The nation's most popular beaches – from Scarborough to St Ives – are never more spectacular than at summer's height, but they're also busy.
So, how to sidestep the crowds and find a more tranquil spot by the shore?
Britain's thousands of miles of coastline means there's plenty of lesser-known stretches to enjoy, from wild Scottish strands to classic bucket-and-spade beaches and Caribbean-esque Cornish idylls.
Here's our pick of the ones you shouldn't miss.
Mattiscombe Sands, located in South Devon, boasts huge boulders along its shore
A short but steep walk from the nearest car park keeps Mattiscombe's corn-coloured sands, studded with enormous boulders, light on visitors.
Pursuits? Swim, fish for mackerel, enjoy the mini-waterfall, and tour Start Point Lighthouse on the craggy headland nearby.
There's no café, so pack a cream tea (jam on top, obviously).
Beach bonus: Spot basking sharks in summer
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Three nights' self-catering for four at nearby Prospect House from £730 in September, coastandcountry.co.uk
Crow Point, in North Devon, is popular with surfers and has a free car park
North Devon surfer hotspot Saunton Sands morphs into the peaceful sandy peninsula of Crow Point, where the Taw and Torridge rivers collide.
Access it via a £2 toll road; the car park is free.
Beach bonus: The atmospheric – and fast disappearing – Sea Mack trawler wreck
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Three nights' self-catering for two in September at Putsborough Cottage at South Lobb Farm in Braunton from £573, holidaycottages.co.uk
Bream Cove, in Cornwall, is a private beach with public access
This sand-and-shingle stretch of the Cornish coast is just 15 minutes south of Falmouth but rarely busy.
Why? It's technically a private beach…but has public access.
Park on the road above and wander 300m down the woodland path to reach it.
The crystal clear waters are calm, and made for a sunrise dip, snorkel or paddleboard.
Beach bonus: Barista-style coffee at The Bream Box food hut
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at Hotel Meudon from £188 in September, booking.com.
Hawker's Cove, in Cornwall, looks out onto a sparkling ocean
Circumvent Padstow's tourist throngs and mosey west along the North Cornish coast to Hawker's Cove instead.
There's scant parking but the South West Coastal Path runs right by it, so it's easy to access on foot from elsewhere.
What greets you? Shelving sands, stretching around a mile-and-a-half at low tide, and sparkling sea, giving Caribbean vibes when the sun's high and hot.
Beach bonus: Views of Atlantic Coast headland Stepper Point
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: A week's self-catering for six at nearby 3 Pilot Cottages from £1,141 in September, harbourholidays.co.uk
Eype Beach, in Dorset, is a shingle beach with few crowds
This shingle beach, bypassed by the South West Coast Path and sitting beneath Dorset's dramatic Golden Cap hill-cliff, majors on Jurassic Coast splendour but with the crowds dialled down.
Beach bonus: Hunt for those famous fossils
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Three nights' self-catering for five at The Billy Shed from £510, booking.com
Oval Field Beach, West Sussex
South of Chichester, the beaches of Selsey lie at the tip of triangle-shaped Manhood peninsula – one of the UK's sunniest spots.
Oval Field Beach is wonderfully secluded, and a rare sandy patch on this jut of land. Partake in sunset yoga, kite-flying or dipping a snorkel mask; nearby Selsey village has fun bric-a-brac stores to wander too.
Beach bonus: Selsey crab sandwiches for lunch, please
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at The Coast Yard in Selsey from £128, thecoastyard.co.uk
Joss Bay, in Kent, offers 200 metres of sandy beach
Yes, we know Margate is trendy, but bolt a few miles east to family-friendly Joss Bay for a more laid-back beach day.
This toffee-hued 200-metre sandy stretch is well known to Kentish folk but you can still unfurl a towel in peak season in relative peace.
Surf is almost always up, with lessons easy to arrange. It's accessible for buggies and wheelchairs too.
Beach bonus: Great bacon sandwiches at Joss Bay café
Dog friendly? Yes, but May to September restrictions apply
Stay nearby: One week's self-catering for seven at Liberty Cottage in nearby Broadstairs from £1,205, keeperscottages.co.uk
St Margarets Bay, in Kent, is a peaceful shingle beach
You can see those White Cliffs from here but feel a million miles away from Dover's summer ferry queues.
Shingley St Margaret's Bay, which makes eyes at France and rolls back into Kent countryside, once wooed Bond author Ian Fleming, who wrote Moonraker at his home here.
Don't miss historic South Foreland Lighthouse, a short walk away.
Beach bonus: A pint at The Coastguard, the nearest pub to France
Dog friendly? No dogs between May 1st and September 30th
Stay nearby: Three nights' self-catering for six in a lodge at St Margaret's Bay Holiday Park from £411, parkdeanresorts.co.uk
East of England
East Mersea Beach, Mersea Island
East Mersea Beach, on Mersea Island, is a hidden rural spot
Eight-mile square, pebble-shaped Mersea Island sits in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries off the Essex coast.
Tourists love the cute fishing town of West Mersea, so head to more rural – but still sandy – East Mersea to shake them off.
