Keep Britain Tidy has given the Blue Flag award to 72 beaches and two inland bathing spots this year – and you can check if your favourite seaside spot is on the list with our map
If you are planning an end-of-summer trip to the seaside, you can use our interactive map to find your nearest Blue Flag beach.
Despite a warning for thunderstorms in the south, temperatures are expected to reach the mid-20s in many parts of the UK on Saturday as the balmy mid-September weather continues for another day.
A total of 74 sites have been given the prestigious Blue Flag awards this year. Blue Flag is an international award presented to well-managed beaches with excellent water quality. It shows visitors that they are at a clean and safe beach.
Every year, Keep Britain Tidy announces the winners for England, and in 2024 they have given the prestigious award to 72 beaches, as well as two inland bathing spots. The Royal Albert Dock and Salthouse Dock Marina in Liverpool has been awarded a Blue Flag this year, as has Rutland Water in the East Midlands.
You can use our interactive map to find the beaches near you, or to see if the beach you’re planning to head to has won the award.
Half of this year’s winners are in the South West, with 37 Blue Flags going to the region’s beaches. The East of England has the next most with 13. That’s followed by the South East with 11, the North East with five, the East Midlands with four, and Yorkshire & Humber with three.
The docks in Liverpool are the only place in the North West of England to pick up a Blue Flag. None of the region’s beaches were given the award.
Last year, 77 beaches in England and 25 in Wales were awarded the Blue Flag. Among the beaches receiving the award was West Wittering in Sussex, which is hidden halfway between Portsmouth and Bognor Regis on the famously sunny south coast of England. The beach is known in certain circles for its clean waters and sands, as well the the 20-acre expanse of grasses and waterbeds which sits behind it.
Nature enthusiasts can see all manner of colourful butterflies and birds resting in and flying between the wetlands’ plants, while also taking a minute to rest on the dramatic sand dunes. Sadly, a number of beaches around Britain have been hit by “sewage pollution alerts” this summer.
Many of the alerts were issued because of heavy rain and flooding earlier this month, which led to sewage spilling into rivers and waterways. Treated sewage is often discharged into waterways from the sewage system and weather can cause untreated waste and storm water to overflow into waterways.
