1. White Park Bay, Co Antrim
If you’re following the Causeway Coast — arguably the most beautiful seaside walk we’ve got — White Park Bay comes as a surprise. In a world of long drops down sheer basalt, the sudden appearance of a mile and a half of dune-backed white sand is like finding a feather bed in a brickyard. With the tiny whitewashed fishing hamlet of Portbradden at one end and the film-set harbour of Ballintoy — it was in Game of Thrones — past Elephant Rock at the other, this is a beach that sings, like Whistling Sands in the Llyn. Maybe that was what attracted the ancients. The passage tombs in the cliffs and the discovery of artefacts suggest this was both a place of spiritual and industrial significance, the abundant flint provided the raw materials for the stone axe export industry. You’ll meet stone hunters here today. They’re looking for the heart-shaped pebbles that litter the beach.
Dog-friendly; water quality: not rated
2. Benone, Co Londonderry
There’s no queueing for a car parking spot on the longest beach in Northern Ireland. You simply drive on, pick your place and unpack the toys. Whether it’s actually Benone beach or Downhill is irrelevant: both are on a continuous curve of fine, firm sand that extends for six miles, from the Mussenden Temple, where the coastal railway line vanishes into a tunnel, to Magilligan Point, at the mouth of Lough Foyle. It’s a beach that works in all weathers: glorious on a sunny day, when some people even get out of their cars, and thrilling when the storms are blowing in from the Atlantic. On my visit in late April I got both: sunshine on the surf and an electrical storm offshore.
Toilets; café; accessible; dog-friendly; lifeguards; water quality: excellent
3. Portstewart, Co Londonderry
The wild swimmers come to Portstewart Strand before 9am, some clad in neoprene and others wearing just their swimsuits. Some enter the water alone, while others swim in packs, their chatter carried in on the breeze. Behind the cars parked on the sand, and the marram-covered dunes, others whack balls across the greens of Portstewart Golf Club. To the right: the town and Portstewart Point. To the left: almost two miles of flat that ends at the mouth of the River Bann. They say pods of whales, dolphins and seals can be seen from Downhill, but I think it’s more likely to be those wild swimmers.
Toilets; café; accessible; dog-friendly; lifeguards; water quality: not rated
4. Whiterocks, Co Antrim
If Portstewart is for swimmers, then Whiterocks — named for its Algarve-like limestone cliffs — is for surfers, with a beach break that’s not as laid-back as it seems. On a northwest swell with the prevailing offshore wind, the waves line up like corrugated green glass. When they break — and don’t close out — they’re faster, more hollow and more thrilling than their casual approach suggests. For those who don’t surf, now’s a good time to start: there’s a school based in the car park offering lessons from £40 for two and a half hours (sub6life.com).
Toilets; accessible; lifeguards; water quality: excellent
5. Murlough Bay, Co Antrim
If you’re coming from Ballycastle, follow the Torr Road Scenic Route and look out for the left turn to Murlough Bay. Go past the memorial to Roger Casement — the Irish nationalist executed in 1916 — following a narrow lane high above the sea. Views stretch to Rathlin Island and to Mull, just 14 miles away and so close that at night you can see the headlights of cars on the A83. Ignore the first car park and drive down the hill to the second. Park then follow the track east, watched by sheep. You’ll pass a remote cottage and come to a rocky beach of silver sand. And I bet you have it to yourself.
Dog-friendly; water quality: not rated
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6. Helen’s Bay, Co Down
Bangor — Northern Ireland’s newest city — might have the bright lights, but it hasn’t got the water quality for a day at the beach. Just four miles west, or 45 minutes on the train from Belfast, Helen’s Bay and neighbouring Crawfordsburn do — and both seem more like lake than ocean beaches, with gently sloping sands and sheltered waters that make them popular with sea swimmers, from the Helen’s Baywatch group to the Crawfordsburn Lobsters.
Toilets; café; accessible; dog-friendly; water quality: excellent
7. Tyrella beach, Co Down
In 1846 Captain James Hosken made what should have been a career-ending error by stranding the steamship SS Great Britain on Tyrella beach. It remained there for a year and its salvage bankrupted the company, but Hosken ended up as a vice-admiral with a second home in Ilfracombe. Plus ça change. Cars used to be allowed to park on Tyrella too but that has been banned — with exceptions for disabled visitors — so it’s a short walk across the dunes to a hauntingly beautiful mile-long beach with the wasp-coloured St John’s Point Lighthouse to the left and moody slopes of Slieve Donard on the right.
Toilets, accessible; lifeguards; water quality: excellent
The 50 best beaches in Britain 2022
● Beach of the year: Sandhaven, South Shields
● Scotland
● The north of England
● Wales
● The southwest of England
● The southeast of England
● The east of England
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