It won’t come as a surprise to most of us who live here, but the North East officially has the best beaches in the UK.
So says respected consumer watchdog Which ?, which conducted a survey to uncover Britain’s favorite beach destinations.
Beautiful Bamburgh Beach took the top spot, scoring 85 out of a possible 100 points for its spectacular historic setting, sandy beaches and great-value accommodation, according to The Mirror.
Claire Watson-Armstrong, whose family owns Bamburgh Castle, said the village of Northumberland had a “magical” feel. She added, “It’s such a beautiful part of the world and I feel extremely lucky to live here as well.
Meanwhile, our region has also claimed second place, with the beautiful beaches of Tynemouth, in the north of Tyneside.
The golden expanse of Long Sands and King Edward’s Bay, surrounded by cliffs, won approval, as did the range of restaurants in the area.
Tynemouth were only beaten by Bamburgh, scoring 84 out of a possible 100, against Bamburgh’s 85.
Dartmouth in Devon – once the home of Miss Marple designer Agatha Christie – shared second place with Tynemouth and was praised for its scenery, boat trips and nearby beaches such as Blackpool Sands.
Outside England, the spiritual home of golf, St Andrews, in Fife, Scotland, was third at 83 and the peaceful Welsh port town of Aberaeron was ranked fourth at 82.
Meanwhile, the organization has also listed the least popular beaches in the country.
He put much-maligned Skegness at the bottom of the pile with a score of 48, although the Lincolnshire destination was considered family-friendly and one visitor called it ‘unassuming’.
The list comes as UK destinations expect a lot of visitors this year, with Covid still likely to act as a deterrent to overseas flights.
This week, Northumberland tourism bosses said they expected an “influx” of visitors for the holidays, and urged people to follow the campaign code and treat the area with respect when visiting. their travels.
Are you going on holiday to the UK this year? Tell us what you think here:
Top 10 best resorts
1 Bamburgh, Northumberland – 85 points
= 2 Dartmouth, Devon – 84
= 2 Tynemouth, Northumberland -84
3 St Andrews, Fife, Scotland – 83
4 Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales – 82
5 North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland – 81
6 Rye, East Sussex – 81
7 Filey, North Yorkshire – 80
= 8 Southwold, Suffolk – 80
= 8 St Davids, Pembrokeshire, Wales – 80
= 8 Swanage, Dorset – 80
10 worst resorts
1 Skegness, Lincolnshire – 48 points
2 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset – 55
3 Ilfracombe, Devon – 56
4 Margate, Kent – 57
5 Lowestoft, Suffolk – 57
= 6 Worthing, West Sussex – 58
= 6 Morecombe, Lancashire – 58
= 6 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk – 58