Now we hit the end of 2014 here’s a bumper crop of 10 most popular beaches taken from the last 12 months of activity on the UK Beach Guide.
One point you will notice is that they are typically not the big seaside town beaches with blue flag status but more remote, character beaches.
1. Climping Beach, Littlehampton, West Sussex
Climping Beach is a quieter area of coastline than its neighbors of Littlehampton and Bognor Regis. Much of the area is now designated of scientific interest, and parts are a nature reserve, although many sections of the sand dunes are now fenced off to protect against erosion and help local species to thrive.
2. Dunraven Bay Beach, Southerndown, Vale of Glamorgan
Dunraven Bay beach, also known as Southerndown Beach after the small village nearby, is a sand and pebble beach popular with families and watersports (windsurfing, surfing and kayaks).
3. Shell Bay Beach, Studland, Dorset
Shell Bay beach is the first beach on the Studland Peninsula, Isle of Purbeck, at the mouth of Poole Harbour.
From Shell Beach you have the wide sweeping Studland Bay and the Studland National Nature Reserve.
4. Kingsgate Bay Beach, Broadstairs, Kent
One of the 7 bays of Broadstairs. Quiet and secluded sandy beach approximately 150 meters long. A great bay for those who like to get away from it all.
Some of the best examples of sea caves in the country.
5. Polstreath Beach, Mevagissey, Cornwall
Polstreath beach is fine sand and split in two by a stack, the smaller beach is known as Little Polstreath. The beach offers good swimming and a quieter alternative to Mevagissey around the corner.
Hard to get to for the elderly and those with young children as the climb back up from the beach is quite steep.
6. Bamburgh Castle Beach, Bamburgh, Northumberland
No visit to Northumberland should miss a visit to Bamburgh beach. An area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and with a spectacular sandy beach overlooked by Bamburgh castle.
Crosby beach is not a swimming beach but it is popular and well known as the ‘Another Place’ (100 iron men) sculptures by Antony Gormley are found on this beach.
The cast iron figures which face out to sea, spread over a 2 mile (3.2 km) stretch of the beach between Waterloo and Blundellsands. Each figure is 189 cm tall and weighs around 650 kg.
8. Calgary Beach, Calgary, Argyll and Bute
A spectacular location! Calgary Bay is a small and sheltered beach, around 1/4 mile of sand backed by woodland and coastal grassland.
The beach gently slopes into the sea giving a reasonable amount of shallow water for swimming.
9. Broadhaven Beach, Bosherston, Pembrokeshire
Broadhaven beach is owned by the National Trust.
Crescent shaped beach with golden sand accessed by a walk through nature trails.
10. Berrow Beach, Burnham on Sea, Somerset
Berrow beach is part of a six mile length of beach with sand dunes and firm sand, which is the second longest stretch of sand in Europe.
Features include secluded sand dunes, a Ship Wreck, and marshland that attracts various seabirds.
If you have been to any of these beaches why not leave a review and let us know what your visit was like. Just visit the individual beach page and hit the review button.