Revealed: The UK's best beach

Packed with old fashioned amusements, big and sandy, and safe for swimmers - Weymouth's beach has been voted the very best in the UK.

Flanked by a harbour and backed by an attractive row of Georgian buildings, the Dorset town's gentle curve of golden sand was named as this year’s number one “travellers choice” beach by TripAdvisor users.

Not only did it beat other British favourites, such as Cornwall’s numerous sandy coves and Norfolk’s dune-backed expanses, but Weymouth was also held in higher esteem than many Mediterranean beaches, coming ninth in a ranking of Europe's top 10.

TripAdvisor’s top 10 beaches in the UK

  1. Weymouth Beach, Weymouth, Dorset

  2. Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall

  3. St. Brelade’s Bay Beach, St Brelade, Jersey

  4. Luskentyre, Isle of Harris, Scotland

  5. Woolacombe Beach, Woolacombe, Devon

  6. Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall

  7. Bournemouth Beach, Bournemouth, Dorset

  8. Rhossili Bay, Rhossili, Wales

  9. Perranporth Beach, Perranporth, Cornwall

  10. Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth, Dorset

“Head to Weymouth to recapture the nostalgia of childhood family holidays,” said Paul Clements, writing for Telegraph Travel. “On its famously golden sands, Punch and Judy still hammer it out several times a day, near the donkey rides and carousel. For a British beach holiday any more quintessential, you’d have to bring out the cucumber sandwiches while swatting away wasps with sticks of pink rock.

“A haven of simple pleasures – the Georgian Esplanade is a parade of penny arcades, tea rooms and chippies, dominated by a statue erected in 1810 in the king’s honour – Weymouth is more than its majestic beachfront. Slap on some sunblock and head out in a boat into some of the best sailing waters in northern Europe. It also makes for the perfect jumping-off point to explore the Jurassic Coast – a 95-mile strip of sandstone cliffs and fossil-rich prehistoric shoreline 185 million years in the making.”

TripAdvisor’s list of UK beaches is notably lacking in choices from the east and the north of the country, but that hasn’t stopped Weymouth & Portland Borough Council from celebrating.

Cllr Jason Osborne, for Tourism and Culture, was delighted.

“The award reflects the hard work that is done by the borough council and its partners such as Dorset Waste Partnership, local businesses and the community,” he said. “It’s a great start to the year and hopefully signals a successful season ahead for Weymouth and Dorset.”

In second place came the renowned surfing beach of Fistral, in Newquay, Cornwall, which was also voted eleventh best in Europe; while third went to St. Brelade's Bay Beach, located in St. Brelade, one of the 12 parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands.

The number one beach in the world was deemed to be Baia do Sancho in Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha - a beach that is consistently within the top five in any world list.

Telegraph Travel’s experts see things slightly differently however.

Which beaches have they missed off?

Our list of Britain’s best beaches rates several stretches of sand in the South West, including Porthcurno in Cornwall, “arguably the county's most beautiful bay”, Blackpool Sands, near Dartmouth, “a sheltered and peaceful crescent of fine shingle, backed by wooded hills, with calm turquoise water”, and Studland Bay in Dorset, “four miles of pristine white sand, which shelves gently into milky-blue waters, with a backdrop of dunes and heathland.”

Britains best beaches

But it also highlights plenty of special beaches in other corners of the country. 

In Suffolk, Walberswick, is a long and empty stretch of sand, save for the odd crabber.

The beach at Holkham in Norfolk has impressive, wild dunes “You don't know the meaning of "big sky" until you cross the wooden boards through the dunes and tip out on to this vast stretch of sand”.

Looking to the north, in Yorkshire, Sandsend is “set against a backdrop of grassy cliffs, where the wide sweep of beach from Whitby ends, this stretch is quieter and prettier than its famous neighbour.”

Bamburgh beach, overlooked by Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, is often the setting for Hollywood films, such as Macbeth. “This beautiful stretch of wild coastline offers clear seas and huge sands,” our expert said. “On a clear day you can see out to Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands.”

And Wales and Northern Ireland has dramatic beaches at Marloes Sands and Portstewart Strand.

Telegraph Travel's top 20 beaches in the UK

  • Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall

  • Porthcurno, near Land's End, Cornwall

  • Pentle Bay, Tresco, Scilly Isles

  • Saunton Sands, Devon

  • Blackpool Sands, Devon

  • Studland Bay, Dorset

  • Compton Bay, Isle of Wight

  • West Wittering, Sussex

  • Botany Bay, Kent

  • Walberswick, Suffolk

  • Wells/Holkham, Norfolk

  • Sandsend, Yorkshire

  • Bamburgh, Northumberland

  • Formby, Lancashire

  • Lunan Bay, Scotland

  • Sandwood Bay, Cape Wrath, Scotland

  • Luskentyre, Scotland

  • Portstewart Strand, Northern Ireland

  • Marloes Sands, Wales

  • Rhossili beach, Wales

The beaches in TripAdvisor’s list highlight fairly popular, touristy, beaches, as the awards are based on the reviews of TripAdvisor users.

Anyone wanting to find the best of the UK’s more hidden beaches would do well to read our experts' inspirational list of the UK's best secret beaches - peace and nothing but crashing waves guaranteed.