Find the nearest Blue Flag

Canford Cliffs beach is a shallow sloping sandy beach, although as the tide comes in the amount of sand available is limited. The beach is below a steep sandy cliff which means you have steps to go down to get to the beach. Facilities include parking, toilets (with disabled facilities), food kiosks, and lifeguards in the summer.

Cleethorpes Beach has soft golden sands that go on for miles and miles. The flower filled promenade gardens stretch alongside the beach and have received awards from Flowers In Bloom, a national competition which is entered by resorts, towns and cities across the county.  Cleethorpes has won the GOLD award year after year. This is a dog friendly location with some high season restrictions and along the promenade you will find two dog friendly restaurants. The locals pop in to Browns for a scrumptious hot chocolate topped with a swirl of fresh cream before walking the dog and then, on the way home they warm up in the Winter with a delicious bowl of homemade soup and a warm, crusty roll! If you’re hungrier than that then you can enjoy fresh and piping hot fish and chips from one of the many cafes on the street by the promenade! Activities include: Surfing, Swimming, Canoeing, Canoeing, Jet skiing, Nature reserve and local historical attractions. Facilities include: Good parking, first aid facilities, shops, restaurant, campsite, deck chair hire, beach huts, cafe, leisure centre, slipway, pedaloes, pier, arcades, disabled access, toilets.

Cefn Sidan is a fine sandy beach backed by dunes that sits at the edge of the Pembrey Burrows and looks out into Carmarthen Bay in South Wales. The beach stretches for nearly 8 miles and at low tide you can have a long walk to the water. The fine sand does make it hard to create large sandcastles. The beach is large and exposed so it can be windy but a geat place to walk and the beach is popular for kite-buggying and kite-mountainboarding. Cefn Sidan forms part of the Pembrey Country Park and is also known as Pembrey Beach. Facilities include car parking, lifeguards (summer only), cafe/restaurant and beach shop. As this is a large beach with large areas of sand dunes it does have some naturism although this is not allowed.

West Runton beach is a nice rural quiet sand and shingle beach backed by low cliffs and at low tide, you have lots of sand and some rock pools. The beach is located between Cromer and Sheringham on the Norfolk coast. West Runton is a very popular beach and coast stretch for beachcombing and fossil hunters. Fossils of animals, birds and insects are regularly exposed from the eroding cliffs (Cromer Forest-bed) backing the beach. West Runton beach is famous for the West Runton Mammoth that was a full skeleton uncovered beside the cliffs after a storm in 1990. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust regularly runs family events (‘Rock Pool Rummaging’ and ‘Fascinating Fossils’ ) at West Runton beach, see the www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk website for more details. Facilities at the beach include parking, seasonal lifeguards, beach cafe, shop, toilets and with more shops and places to eat in the nearby village.

West Wittering beach overlooks the Solent and Chichester Harbour and has the South Downs as a beautiful backdrop. This is an excellent family destination with a sandy beach and large grassy area for parking and sunbathing. There are tidal pools which are ideal for children to explore and go crabbing in. Although it is mostly a sandy beach there are patches of shingle and some sand dunes. Back in the 1950s this area of beach and grassland was purchased by locals to protect it from developers. At low tide the ocean runs out giving you about a quarter of a mile of sand backed by some amazing dunes and grassland. This beach is popular with windsurfers and kite surfers, while shallow lagoons are left on extensive sandy flats at low tide.  The whole area is internationally recognised for its wildlife, birds and unique beauty. Facilities include toilets, cafe, restaurant, beach huts, deckchair hire, surfboard hire, pay parking and lifeguards in summer months.

The North beach at Aberystwyth is a sloping sand and shingle beach within a sheltered bay. During the height of summer donkeys and amusement rides along the promenade ensure that there is plenty of entertainment for children. All the facilities of being in the centre of a large town including seasonal lifeguards.

Downhill beach offers visitors a long stretch of sandy beach with great surf making it an ideal spot for water sports and long walks with the dog or just a spot of sunbathing in the warmer months. Downhill beach offers a wonderful way to enjoy the natural beauty of this area of UK coastline with scenic walks and areas of conservation. Birdlife and small wildlife are varied and prolific and the cascading waterfalls and dramatically high sand dunes make this a must if you’re on holiday in the area! The Mussenden Temple offers dramatic views of the north coast and great fun to explore with views across to Donegal and Londonderry. The nearest town is Castlerock which offers full facilities to the beach in the way of pubs, cafés, accommodation and parking. Not too far away you’ll find more stunning beaches at the seaside resorts of Portrush and Portstewart.

Ballymoney has two sandy beaches. The south beach is the smaller and comprises sand and stones, whilst the north beach is a long stretch of sandy beach. Both beaches have access to facilities including toilets and shop although the north beach is the only one that has seasonal lifeguards.