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London may boast a marvellous selection of outdoor pools and lidos, but what we don’t have much of is beaches. Sure, there might be that artificial beach in Ruislip and, yes, the Thames does indeed have some low-tide rocky patches, but neither of those are a great substitute for a proper, swimmable beach by the sea. Besides, we wouldn’t wish swimming in the Thames on anyone – well, not yet, anyway.
Fortunately there are plenty of beaches within easy reach of London – find a guide to the best ones here – and some of them are very good indeed. In fact, one beach near(ish) the capital was just named in the top 50 beaches in the world.
The list in question came from travel blog and tour booking company Big 7 Travel, and just four British beaches made the top 50. The one within reasonably easy access of London can be found on the south coast, in Dorset – Alum Chine beach.
Alum Chine is the largest chine of Bournemouth, and you can find the beach where the gorge meets the sea. Big 7 Travel named Alum Chine beach the 39th best in the world, sandwiched in the list between sandy stretches in Spain and Australia, and picked out its Blue Flag certification and watersports options as highlights. Big 7 also pointed out that Alum Chine often has warmer water and weather than many UK beaches.
So, how do Londoners get to Alum Chine? Well, the trip is two hours by car on a very, very good run. It’s more like two and a half hours by public transport – you can get a direct train from Waterloo or Clapham Junction to Bournemouth, then it’s either a walk (45 mins) or a bus and walk (30 mins) to the beach.
You might be thinking: that’s a heck of a long way to go for a beach. But while you’re in Bournemouth there’s another award-winning beach not far away. Bournemouth Beach, which was named one of the best in the world by TripAdvisor earlier this year, sits two miles east of Alum Chine.
The best beaches near London, according to Time Out.
ICYM: The best beach within an hour of London for summer 2025.
Plus: the Times’ best beach in southern England is less than 90 minutes from London.
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