Swanage named among Britain's best seaside destinations

Swanage has been named in the top 10 of a poll of Britain's best seaside destinations.

Visitors ranked almost 100 areas, on things like seafronts and piers, food and drink, and accommodation.

Swanage, which received an overall score of 80%, was ranked higher than the usually more popular towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Shanklin.

Britain's best seaside destination was named as Bamburgh on the Northumberland coast by the consumer magazine Which?

The publication surveyed 4,000 people ahead of the big summer getaway which was expected to be particularly popular for UK holidays due to the pandemic.

Bamburgh was selected as best seaside town or village, reclaiming the top spot which it lost last year, after receiving five stars for its beaches, scenery and attractions - and an overall score of 85%.

It boasts a historic and imposing castle, with a pretty cricket pitch below, miles of beaches with clean sand and rock pools, and the wildlife of the nearby Farne Islands.

Bamburgh also received an additional five stars for value for money, with prices for accommodation being half those of some popular spots in Cornwall.

Which? said respondents liked the castle and the huge beaches which meant people could easily socially distance.

The survey found that readers still managed to find space at the best seaside towns and villages, with 30 awarded four or five stars for peace and quiet.

Tynemouth, on Tyneside, took joint second place alongside Dartmouth in Devon, which both scored 84%.

Both received five stars for their seafronts and scored well for value for money.

In third place - and taking the title of Scotland's best beach town - was St Andrews.

Although busier than some of the other top destinations, the Home of Golf may have earned its high ranking due to its five-star rated tourist attractions and shopping options.

The top seaside town in Wales was Aberaeron, ranked fourth in the UK.

The quiet harbour town was given five stars for its scenery, with visitors commenting fondly on the painted houses in pastel colours.

Northern Ireland did not have enough respondents to include in the Which? survey.

At the other end of the table was Skegness in Lincolnshire with a score of 48%, which was an improvement on last year.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: "Many of us discovered the joy of a British summer holiday last year and the trend looks set to continue well into this summer.

"The results of our survey show that bigger is rarely better, with smaller and less crowded resorts taking the top spots over better-known destinations.''