There's nature in abundance, and it's also a wild swimming haven, so bring your bathers.
Beach bonus: The birds: spy waders and wildfowl, including brent geese
Dog friendly: Yes, but must be on leads in summer
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at the nearby White Hart Inn from £185, booking.com.
Sizewell Beach, in Suffolk, is overlooked by Sizewell B power station
Smugglers' haunt turned fisherman's favourite, Sizewell Beach, 15 miles beneath Southwold, boasts a sizeable swathe of shingle.
Beach bonus: Hot chocs at the Sizewell Tea hut
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: One week's self-catering for eight at The Dower House in Thorpeness from £1,250, booking.com.
Covehithe, in Suffolk, is a roomy cliff-backed beach
'The beach at the end of the world' sounds just the ticket for solitude seekers. That's what locals call Covehithe, a roomy cliff-backed beach that reveals itself at the end of a rural lane and leaves the crowds to nearby Southwold.
Only accessible on foot or by bike, it's sandy, quiet year-round, and perfect for a refreshing paddle.
Beach bonus: The ruined Gothic church just off the beach
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Two nights' self-catering for two in Pebble Lodge at Toad Hall in Wangford from £197, visit toadhall.life
Weybourne Beach, in Norfolk, is overlooked by cliffs
A constant coastal symphony plays on the shingle of Weybourne Beach in north Norfolk.
Steeply shelved, meaning bigger waves, the water dragging pebbles back and forth offers a soothing soundtrack.
Listen in, and enjoy a flask of tea while you watch paragliders launch from the cliffs behind you.
Beach bonus: Pebbles keep heat, so feels warmer even on cold days
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Four nights' self-catering for six in a woodland lodge at Kelling Heath Holiday Park from £719, kellingheath.co.uk
Waxham Beach, in Norfolk, is sheltered by grass-topped sand dunes
In an Area of Outstanding Beauty 15 miles north of Great Yarmouth, the custard-coloured sands are accessed via a shaded path.
There's nothing here but nature – bliss, but you'll need to BYO snacks.
Beach bonus: Views of the offshore Sea Palling reefs
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Four nights' self-catering for eight in a holiday home at Waxham Sands Holiday Park from £321.75 in September, lovatparks.com
Rhossili Bay is the Gower's show-stopper but hop over the other side of the peninsula and Mewslade Bay bestows similar scenic drama minus the Instagrammers.
A wide-angled Welsh wonder, there's room to roam and sand the colour of caramel, which disappears at high tide.
Park in nearby Pitton.
Beach bonus: Mewslade's surf is some of the Gower's best
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at the King's Head Inn, nine miles away, from £150, booking.com.
Castell Beach, in Ceredigion, is a mixture of sand and pebbles
Meaning 'little castle', Castell Bach, five miles south of New Quay, takes its name from the Iron Age hill-fort nearby.
A mix of sand and pebbles, there's a shallow pool perfect for splashing in on one side of the beach, and plenty of rocks, sculpted by time, to explore.
Mind your step, the path down is a little tricky.
Beach bonus: Spot seal pups in the autumn
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Three nights' self-catering for 12 at nearby Ty Cwch Boathouse from £1,118 in September, tycwch.wales
Porth Lago in Llŷn Peninsula is another hidden gem without crowds
If only off-grid will do, then this rectangular cove on the Llŷn Peninsula's west coast meets the brief.
Access via a farm puts many off the scent but persevere and the public car park announces you've arrived.
There are rich rewards; the blue-green water is gorgeous and the beach sheltered. There's great fishing from the rocks too.
Beach bonus: It's west-facing; the sunsets are mesmerising
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Two nights' self-catering for four in a pod at Glampio Coed from £240, glampiocoed.com
Porth Wen, in Anglesey, is located west of better-known Bull Bay
You're more likely to bump into a fisherman than a fellow tourist at unusual Porth Wen, just west of better-known Bull Bay on Anglesey.
The path to get here is cryptic – zero signage – and when you do arrive, the curiosity ramps up further.
Until the First World War, Porth Wen was home to a brickworks, and chimney stacks and furnaces still perch on this pretty swathe of white shingle beach.
Beach bonus: Swim under the natural rock arch
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Room-only doubles at Treaddur Bay Hotel, 11 miles away, from £127 , booking.com
Formby Beach, in Lancashire, stretches for 13.2km
Just 40 minutes from Liverpool, and an hour's drive east of Manchester, dune-filled Formby Beach is by no means a secret – but at 13.2km, it's epic enough to feel crowd-free even in August.
A National Trust reserve, you'll share this pristine beach with sand lizards and natterjack toads. It's accessible for wheelchairs too.
Beach bonus: There's almost always a Mr Whippy van in the car park
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester from £115 in September, booking.com.
Silverdale, in Lancashire, is often a quiet, tourist-free spot
Victoria Wood once lived in Silverdale, a charm-filled village overlooking a vast, sandy section of Morecambe Bay, which, crucially, gets left alone by tourists.
