Freddy Gray
Priory Bay, Isle of Wight
Some of the happiest afternoons of my
life have been spent on Priory Bay, near
Seaview, on the Isle of Wight. It’s beauti-
ful through the year: in the cold, the beach
takes on a pleasingly austere character:
the sea grey and close when the tide is
in; the sand vast when it’s out. I love the
sycamores and oaks that seem to hang
over the water. In spring and summer, Pri-
ory transforms and starts to feel almost
tropical: the far end of the bay is known as
‘Caribbean corner’. The sand softens, the
water warms, the trees come alive. Last sum-
mer, an ambitious business opened a bar on
the beach. For a few hot days, it felt like
a party resort. Speedboats from the main-
land came along and young people cavort-
ed half-naked. All good fun, but I prefer the
bleak days in January.
Tanya Gold
Porthcurno, Cornwall
If we do not pretend the river Tamar is a
national border, then Porthcurno is the
best beach in England. If we are pretend-
ing it is a national border — and some
of my neighbours in west Cornwall do —
it is only the best beach in the duchy. It
is sheltered by granite outcrops, including
the Logan Rock, which rocked until Lieu-
tenant Hugh Goldsmith and the crew of
HMS Trimble pushed it over in 1824. They
were made to put it back by the Admi-
ralty, but it no longer rocks. Porthcurno is
without seaweed, and is steeply shelved, so
if the water is bracing you can jump right in.
In August there are basking sharks, which
alarm the grockles (the non-Cornish) and
make page 5 of the tabloids. Its colours
are extraordinary for England; the sand
is crushed seashells, and the sea, in sum-
mer, is the palest blue. The Minack Thea-
tre is above, if you seek amateur dramatics
(no professional would compete with this
view of Tristan’s Lyonesse, submerged), and
behind it is the Telegraph Museum, which
is not a homage to the daily newspaper, but
is charming all the same.Melissa Kite
Littlehampton, West Sussex
When we first went to Climping beach it was
a sunny Saturday in summer and there was
hardly anyone there. Well, just a few peo-
ple enjoying picnics. We sat behind a groyne
with the dogs and ate our lunch. Then we
took a dip and the Sussex sea was as warm
as the Med. That evening, in the nearby town
of Littlehampton, we were served delicious,
inexpensive lightly battered fish and chips
at a window table overlooking the cheerful
harbour. ‘Why is everyone so lovely here?
Have we died and gone to heaven?’ I asked
the builder boyfriend. He explained that
the lack of cheap thrills or anything that
can be misconstrued as glamour or fast liv-
ing has made this one of the most low-key
and therefore nicest stretches of the Eng-
lish coast. In fact, it’s so nice, I’m not con-
vinced it isn’t down some sort of wormhole.Cressida Bonas
Brancaster, Norfolk
Brancaster beach, where I have spent
every summer, harks back to a world that
goes at a gentler pace. Here you will find
stretches of deserted sand, shabby beach
huts, sleeping seals and a tide that goes out
for over a mile. As a little girl I would walk
hand in hand with my father towards the
shipwreck that sits on the horizon. Beware
of the tides and currents — there is a dan-
ger of getting stranded. My mother once had
a fright on her horse when she was nearly
cut off by the tide.Douglas Murray
Uig, Isle of Lewis
During my thirties I finally worked out why
I dislike beach holidays. It is not the sun-
lounger extortion, tattoos or other people’s
music, but the fact there are other people on
the beach. Growing up, I was spoilt by fam-
ily holidays on the Isle of Lewis. There you
get miles of golden sand all to yourself. To
run on, build dams on, fish from the rocks on
and eventually learn to drive on. Facing the
Atlantic, with nothing between it and Amer-
ica, if anybody knows of a more beautiful
beach than Uig I should like to hear about it.
Naturally it is not there to be sunbathed on.
Nor is the sea there to be swum in. On excep-
tional days you might take off your shoes
and go in up to your ankles. I have heard of
people going in up to their knees. But here,