Cornwall, Kent and Devon featured heavily in the top 16 list, but one Yorkshire coastal town is quicker to get to by car
Scarborough beach(Image: Getty Images)
Brummies had their first taste of hot, sunny weather last month and there will be hopefully be plenty more where that came from as summer approaches.
A beach day will be on the cards for many Brits when the next heatwave hits and Conde Nast Traveller has just released a list of the best seaside towns in England.
When it comes to access to sandy coastlines, Birmingham admittedly pulled the short straw, but there are a few destinations on the travel guide’s top 16 list within a three-to-four-hour drive of the city.
Read more: The sandy beach a two hour drive from Birmingham with ‘fairy village’ nearby
Unsurprisingly, Cornwall, Kent and Devon claimed most of the top spots, with bohemian Whitstable and its high street of cosy cafes and second-hand shops taking around three hours and 40 minutes to get to from Birmingham city centre.
Margate’s traditional British seaside charm secured its place (just under four hour drive away), while Folkestone’s recent arty makeover earned its description as ‘one of the UK’s most vibrant seaside towns’ (a three hour and 45 minute journey).
Rye is just over four hours away by car, but this chocolate-box corner of East Sussex is quicker to get to from Brum by train (three hours).
Suffolk’s Heritage Coast, parts of which, like Covehithe, remain ‘happily under the radar’, and north Norfolk’s rugged coast between Blakeney and Cley can also be reached within four hours on the road.
But Scarborough was the closest spot to Birmingham to make the shortlist, with Conde Nast commenting that the Yorkshire gem ‘has a good claim to being the most beautiful seaside resort in England’.
The travel mag highlighted its dramatic castle, its crooked, maze-like old town and interesting architecture as key draws, but it’s also home to award-winning beaches with perfect castle-building sand and stunning rock pools.
Brummies can drive there from the city centre within three hours and 20 minutes and it takes around the same amount of time by rail.
Find the full list of the top beaches below.
Conde Nast Traveller’s best English seasides
- Whitstable, Kent
- Blakeney and the north Norfolk Coast
- Eastbourne and beyond
- Salcombe, Devon
- Scarborough, Yorkshire
- Suffolk Heritage Coast
- Falmouth, Cornwall
- Dungeness, Kent
- Margate, Kent
- Mousehole, Cornwall
- Rye, East Sussex
- Mawgan Porth, Cornwall
- Folkestone, Kent
- St Ives, Cornwall
- Mersea Island, Essex
- Portscatho, Cornwall