There's magical, creature-filled rock pools kids will love, walks along limestone paths and soul-stirring Bay and Lakeland Fells views.
Beach bonus: Cool brunch spot The Wolf Silverdale is a short walk away
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at the Silverdale Hotel from £110 in September, booking.com.
Drigg, in West Cumbria, offers views of the Irish Sea
Cumbria through a different lens? Head for Drigg, a 1000-acre sand dune reserve overlooking the Irish Sea that sits in the shadow of nuclear site Sellafield.
Granted, it's not a beach for cocktails and loungers, but there's a remote beauty to enjoy and oodles of wildlife to see; it's home to one of the north-west's biggest seabird breeding colonies.
Beach bonus: Snap photos from the old look-out post
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at 1692 Wasdale, nine miles away, from £195 in September, booking.com.
On Northumberland's Heritage Coast, this super-size strand has long been a go-to for those in the know.
Blow away cobwebs, bring a cricket bat, or just soak up the endless arching views; on a clear day you can see Scotland.
When the tide retreats, the sand is pillow-soft too.
Beach bonus: Cheswick sits on the Coast & Castles cycle route
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Two night's self-catering for four at nearby Farm Cottage from £834 in September, crabtreeandcrabtree.com
Alnmouth Beach, in Northumberland, is perfect for dog walkers
At the mouth of the River Aln, a honey-hued portion of the Northumberland coast serves up big skies and seaside serenity galore.
Only the experienced swim at Alnmouth – the tides near the estuary mouth can be dangerous – but there's beach fun in spades.
And it's made for doggy runarounds, so bring a ball.
Beach bonus: Pretty fishermen's cottages in Alnmouth village
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Room-only doubles at The Whittling House from £160 in September, booking.com.
Cayton Bay, in North Yorkshire, is a peaceful sandy beach
Sandwiched between vintage British seaside favourites Scarborough and Filey, Cayton Bay is a striking crescent of sandy beach, backed by grass-topped cliffs, carpeted with wildflowers in the summer, and popular with surfers.
When the tide pulls back, there's rock pools to swoop a net into.
Beach bonus: Fascinating the Second World War defence 'pillboxes' upended on the sand
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: B&B doubles at Wrea Head Hall, nine miles away, from £210 in September, booking.com
Beadnell Bay is also located in Northumberland
Fancy some high-octane activity? Beadnell Bay delivers, offering lively waves ripe for kayaking, windsurfing and wakeboarding.
Tours leave the horseshoe-shaped bay bound for the Farne Islands too, where seals and puffins can be spotted.
Beach bonus: A pint at nearby 15th century inn The Craster Arms
Dog friendly? Yes, but there's seasonal restrictions when shorebirds breed
Stay nearby: One week's self-catering for two at Sleeping Seal in Beadnell from £611, holidaycottages.co.uk
Scalpsie Bay, Isle of Bute
The peaceful Scalpsie Bay can be found on the Isle of Bute
A compact car park keeps the masses away at Scalpsie Bay, an amber-sand beach on the south-west coast of Bute.
Buses run within a mile of it though, so it's easy to reach and when you get there, this neat kilometre of shore, once used for the Second World War military training, offers whimsical views across the big blue to the Isle of Arran.
Beach bonus: The seal colony north of the bay
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: One week's self-catering for six at Kerryniven from £981.75, airbnb.com.
St Cyrus Beach, located in Aberdeenshire, is home to plenty of wildlife
Three miles of dunes, beach and cliffs meet those who set foot on St Cyrus, which sits pretty 30 miles south of Aberdeen.
Part of the St Cyrus National Nature Reserve, come for the birding too, with skylarks, stonechats and peregrine falcons all calling this coast home.
It's all wheelchair-accessible too.
Beach bonus: A great visitor centre in the old lifeboat station
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Three nights' self-catering for six in a house at Glen Dye from £935 in September, glendyecabinsandcottages.com
Sandwood Bay, in Sutherland, is 1.5 miles long
South of Cape Wrath, Sandwood Bay, a 1.5 mile pink-sand idyll flanked by cliffs and backed by dunes in lofty Kinlochbervie has North Atlantic views to die for.
Pack a rucksack picnic and park in nearby Blairmore, before following the four-mile moorland path to the bay – the reward is worth the effort.
Beach bonus: Am Buachaille, the photogenic 65m-high sea stack
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Three nights' self-catering for four at Deer House near Kinlochbervie from £492 in November, sykescottages.co.uk
Mellon Udrigle, can be found in the Highlands in Ross-shire
Let's not dress this up, the Highlands weather won't always play ball, but when the skies are blue, Mellon Udrigle is a bona fide paradise.
On Ross-shire's north-west coast, the sand is alabaster and the waters turquoise, and the views of the surrounding mountains dreamy.
It's all easily accessible from the car park in the hamlet of the same name.
Beach bonus: It's on Scotland's North Coast 500 road-trip route
Dog friendly? Yes, year-round
Stay nearby: Two nights' self-catering for two in a Loch Ewe glamping pod from £300 in September, booking.com.
All prices correct as of August 17, 2026