scenic view of beach at dawn | Enjoy Travel Life

Beach Guide UK: You’ll Love These Top 10 Beaches in England!

By Jackie Gately
(Reading Time: 8 minutes)
No time to read now? Click here to download as a PDF.

This Beach Guide UK is perfect for beach lovers looking for the best beaches in England.

With England’s temperate weather and over 11,000 miles of coastline, you”ll want to get more than a few of these beautiful beaches on your travel itinerary.

Continue reading to discover England’s lovely beaches as you prepare for your trip or a move to the UK.

beach guide (UK) - best beaches in England
Best beaches in the UK

CONTENTS – This article provides a beach guide (UK) so you can plan a visit to some fabulous beaches of England, including;

11 Stunning Beaches in England You Must Visit

England, a part of Great Britain, is mostly surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.

It’s an excellent destination for your summer travels. In fact, the UK is a great place to settle for an extended stay, too. If that’s your plan, you can easily get the right type of visa in uk by QC immigration.

You’ll look forward to plenty of beautiful beaches where you can enjoy leisure time to yourself or stroll the beach during breezy cool weather with family and friends.

Some locations, like the beaches on the Scilly Isles, make for fabulous romantic getaways.

If you’re visiting England soon or have just shifted there and want to dip your toes in some cool sea water, then this UK Beach Guide will guide you through.

Before hitting the road into your next beach escapade, don’t forget to get a reliable travel SIM from Simify for a hassle-free communication while you’re on the go.

Read this Beach Guide UK to find the eleven stunning beaches in England that you must visit.

Keep your swimsuits, towels, and sweaters ready!

1. Brighton Beach (Sussex)

The first and most famous beach that comes to everyone’s mind instantly is Brighton Beach in Sussex.

It’s one of the busiest tourist attractions and a culturally diverse town.

The beach is covered with over five miles of shingles (rough stones), so pack shoes and enough towels to settle on the rocky ground!

You can enjoy the beach sports at Brighton Beach, such as beach volleyball. Or, try some water sports, like paddle boarding and kayaking.

Since this beach is a tourist attraction, you’ll find a lot of good English holiday resorts with a wide price range.

The central Brighton Pier nearby has rides, amusements, and food stalls that will keep you entertained.

2. Birling Gap Beach (Seven Sisters Cliffs, Brighton/Eastbourne)

The Birling Gap Beach is situated at the base of Seven Sisters, a set of chalk cliffs between Brighton and Eastbourne.

This undeveloped stretch of coastline is a mix of pebbles and sand.

You can access the beach by climbing down a staircase from the cliff.

The makeup of the chalk cliffs also makes this place perfect for geological studies.

One of the biggest attractions of Birling Gap Beach is that a few spots are occupied by nudists.

You can enjoy water sports here, like kayaking, canyoning, surfing, windsurfing, and kite surfing.

And be sure to take in the beautiful view of the sea, shores, and people enjoying water sports or relaxing at the cafe.

There are cottages available on the chalk cliffs; however, as the cliffs erode, many have slid and fallen into the sea.

3. Shell Bay (Isle of Purbeck, Dorset)

Shell Bay is a small beach located on the glorious Isle of Purbeck in the northeastern tip of Dorset.

Just like the name suggests, Shell Bay is full of shells making it a shell picker’s paradise.

You can drive through the peninsula to this location or arrive at the spot by a ferry ride from Sandbanks.

This is a great beach for families. Getting in the water is relatively safe, and kids can also have a good time with their buckets and shovels.

The beach remains less crowded most of the year. However, summer usually brings in huge crowds here.

Some areas are designated for barbecue evenings so that you can enjoy a good time with family and friends.

It’s also an excellent spot to watch ships and ferries come in and depart.

scenic view of beach at dawn | Enjoy Travel Life
The beauty of dawn at the beach.

4. Durdle Door (Jurassic Coast, Dorset)

If you’ve seen souvenirs and postcards in Dorset, England, carrying a picture of an aesthetic beach, you’ve undoubtedly seen photos of the Durdle Door.

This beautiful beach on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast has a natural limestone arch that falls into the sea.

And if you’re looking for a serene and picturesque spot to drop anchor nearby, Mupe Bay anchoring is an excellent choice.

Durdle Door beach was the first natural site in The UK to be listed in the UNESCO world heritage in 2001.

Viewing the sea from the top of the archways feels heavenly.

Besides, you can enjoy some food here as well and collect souvenirs.

The beach is made of shingles and pebbles, and you can swim in the water.

However, you have to be cautious as there are no lifeguards here.

5. Bournemouth Beach (Bournemouth, Dorset)

Bournemouth Beach is a beautiful, eventful, and family-friendly place in Bournemouth, Dorset.

This eleven miles of golden sandy beach has five Blue Flag beaches:

  • Alum Chine
  • Durley Chine
  • Fisherman’s Walk
  • Southbourne
  • Manor Steps

It’s also the first beach in England to have beach huts.

Bournemouth beach avails drinking water and other amenities. So, you can use the washroom and take a quick bath at your convenience.

You can also hire sunbeds and parasols and also wheelchairs for free.

This child-friendly beach operates a ‘KidZone’ scheme geared toward children’s safety and making their playtime enjoyable.

The beach even provides buckets and shovels for kids to make sandcastles. Plus, they’ll find plenty of opportunities to play beach sports.

Guests can enjoy water sports here, such as surfing, paddle boarding, scuba diving, snorkeling, and wakeboarding.

The beach is also home to Happyland Amusements, a beachfront arcade where you can enjoy games, pool, air hockey, and other entertainment.

