Picture the scene. You arrive at the beach, the sands are empty and the only sound is the waves gently lashing on the shore. It’s pure paradise.
But the next second, crowds descend. Queues for the toilets are huge and even just getting to the sea is a tricky obstacle course of hopping over people’s legs, dodging children and ducking frisbees.
A packed beach can be a bit of a nightmare. While beaches are often popular for a reason – picturesque waters, stunning views and so on – there are plenty other gorgeous options that are a bit more off the beaten track.
So if you hate busy beaches, which ones should you avoid? Car finance and loan company Carmoola used TripAdvisor to calculate which UK beaches are the busiest, based on how many times the word ‘busy’ was used across reviews.
Taking the number one spot was Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, famed for being a major surfing destination. It was followed by Weymouth Beach in Dorset and Woolacombe Beach in Devon.
If you want some peace and quiet, here’s the full list of the top ten UK beaches you should give a miss, according to Carmoola:
- Fistral Beach, Cornwall
- Weymouth Beach, Dorset
- Woolacombe Beach, Devon
- Brighton Beach, East Sussex
- Scarborough Beach, North Yorkshire
- Perranporth Beach, Cornwall
- Sandbanks Beach, Dorset
- Wells-next-the-Sea Beach, Norfolk
- Porthmeor Beach, Cornwall
- St Ives Harbour, Cornwall
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