of beach which is a prime spot for surfing, with its own surf school and spot to hire equipment. Joss Bay offers a sandy stretch of beach which is a prime spot for surfing, with its own surf school and spot to hire equipment. (Image: Tourism @ Thanet District Council) The beach won both Blue Flag and Seaside Awards this year and was rated for its safe and clean beach with seasonal lifeguards, a beach café and deck chairs to hire, if you fancy relaxing by the sea for the day. Located in the busy and popular town of Margate, Margate Main Sands is a traditional seaside sandy beach with plenty of nearby attractions and easy access from Margate station. Margate Main Sands is a traditional seaside sandy beach with plenty of nearby attractions. (Image: PA) Margate Main Sands was awarded the Blue Flag and Seaside Award and was scored for its safety and water quality. The beach is within a short distance of Dreamland with its plethora of rides and amusements, or you can easily walk to the Old Town where you'll find a huge variety of independent cafes, shops and little museums to explore. 15 minutes drive from Margate, Minnis Bay in Birchington is a family-friendly beach known for its wide expanse of sandy shoreline and quiet setting for those looking for a peaceful beach to relax. The beach also won both awards this year, with top marks for its clean waters and well-maintained facilities, including a children's playground, toilets and deckchairs to hire. Next to Ramsgate's vibrant town and Royal Harbour you'll find Ramsgate Main Sands. This sandy beach won both awards this year for its clean and safe beach, with easy access to nearby cafes and toilets, with seasonal lifeguards on duty. This sandy beach won both awards this year for its clean and safe beach. (Image: Tourism @ Thanet District Council) But if you fancy exploring, Ramsgate has plenty to offer from its network of wartime tunnels to its Victorian glasshouse where you can take afternoon tea. Finally on our list, St Mildred's Bay near Margate offers a sandy beach flanked by a promenade if you fancy a stroll somewhere a little more quiet. The beach won both awards this year, receiving high scores for its water quality and cleanliness if you fancy a swim. The beach is also within easy access of nearby toilets, cafes and has seasonal lifeguards.
Pembrokeshire Herald
15-05-2025
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Pembrokeshire beaches best in Wales with 17 Coast Awards
County scoops highest number of accolades in national environmental honours PEMBROKESHIRE has been officially named home to the best beaches in Wales, securing a record-breaking 17 Wales Coast Awards in 2025—more than any other part of the country. The results, released today (Thursday) by environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy, recognise coastal locations across Wales for exceptional environmental standards, excellent water quality, and a commitment to education and sustainability. Out of the 49 beaches honoured across Wales, Pembrokeshire claimed 10 of the 21 Blue Flag Awards, including well-known locations such as Tenby South and North, Poppit Sands, Broad Haven (North), Newgale, Dale, Whitesands and Coppet Hall. Saundersfoot and Tenby Castle beaches are also celebrating their 25th consecutive year holding Blue Flag status—an international mark of environmental quality administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). All of Pembrokeshire's Blue Flag beaches have successfully retained their awards from last year. In addition to its Blue Flag successes, Pembrokeshire also leads Wales in the number of Green Coast Awards, which are given to more remote, unspoilt beaches with high environmental standards. Of the 13 Green Coast Awards presented this year, seven went to Pembrokeshire beaches: Aberiddy, Freshwater East, Manorbier, Penally, Caerfai, Druidstone and West Angle Bay. The Green Coast Award celebrates lesser-known, 'hidden gem' beaches that offer natural beauty alongside excellent water quality and environmental care. Keep Wales Tidy has managed the Wales Coast Awards for over 20 years. The awards play a vital role in protecting the Welsh marine environment and are internationally recognised as a symbol of quality. To qualify, beaches must meet rigorous criteria on water quality, public information, environmental education, safety, and site management. In addition to the Blue Flag and Green Coast accolades, 15 beaches across Wales earned the Seaside Award—a UK-only honour that signifies clean, attractive, and well-managed stretches of coastline. This year's Seaside Award winners include Aberystwyth South and North, New Quay Harbour, Aberavon in Neath Port Talbot, and Whitmore Bay and Jackson's Bay in Barry Island. Owen Derbyshire, Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy, praised Pembrokeshire's outstanding performance. 