Seaside survey delivers disappointing verdict for West resorts
TWO West beach resorts have been named among some of the worst seaside resorts in Britain.
Somerset’s Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea have been ranked near the bottom of a nationwide list looking at the UK’s beaches in a consumer survey run by Which?
Burnham crashed out on an overall 51 per cent as a value score finishing in the bottom five while Weston wasn’t much higher on 58 per cent.
The list reports how UK seaside locations have seen “a surge in popularity” over the pandemic as many opted for a UK holiday. UK holidaymakers rated coastal resorts on factors including value for money, peace and quiet, and scenery.
Bamburgh, a village on the Northumberland coast topped the list for the second year in a row placing ahead of 87 destinations in a survey of more than 4,300 people. The village earned five stars for its beaches, seafront, peace and quiet, scenery and value – with an overall score of 87 per cent. Which? said respondents to this year’s survey praised Bamburgh’s beauty, describing the clifftop castle as “spectacular”. Wales grabbed three of the top six places with Llandudno coming in second. There, hotels cost an average of £95 per night which proves that “for popular locations there’s no need to break the bank”, according to Which?. Third-placed St Andrews, Fife, is home to Scotland’s oldest university, a world-renowned golf course and a network of medieval streets to explore.
Some 51 destinations across Britain scored at least 70 per cent in the survey. The bottom five resorts were
Skegness, Lincolnshire; Bognor Regis, West Sussex; Southend, Essex; Great Yarmouth, Norfolk; and Burnham-on-Sea. Weston-Super-Mare wasn’t much higher.
Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said: “The British seaside hasn’t boomed like this since the 1960s. Holidaymakers had such a fantastic time in their caravans, tents and beach lodges over the past two years that a coastal break on home shores is on the cards for many, even with restrictions on overseas travel lifted.”