{"id":439440,"date":"2026-02-22T10:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/439440\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T10:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:19:10","slug":"two-of-europes-best-beaches-are-officially-in-the-uk-and-theyre-a-short-trip-from-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/439440\/","title":{"rendered":"Two of Europe\u2019s Best Beaches are Officially in the UK \u2013 And They\u2019re a Short Trip From London"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sure, we might not have the warm, crystal-clear waters of Greece<\/a>, the pastel-hued cliffs of Italy<\/a> or the reliably blazing sunshine of Spain<\/a>, but what Britain\u2019s coastline does have is drama. Vast, angry skies. Windswept dunes. Fascinating rock formations. And, according to TripAdvisor<\/a>\u2019s 2026 Travelers\u2019 Choice Awards Best of the Best, we also have two of the best beaches in Europe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Based on more than eight million reviews on the site, fewer than one percent of the continent\u2019s beaches made its revered Best of the Best list. And better yet, both UK beaches are perfect for a weekend away from London, being within a few hours\u2019 drive.<\/p>\n

TripAdvisor\u2019s list is split into sections, with a global list, a \u2018one of a kind\u2019 ranking (which features one <\/a>British beach \u2013 read about that here<\/a>) and continental shortlists. The British beaches we\u2019re focusing on were in the European lowdown, rubbing shoulders with stretches of sand in Crete<\/a>, Sardinia, and Corsica.<\/p>\n

Horsey Beach, Norfolk<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the name fool you \u2013 there are no horses here. Instead, Horsey Beach, which came 13th in TripAdvisor\u2019s list, is famous for something arguably much cuter: seals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just a two-hour train journey from London<\/a> near Great Yarmouth, Horsey is home to a colony of hundreds of grey seals. In the winter, newly born pups are easily spotted lounging on the sand as they\u2019re too young to swim yet. But come summer, you can see their heads bobbing up and down in the waves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Seal
\nPhotograph: Shutterstock <\/p>\n

According to TripAdvisor, visitors describe Horsey as \u2018wonderfully calm\u2019, with long stretches of clean sand \u2018made for wandering\u2019 and sweeping views of the North Sea.<\/p>\n

Bamburgh Beach, Northumberland\u00a0<\/p>\n

Up in England\u2019s far northeast (near the Scottish border, in fact) lies Bamburgh Beach, which came 19th in TripAdvisor\u2019s best beaches in Europe list. This cinematic shore is best known for the mighty Bamburgh Castle. The ancient Celtic fort is perched high above the sand and has watched over this stretch of coastline for around 1,400 years. As backdrops go, it\u2019s hard to beat.<\/p>\n

The beach itself is vast and rugged, framed by grassy dunes and big open skies. Time your visit for sunrise or sunset and you\u2019ll be rewarded with golden light spilling across the sand. And with a direct train\u00a0connection to London King\u2019s Cross, dramatic scenery and a chilly dip is very accessible, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"An
\nPhotograph: Shutterstock <\/p>\n

Bamburgh didn\u2019t just feature on TripAdvisor\u2019s ranking of Europe\u2019s best stretches of sand \u2013 it was also the only UK beach to make the <\/a>global cut in the \u2018one of a kind\u2019 category<\/a>. Northumberland is on a bit of a roll at the mo, having picked up recent travel reccs from National Geographic<\/a>\u00a0and AllTrails<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can read TripAdvisor\u2019s full list of the beach beaches in Europe<\/a> and the world<\/a>, then check out Time Out\u2019s guide to the UK\u2019s top seaside spots here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stay in the loop:\u00a0sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sure, we might not have the warm, crystal-clear waters of Greece, the pastel-hued cliffs of Italy or the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4821,59,57,58,50,4822,387,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-439440","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-categories-travel","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-greatbritain","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-news-transport-travel","14":"tag-travel","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}