6. Pelistry Bay Beach (Isles of Scilly, Cornwall)

Pelistry Bay is one of the small islands in the Isles of Scilly.

Due to the location, it’s often not crowded at all. This makes it an excellent spot for a romantic escape.

If you want to enjoy a secluded location, then Pelistry Bay Beach is the perfect place for you.

No matter how secluded it is, the place is beautiful, with waves sometimes crushing on the pale sand.

You may swim and ride a paddle boat in the water; however, you should do it at low tide since there’s no lifeguard here.

If you’re a dog owner, you can bring your dog on the trip without restrictions.

You can also camp nearby at Pelistry Campsite alone, with family, or with your peers.

7. Appletree Bay Beach (Isles of Scilly, Cornwall)

Appletree Bay Beach can be described as a piece of heaven in the Isles of Scilly.

This crescent-shaped bay with white sand offers crystal blue water and sub-tropical trees, making it look a lot like The Caribbean.

Even with the serene look of this beach, it doesn’t get crowded due to the location.

So people looking for romantic getaways can easily visit this beach and enjoy a leisurely time.

It’s also easy to travel here and reach nearby places and islands on a budget.

8. Porthcurno Beach (Cornwall)

Porthcurno Beach should be the first must-visit beach for its beautiful view and historical significance when visiting Cornwall.

The turquoise water is contrasted with fine white sand, and bright flowers grow on some towering cliffs. A stream flows down to create a pool where kids can enjoy paddling.

It really is quite picturesque!

A British company, Submarine Telegraph Company, operated their first submarine telegraph cables on this beach, which was remote back in the nineteenth century. This was the first international link that ran under the sea.

Visit The Porthcurno Telegraph Museum on the cliff, which preserves the history of how Great Britain connected the entire world using a submarine telegraph link.

You’ll also find Minack Theatre here, a renowned historical theatre on the cliff of Porthcurno Beach.

9. Kynance Cove (Cornwall)

Kynance Cove is one of the most scenic beaches in Cornwall, England, located in the west part of Lizard.

The lush turquoise water crashing its waves on the rocky shores makes it a picturesque escape.

And, the white sand contrasts nicely with the green and red-black rocks, too.

Kynance Cove has sandy beaches in some areas; however, it is mostly covered by rock formations that create a unique shape often described as ‘serpentine.’

This area isn’t crowded except in summer, so you can visit it peacefully.

Stand on the cliffs to enjoy a panoramic view, skip over the small rock steps, and even sit there during low tides to sink your feet in the water.

The low tides also bring out explorative caves like The Parlour and The Drawing Room.

You can also enjoy the beautiful view and sunset from an eco-friendly cafe nearby.

10. Bamburgh Castle Beach (Bamburgh, Northumberland)

Bamburgh Beach, located in Bamburgh, Northumberland, is a scenic place to visit with opportunities for water sports enthusiasts.

The castle, dating centuries back, stands on a basalt cliff side and overlooks the sandy beach.

You can get down on the beach via a short walk through fabulous sand dunes.

It’s mainly uncrowded and gives you an excellent opportunity for an expansive sea view.

You can also enjoy a long walk along the uninterrupted shore and bring your dog for a peaceful walk.

If you’re adventurous, you can surf in the sea and do kitesurfing as well.

The sand on this beach is perfect for kids to make sandcastles, and all the resources are available to help them with that.

Not far from this location is the Stag Rocks lighthouse, which has rock-pooling opportunities where you can enjoy some miniature marine life.

From October to April, you can also witness Aurora Borealis on the northern horizon!

11. Dungeness Beach (Kent)

Technically classified as a desert because of the environment and habitats, Dungeness Beach is located in Kent and has two lighthouses standing on either side.

The plain is full of shingles and is home to rich wildlife and hundreds of species of plants.

It also has the Dungeness nuclear power station located nearby.

Hot water and sewage from the nuclear power station are disposed of in a certain spot on this beach, which ends up creating marine life underneath.

Due to its diversity, this spot is popular among anglers.

Like most other beaches in England other than the Blue Flag locations, this beach doesn’t have any lifeguards. So, you have to be careful if you wish to get down in the water.

You can bring your dog here, too, if it enjoys scavenger hunting.

Final Thoughts on This Beach Guide, UK

England has a great diversity of beaches, some with fine white sand, while others with rocky terrains, diverse wildlife, and various plant species.

Whether you just want to explore some beautiful spots or walk along the coastlines to clear your mind, these eleven beaches can offer you lovely escapades.

We hope you found this list helpful and will consider visiting these must-visit eleven stunning beaches in England!

Jackie Gately at the beach


About Jackie Gately, editor-IN-CHIEF

I'm Jackie Gately, your travel confidante and the creative force behind Enjoy Travel Life, awarded the "Best Casual-Luxury Lifestyle Blog (USA)" in Travel and Tourism by LUXlife Magazine for four consecutive years.

With 25 years of published expertise, I'm a seasoned writer, editor, and photographer curating inspiring travel guides and lifestyle tips for empty nesters. I hope to kindle your spirit of exploration, encouraging you to overcome obstacles and turn your dreams into reality.

Learn to minimize your pre-travel angst and maximize the joy of exploration with insights from my experiences. Let's make every adventure a celebration of this exciting phase of life! 

Follow my social channels for more inspiration.

Don’t forget to save this article to Pinterest for later!

top beaches in england | Enjoy Travel Life
top beaches england | Enjoy Travel Life
united kingdom beach guide | Enjoy Travel Life

Next Steps

For more about the beautiful place to visit in the UK, read the articles below, next: