20 July 21, 2019The Sunday TimesTravel 40 Best British Beaches
lapping a pocket of sand and boulders
washed by a waterfall. Look closely and
you will find the face of Merlin carved into
the rock.36 TOR BAY, GOWER PENINSULA
Between the crowds of Three Cliffs Bay
and the scary emptiness of Oxwich Bay
is an intimate little cove called Tor Bay.
There’s nothing there but cliff, sand, sea
and some spectacular gannet action.
To get there, park in Penmaen, on the
A4118. There are two car parks here,
and the footpath goes from the back of
the southernmost. Walk for half a mile
through the bracken and you’ll come to a
south-facing cove of rock and sand that
will probably be all yours for the day. If
you feel you need to tick off Three Cliffs
Bay, you can walk there along the beach
at low tide.37 MWNT, CEREDIGION
It was the lady in the petrol station who
sent me to Mwnt. “It’s a local favourite,”
she said. The most talented of those
locals is Marc Treanor, an artist whoSisters Country Park car park. Better still,
go by boat: Buzz Active rents kayaks from
£12 an hour (buzzactive.org.uk).34 SALTBURN-BY-THE-SEA,
NORTH YORKSHIREBoutique beach huts overlook Saltburn’s
elegant Victorian prom, offering
deckchairs, windbreaks, free tea and
coffee, and views across the shingle beach
to the spindly pier, all from just £30 a day
(marshallsbeachhuts.co.uk). A tramway
(£1 each way) takes you down to the prom
and that accident-prone pier — once
1,500ft long. Renting a board and wetsuit
costs £22 a day (saltburn-surf.co.uk), and
a fish-and-chip lunch at the Seaview is
£8.80 (theseaviewrestaurant.co.uk). To
take the dog for a pint, wade through
Skelton Beck and walk down to the Ship
Inn, at the east end of the beach.35 TINTAGEL, CORNWALL
This summer, English Heritage will open
a striking footbridge linking the landward
and seaward sides of the castle. The £4m→ Continued from page 17 steel and oak span has a gap in the
middle to represent what the architect
William Matthews calls “the transition
between reality and legend”. It means
that tourists will no longer have to trek
down to the sea, then climb 148 steps to
the ruins, and that in turn means few
will visit the sands of Tintagel Haven.
It’s a thrilling spot, with turquoise seas34
£
£5.
Free
£
sometimes comes here in the early
mornings to scratch huge and
extraordinarily intricate patterns in
the sand. The other artists in Mwnt are
of the cetacean school: boisterous
bottlenose dolphins that gather in the
Caribbean-blue waters of this tiny
west-facing cove to perform for
awestruck humanity. The swimming
is good and the cove is a suntrap, but
if you’re coming to see the marine
mammals in action, don’t expect them
to show up on demand. To spot
dolphins, you need a strong sense of
porpoise.38 PEASE SANDS, EAST LOTHIAN
Don’t be put off by the huge holiday park
dominating Pease Sands. Park in the
visitors’ car park and walk through to one
of the best surfing and rockpooling spots
on Scotland’s east coast. The southern
end of the beach dishes out right-hand
peelers that go on and on, and there’s
often a left-hander breaking over a
shifting sandbar at the north end. The
rockpools up here are hideouts for
surprisingly big fish and even bigger
crabs. Go after them at your own risk.ALAMY; GETTYFree
Water quality
Excellent
Good
Not rated
Other features
Car park
Toilets
Lifeguards
Refreshments
Shopping
Dogs allowed
Beach huts
AccessibleKEY