Revealed: Britain's Must-See Beaches

Beaches in UK: Fidden Beach, Isle of Mull, Scotland

published 1 July 2015

Hankering after pure white beaches, a turquoise sea and secret rock pools? You can find them all in Britain, and we tell you where.

Who needs to jet it to the Caribbean when you can find stunning turquoise waters much closer to home? Daniel Start, author of Hidden Beaches, shares his pick of the UK's most beautiful, secret beaches.

Tunnels Beach, Ilfracombe, Devon

Crafty Victorian engineers hand carved tunnels into the cliff to reach two tidal pools at this gorgeous beach.

Treyarnon Rock Pool, Treyarnon Bay Beach, Padstow, Cornwall

Set in a ledge above the sea, the picturesque, natural rock pool at Treyarnon - a huge affair 30 ft wide by 8 ft deep - is home to bladderwracks and the odd starfish.

Traigh Iar, North Uist, Scotland

The machair, or beach meadow, sways in the wind above pristine white sands lapped by turquoise waters in this idyllic Outer Hebrides beach.

Pobbles And Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, Wales

This atmospheric bay, with its sea arch and lovely beach, ends in a quirky, three-peaked cliff.

Traigh Gheal, Erraid, Scotland

The Ross of Mull has soft, pure white beaches lapped by a crystalline sea to rival the best in the world. Among them is Traigh Gheal, a gorgeous secret cove set on the uninhabited island of Erraid, just off Mull, where Robert Louis Stevenson set his novel Kidnapped.

Pentire Steps Beach, Near Newquay, Cornwall

Getting to Pentire Steps isn't easy - the steps carved by 19th century engineers have long been washed off, so you'll have to take an unbeaten track, or wait until low tide and walk on the sand from Bedruthan past Diggory's Island - but you'll be rewarded by a magnificent, virtually empty beach.

Camas An Leim, Loch Torridon, Scotland

Tucked away on a quiet peninsula, this charming pebble cove is fringed by trees and lapped by crystalline waters.

Botany Bay, Broadstairs, Kent

Take in the white chalk cliffs of Kent in all their glory at this secret golden beach - once a smugglers' hideaway - which is tucked behind some residential streets in Broadstairs.

Thurlestone Rock, Thurlestone, Devon

At high tide, this rocky arch rises from the waters, whimsical and magic. You have to wait until the tide changes to discover the ledge that links it to the beach.

Singing Sands Beach, Eigg, Scotland

The perfect grains of sand at this beach make a whistling sound when you shuffle them with your feet - but you may be too taken with the crystalline sea and the gorgeous views of Rum to notice.

Discover More Secret Beaches

For more of Britain's gorgeous, secret beaches, see Daniel Start's book, Hidden Beaches.

Carla Passino is a multimedia journalist with more than seventeen years’ experience in national and international media.

Carla's primary areas of interest are political, economic and housing trends in global cities. Much of my time is spent writing about the world’s prime property markets and the factors that affect it, covering fiscal, legal, political and financial issues linked to home ownership, and reporting on major shifts in British, European and international housing. Over the years, Carla has written about culture, education, interiors, farming, travel, food, wine and more.