UK's 50 best beaches for summer have soft sands, clean water and beautiful views

14 July 2023 , 09:46

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Weymouth was judged to be the best of the best (Image: Getty Images)

A Dorset beach known for its incredibly good castling sand has topped a list of the UK's 50 best beaches for summer.

Weymouth has come out on top in a battle for British seaside supremacy, in no small part due to its excellent and very clean bathing water.

Each year tens of thousand of sunworshippers make their way down to the southern coastal town to take in the magnificent Georgian seafront set in the heart of the wild Jurassic Coast.

The sheltered bay and the gentle sloping sand beds means the beach is perfect for families looking to safely paddle in the water, while the promenade is buzzing with activity,

Weymouth offers as close to a classic British seaside experience as you can get, thanks to the Punch and Judy shows, donkey rides and pedalo hires on offer there.

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What's particularly pleasant about a trip to Weymouth is its location, close to Poole and Bournemouth, so there's plenty else to see and do if you fancy heading into another town for a bite to eat or a drink.

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UK's 50 best beaches for summer have soft sands, clean water and beautiful views

Weymouth still offers a classic British seaside experience (Getty Images)

While the beach has a good reputation for cleanliness and being well maintained generally, the council lets the seaweed blooms grow and recede naturally when they arrive, so you may find yourself a little tangled on occasion.

It came in first place in The Times' yearly rundown of best beaches, a list which looked at factors including cleanliness, accessibility, car parking facilities, lifeguards, whether the beaches are dog-friendly and water quality.

"The bathing — as George III discovered while he was making the seaside fashionable in 1789 — is a delight in a shallow, sandy-bottomed, sheltered bay and dogs are welcome year-round at the pavilion end of the beach," the Sunday Times writes in its review of the beach.

"The Georgian esplanade is the most beautiful backdrop to any urban beach in the country and the facilities, from the sparkling superloos on the prom to the beach wheelchairs, deckchairs, windbreaks and ocean toys, are matched by no other resort in the land — although Tenby, perhaps, comes close."

While the Times' list doesn't rank the beaches from one to 50 across the whole of the UK, it has highlighted great spots in different parts of the country.

Woolacombe in Devon comes in second place in the South West, and for good reason.

Woolacombe came in second place (Getty Images)

Anyone who has been to the sweeping sandy bay will know how rich and expansive a beach it is, and quite how much there is to do there.

The view of Woolacombe that greets visitors as they come down from the tall hill at the Fortescue Arms or from Mortehoe is magnificent, setting you up for a day, week or month larking around in the sand and surf.

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The beach scores very highly for how well kept and clean it is, as well as the fact you can enjoy a delicious Sri Lankan curry next to the water from the Barrican Beach Cafe.

At the top of the beach are a row of hotels and houses with balconies and roof terraces where happy looking pensioners bath themselves in the summer sunshine. It is enough to make you seriously consider sacking it all in and moving to Devon.

Studland in Dorset is a completely different prospect in third place regionally, feeling more like a whole sandy paradise cut off from the world than just a beach.

At four miles long and most often accessed via a chain link ferry in the direction of Bournemouth, Studland is an intoxicating mix of sandy beach, dunes and half-submerged woodlands, catered for by cafes and pubs dotted along the coast.

Studland Bay is more like a sandy paradise island than just a beach (Getty Images)

Jan Robinson has been going to Studland since 1967 and recommends Bramble Bush Bay across the road from Shell Bay, a spot known for wading bird sightings.

“It’s a beautiful place to greet a summer sunrise,” Jan said.

Young and old alike who like getting stuck into an adventure will love Studland and its many mazy sand tracks, woodland walks and dunes the perfect size to leap off.

There's also plenty of parking in the woods, clean loos, cafes, sheltered waters, water sports renting spot and even a beach sauna.