No two British beaches are the same. There are the ones backed by colourful, quintessential seaside resorts, the huge rough and wild ones that stretch for miles, the gleaming white ones that wouldn’t look out of place in Spain or Italy and the tiny hidden ones only accessible via precarious cliff paths or low-tide treks.
With all that variety, we all have our own opinions on which beaches are the best in the country. Time Out writers have put together their list of absolute favourites here, and now the Sunday Times has weighed in.
Over the course of one year, Chris Haslam, the paper’s chief travel writer, stopped by a whopping 756 beaches and 51 resorts across the British Isles, inspecting them based on 11 factors: bathing water quality, accessibility, beach cleanliness, lifeguards, loos, car parking, café, shops for essentials, dog-friendliness, water sports and the general vibe.
And after scouring (almost) the entire UK coastline, Haslam crowned 50 beaches the best in the country, picking a winner for each region of the UK and crowning one that outshines them all. Sunday Times’s ‘beach of the year’ for 2025 is Portstewart Strand in Northern Ireland’s Co Londonderry.
Known locally as ‘The Strand’, the spectacular two-mile stretch of sand is 61 miles outside of Belfast and a particular favourite among wild swimmers (the water is rated excellent by the Environment Agency). It’s dramatically overlooked by Dunluce Castle and its towering sand dunes are some of the tallest in all of Ireland and are a designated Area of Special Scientific Interest.
The paper said: ‘Backed by dunes, [the beach] would run all the way to Magilligan Point, were it not for the salmon-rich River Bann cutting it in two, about two miles to the west. Surfers, paddleboarders, kayakers and especially wild swimmers come to play here, while others come simply to stare at the sea: some sitting in their cars, others on the cocktail deck of Harry’s Shack.’
Harry’s Shack is known for serving up top notch seafood dishes, like fresh haddock and chips, lobster and Carlingford oysters. Haslam also gave a special mention to its ‘delicious’ spiced arancello spritz. On the promenade, there’s a stretch of more cafes and independent shops, like Born & Bread, Sheila’s souvenir shop and Roughans ice cream parlour – the perfect lineup for a post-swim saunter.
You can find the Times’ full list of the best beaches in the UK here.
The Sunday Times also named its regional beach champs – including this one just 90 minutes from London.
ICYMI: The best seaside town in the UK to visit this summer.
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