It is holiday season and ordinarily, sun-seekers would be jetting off around the world in their millions – that was before Covid-19. With international travel severely impacted, many will be looking to plan their summer getaway on home soil in 2020.
£40.9 million tourists visited the UK last year, with £93.1 million overseas trips made by UK residents. Those numbers will of course be a lot lower in 2020. Instead, British holiday makers can look to their own shores this year and thanks to this latest study from The Solar Centre, they can find the best seaside towns for a day-trip, as well as some hidden gems to beat the crowds.
91 seaside resorts across the UK, including three from Northern Ireland, were examined using statistical analysis on ten different data points. We collected the latest scientific and crowdsourced data for seven different factors that are important for a perfect day at the beach.
Deal comes out on top overall, with a highest average score of 8.37. Penarth and Southwold are in second and third respectively, with Dunbar coming last across the categories, with a score of
- Deal, Kent
- Portrush, County Antrim
- Penarth, Glamorgan
- Nairn, Highland
- Southwold, Suffolk
- Dunoon, Argylle and Bute
- Ramsgate, Kent
- Oban, Argylle and Bute
- St Ives, Cornwall
- Ellon, Aberdeenshire
- Ryde, Isle of Wight
- Dornoch, Highland
- Dartmouth, Devon
- Helensburgh, Argylle and Bute
- Criccieth, Gwynedd
- Rothesay, Argylle and Bute
- Margate, Kent
- North Berwick, East Lothian
- Padstow, Cornwall
- Dunbar, East Lothian
Of the three Northern Irish coastal towns that were analysed, Newcastle has the claim of the being the best of the trio, with high scores in quality of beaches, as well as fish and chips. On average, Newcastle also enjoys the most sunshine of the three during the summer months.
Unsurprisingly, the bottom ten is dominated by seaside areas of Scotland, largely due their lower scores in the climate categories, like water temperature. Dunbar comes out bottom of the bunch though, with the lowest score in the entire UK for quality of beaches. It also scores poorly for quality of fish and chips eateries and for its’ pricier beer.
Notable exclusions from the top 20 are Bournemouth, Brighton and Blackpool beach – some of the more popular beaches in Britain, where thousands have already flocked this year. The data highlights just how many beautiful coastal areas the UK has to offer, and that Brits have plenty of areas to explore, which may help them beat the crowds.
The tourism industry has taken a huge hit this year, but things are hopefully looking up with Visit Britain recently launching the “We’re Good to Go” industry standard to ensure business follow government guidelines to protect against Coronavirus. Hopefully, this will help tourists to day trip with confidence in the next few months and make the most of a tough summer.
Brian Davenport, Director of The Solar Centre, commented: “While it is necessary to try and return the economy to a healthy state and keep tourism strong in the UK, it is also crucial that we take care when planning holidays. When choosing to take a trip to the beach, we must ensure the safety of others and act in a responsible way.”
