The_Sunday_Times_Travel__21_July_2019

12 July 21, 2019The Sunday Times

Travel 40 Best British Beaches

SIX OF THE BEST

ISLAND BEACHES

BEST FOR WRECKERS

Jurby Beach, Isle of Man

Seaside aficionados often

overlook the Isle of Man. Its 20

monitored beaches — from

Central, in Douglas, to wild and

rocky Bay Ny Carrickey —

regularly post excellent water

quality, but our favourite is Jurby,

up in the northwest. Wide, empty

sands and a brow of low cliffs

create a sense of isolation, and

as the tide ebbs, the rusting

remains of the steam trawler

Pasages — wrecked here in 1931

— emerge from the blue.

Premier Holidays has three nights

at the Caledonia guesthouse

from £539pp, B&B, including

flights from various UK airports

(premierholidays.co.uk)

BEST FOR BEACHCOMBING

Stinky Bay, Benbecula

On the outer edge of the Outer

Hebrides, Stinky Bay — aka Poll

Na Crann — is a mitt that catches

whatever the Atlantic throws at it.

Legend has it mermaids,

messages in bottles and even the

odd illicit Colombian import have

washed up here.

The Dark Island Hotel has doubles

from £120, B&B (isleshotelgroup.

co.uk). Fly to Benbecula from

Glasgow (from £133 return;

loganair.co.uk)

BEST FOR GASTRONOMY

Mersea Island, Essex

Short of catching your own

crabs, oysters and prawns

and cooking them on the

beach, there’s no fresher or

more enjoyable

seafood lunch than that

at Company Shed.

Elbow-to-elbow eating at

rickety tables with plastic

tablecloths is part of the

fun. Order the crab platter

(£20pp) and take your own

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wine (thecompanyshed.co). After

lunch, walk down Coast Road to

the boardwalk across the marsh

for a wander along the sands at

Besom Fleet. It’s romantic, in a

bleak and brooding Dickensian

sort of way.

Black Bond Hall B&B, north of

Mersea, has doubles from £

(blackbondhall.co.uk). The island

is accessible by car

BEST FOR SUNSETS

Cobo Bay, Guernsey

As the day ends, the rough

outcrops of Cobo granite on this

golden beach glow like molten

iron. The sun paints a track across

the bay, the heavens go from

yellow to pink and purple, and

19 CRUDEN BAY, ABERDEENSHIRE

A pretty bridge of white-painted timber

leads across the Water of Cruden to the

north end of this swirl of pale pink sand.

Walk the 1¾ miles to the south end —

watching out for stray golf balls from

the links — and you’ll come to the

rockpools of Craig Andrew. Go the

other way, past the pragmatic concrete

harbour, and you’ll find the spooky

clifftop ruins of Slains Castle — long

rumoured to be the inspiration for

Dracula’s castle. And it may be more than

rumour: the guestbook at the Kilmarnock

Arms Hotel bears the 1894 signature of

Bram Stoker.

20 BIGBURY, DEVON

Bigbury is south Devon’s all-action

family beach, with gourmet catering

supplied by the Venus Company Cafe.

It’s guarded by Burgh Island, to which

you can walk at low tide, or ride the sea

tractor at high water, for a pint at

the 14th-century Pilchard Inn (£4 return;

burghisland.com). It was here that the

notorious smuggler Tom Crocker met

his end, shot down by the excisemen. His

ghost is said to wander the island every

August 14 — the anniversary of his death.

Back on the beach, there’s safe paddling,

rockpooling and surfing: it’s rarely epic

here, but the benign beach break is a

good place to learn (lessons are £39pp

for two hours; discoverysurf.com).

THERE’S NO RUSHY Escape

the crowds on Bryher. Left,

Mersea seafood

Free

£