Devon beach named best in Britain
Devon’s three-mile long Woolacombe Beach has been voted the best in the UK, the fourth best in Europe and the 13th best in the world.
Weymouth Beach in Dorset also scored highly in the latest TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards for Beaches, voted second best in the UK and eighth in Europe.
"The presence of two UK beaches in Europe’s top ten is further proof of what a fantastic tourist draw the UK’s coastline really is," said James Kay, TripAdvisor spokesperson.
In their third year, the awards are based on the reviews and ratings from travellers around the globe.
"With a coastline longer than Brazil’s, Britain abounds with beautiful beaches – from great stretches of golden sand to discrete little coves," said Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain.
"It’s fantastic to see this natural beauty recognised by travellers and shows that our coastline can easily compete with some of the world’s most popular beach destinations."
Although the number one beach was in Devon, it was down to Cornwall to scoop the most number of awards of any county in the UK.
Cornwall was home to four winning beaches with Porthminster Beach in St Ives, Perranporth Beach in Perranporth and Fistral Beach in Newquay taking fifth, sixth and seventh place in the UK respectively, while Hayle’s Godrevy Head came 22nd.
For the second year running, Baia do Sancho in Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha, was crowned the number one beach in the world.
Here’s a list of the top 10 in each category:
Top 10 beaches in the world
1. Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
2. Grace Bay, Providenciales
3. Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa, Italy
4. Playa Paraiso Beach, Cayo Largo, Caribbean
5. Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Spain
6. Anse Lazio, Praslin Island, Seychelles
7. White Beach, Boracay, Philippines
8. Flamenco Beach, Culebra, Caribbean
9. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia
10. Elafonissi Beach, Elafonissi, Greece
13. Woolacombe Beach, Woolacombe, Devon, United Kingdom
Top 10 beaches in Europe
1. Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa, Italy
2. Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Spain
3. Elafonissi Beach, Elafonissi, Greece
4. Woolacombe Beach, Woolacombe, Devon, United Kingdom
5. Iztuzu Beach, Dalyan, Turkey
6. Fig Tree Bay, Protaras, Cyprus
7. Cala Rossa, Favignana, Italy
8. Weymouth Beach, Weymouth, Dorset, United Kingdom
9. Eggremni Beach, Lefkada Greece
10. Playa de Bolonia, Tarifa, Spain
11. Rhossili Bay, Rhossili, Swansea, Wales
14. St. Brelade’s Bay Beach, St Brelade, Jersey
18. Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Top 10 beaches in the UK
1. Woolacombe Beach, Woolacombe, Devon
2. Weymouth Beach, Weymouth, Dorset
3. Rhossili Bay, Rhossili, Swansea
4. St. Brelade’s Bay Beach, St. Brelade, Jersey
5. Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall
6. Perranporth Beach, Perranporth, Cornwall
7. Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall
8. Luskentyre, Isle of Harris
9. Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth, Dorset
10. Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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