'The Wales Coast Awards are a fantastic celebration of Wales' beautiful and diverse coastline,' he said. 'They are testament to the huge effort of staff and volunteers at sites across Wales. Thank you to everyone who works so hard to protect and preserve our natural landscape in the face of increasingly challenging circumstances.' Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents' Services at Pembrokeshire County Council, said: 'We are incredibly proud to once again receive the highest number of Wales Coast Awards. Pembrokeshire is rightly recognised as being home to some of the world's best beaches, but it takes hard work and year-round commitment to maintain these standards and secure prestigious awards like the Blue Flag and Green Coast.' 'We look forward to welcoming both residents and visitors to our outstanding beaches this summer.' A full list of this year's award-winning beaches is available on the Keep Wales Tidy website.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
'Underrated' and 'tranquil' north Essex beaches win prestigious Blue Flag Awards
Three beaches in north Essex have won prestigious Blue Flag Awards for summer 2025. The international Blue Flag Awards are run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. They have announced both the winners of the Blue Flag and Seaside Awards, with 26 beaches across the East of England recognised. The awards recognise the quality of the beaches, the way they are managed and the facilities they offer to visitors. The Blue Flag is the world's most recognised award for beaches, marinas and inland bathing waters. To qualify, each applicant must meet and maintain a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria. For 2025, three beaches in north Essex made the list. These were: Brightlingsea Beach, Brightlingsea Dovercourt Bay, Dovercourt Frinton Beach, Frinton One person on Tripadvisor described Dovercourt Bay as "underrated", saying the long promenade was "perfect for a walk". Meanwhile, a visitor to Frinton beach said it provided "peace and tranquility". As well as this, 20 beaches in the East were awarded the Seaside Award, including nine of the Blue Flag winners. In north Essex, seven were awarded, these were: Brightlingsea Beach, Brightlingsea Dovercourt Bay, Dovercourt Frinton Beach, Frinton Harwich Beach, Harwich Martello Bay, St Osyth Albion Beach, Walton The Naze, Walton Harwich and Albion beaches are registered as non-bathing beaches. The seafront promenade at Walton (Image: Getty Images) Keep Britain Tidy's Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, said: 'As an island community, the quality of our beaches and blue spaces crucial to our environment and vital for our economy, particularly in terms of tourism and employment. "Achieving this accreditation shows the commitment of beach managers and local authorities to protect them for years to come. 'In England we are lucky enough to have some of the best beaches in the world. It's wonderful to see the flags flying proudly over 26 of them in the East of England, demonstrating their quality to residents and visitors alike. 'The awards are a credit to the collective efforts of beach and site managers, volunteers, residents and businesses who should take pride today in their tireless efforts to maintain and improve some of our best-loved and most popular blue spaces.' The Blue Flag and Seaside Awards highlight the best beaches in the country and are aimed at improving the quality of England's coastline. Among the criteria beaches are assessed against are: Safety and services such as first aid and lifeguards where necessary Environmental information, including displaying details about local ecosystems Environmental management, including litter and waste Water quality – Blue Flag beaches must meet the 'excellent' water quality standard as set out in the EU bathing water directive and Seaside Award winners must meet the 'sufficient' standard. Recommended reading: 'Wind not as advertised' - 7 hilarious (and harsh) reviews of Essex beaches 4 best spots for swimming in Essex to cool down during the heatwave Dog owners could face £1,000 fine for breaking beach rule from May Blue Flag is an environmental education programme managed by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of the Foundation for Environmental Education. Blue Flag is only presented to beaches and inland bathing waters with bathing water which have achieved the highest classification as set by the EU Bathing Water Directive and have an environmental education programme. Seaside Awards are presented to the best beaches in England and celebrate the quality and diversity of the coastline.
