A silver lining ... an optimistic beach attendant puts out deckchairs at Bournemouth.
Photograph: Chris Ison/PA
Where do you find the ideal beach holiday? At a secluded cove tucked between the rocky crags of a sunburnt stretch of the Mediterranean coast? Or, if you're after big waves, you may prefer a taste of the Pacific - the New Ireland province off Papua New Guinea perhaps. Well, as the onset of summer teases us into mood swings that directly reflect the sunny/gloomy behaviour of the skies above, the answer arrives: you can find the ideal beach holiday in Britain. Or that's where you'll find a stack of Blue Flag beaches anyway.
Blue Flags are awarded by environmental charity Encams to those beaches that tick all the boxes when it comes to clean water, clean sand, good environmental management, public information and disabled access. This year's list of 120 environmental saints of the sea throughout England and Wales, announced today, includes old faithfuls such as Eastbourne, Bournemouth and Poole, along with 11 newcomers including Leysdown in Kent, Hunstanton in Norfolk and Aberddyfi in Wales.
"It's easy to forget that the British Isles are surrounded by miles of award-winning coastline. And that, despite competition from rival 'sun, sea and sand' destinations, millions of us head to British beaches throughout the year."
So says Tom Wright, chief executive of Visit Britain, which has today launched a new edition of its guidebook, Britain's Blue Flag beaches.
As an Australian, I find the beaches of Britain quite alien: calm waters, pebbly shores, and the loudest sound being that of the seagulls cawing, as opposed to the wild crash of breakers. On my ideal beach, I'm lying under a pandanus tree somewhere on a long stretch of the Queensland coast only accessible by some remote rural road which, on first impressions, would seem to lead nowhere, apart from eastwards.
Do we all have an ideal beach? Have we found it, are we still looking for it, and do such places exist in Britain? In an age when jetting about for fun is starting to play on the minds of the environmentally conscientious holidaymaker, it seems to be a point worth flagging.
