Britain’s best beaches leave Med all at sea

BRITAIN has fi ve of the best 20 beaches in Europe – more than Spain, France, Greece or Italy – travellers say.

The UK’s “fantastic” coastline can more than hold its own against the Mediterranean sunspots, according to a list compiled by TripAdvisor from visitors’ reviews.

Woolacombe beach in Devon was voted the best of British – and the fourth fi nest stretch of coastline in the continent.

Weymouth beach in Dorset was voted eighth best in Europe, Rhossili beach in Swansea came in 11th place, St Brelade’s Bay beach in Jersey was 14th and Porthminster beach at St Ives in Cornwall was 18th.

Fantastic

TripAdvisor described Woolacombe as a three- mile stretch of golden sand and rolling, unbroken surf.

James Kay, a spokesman for the website, said: “The presence of fi ve UK beaches in Europe's top 20 is further proof of what a fantastic tourist draw Britain's coastline really is.”

Italy has four beaches in the top 20, including Rabbit beach on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which came in fi rst place overall.

Spain and Greece also have four each, including respectively Playa de Ses Illetes in Formentera which came in second place and Elafonissi beach at the western tip of Crete in third. The world’s best beach, travellers say, is Baia do Sancho in Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha island chain. Second is Grace Bay in the Turks and Caicos island of Providenciales in the Caribbean, while Rabbit beach is third.

In the UK, the South- west dominates the top 10, with Perranporth Beach in Cornwall voted the sixth best followed by Fistral Beach in Newquay.

Luskentyre on the Isle of Harris, Scotland was voted eighth but the list is completed by two Dorset gems, Hengistbury Head, in Bournemouth, and Sandbanks.