Frinton-on-Sea, Essex
Minimalism is the name of the game at this sedate Essex stretch / Image: Adobe Stock
The best for: horde-free holidays and history buffs
With gentle seas and a rainbow of beach huts, it’s a surprise Blue Flag-listed Frinton-on-Sea remains so sleepy. But this was all part of its creator’s grand plan: industrialist Richard Powell Cooper was the resort’s main investor, stipulating that there would be no pier, no pubs and no shorts on his golf course. The rules stuck – Frinton only opened its first pub, the homely Lock & Barrel, in 2000, and bare legs were finally allowed on the fairway in 2008. So, if you’re looking for a properly peaceful getaway, you ironically have capitalist Cooper to thank for Frinton’s uncommercial aura.
Viking Bay, Kent
If Dickens approved, it's all right with us / Image: Adobe Stock
The best for: literary lovers and water babies
“Sky, sea, beach, and village, lie as still before us as if they were sitting for the picture,” wrote Charles Dickens of Broadstairs, his favourite holiday spot. The pretty Victorian town – overlooked by the IRL Bleak House where the author used to stay every summer – leans elegantly towards horseshoe-shaped Viking Bay, which has all the charms of a classic English family getaway. Get some old-fashioned thrills on the swing boat ride, or let the kids loose in the concrete tidal paddling pool, which only reveals itself when the sea decides it’s time to play.
Minster Leas beach, Isle of Sheppey, Kent
Get yourself over to this island in the sun / Image: Adobe Stock
The best for: gym bunnies and the sweet toothed
Lovely as it is, the beach isn’t the main attraction at Minster Leas. Instead, come for the mile-long prom, a leisurely route for dog walkers and sunrise photographers. Your first stop is a cute confectionery shop in an old lifeguard hut, where you’ll relive all those pick ‘n’ mix childhood dreams and gorge on homemade fudge. Then, burn off the calories by using the free green gym equipment that lines the path: the static bike is a hassle-free alternative to the real thing, with the wind blowing through your hair, and sweeping panoramas over the vast Thames Estuary.
Camber Sands, East Sussex
Camber Sands is a stone-cold south-coast classic / Image: Adobe Stock
The best for: finding buried treasure and top-notch dinners
If swimming, surfing and sandcastle-building don’t appeal, bring your metal detector (or just a sturdy stick fetched from the dunes) as this stretch of Sussex paradise is one of the best places in the UK for beachcombing. Perhaps you’ll find a long-lost family heirloom, or better yet, some kind of smuggler’s booty. Even if you don’t find a prize among the soft grains, you should still reward your hard work with a meal at houseplant-filled The Gallivant, where the menus change weekly depending on what can be foraged in local hedgerows.
Greatstone Beach, Kent
The clue's (almost) in the name with this Kentish gem / Image: Adobe Stock
The best for: twitchers and adrenaline junkies
A couple of miles from Dungeness is Greatstone Beach, a two-mile, groyne-free idyll. The crystal water is shallow, so you can paddle to your heart’s content. On land, the marram-anchored dunes are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and birds of prey patrol the shore at low tide in search of straggling lugworms. The oyster catchers are especially voracious come feeding time. Humans can also be spotted enjoying the expansive sand, with buggies, land yachting and even a vintage steam train offering swell ways to get about.
Goring-by-the-Sea, West Sussex
Lesser-known but highly loved Goring is a tranquil Brighton alternative / Image: Adobe Stock
The best for: a bit of peace and quiet
Brighton is great, but it’s not exactly the place to break free of the crowds. Cue Goring-by-Sea, one of Worthing’s lesser-known suburbs. In the early morning, you’ll hear nothing but the clash of wood and wellies against fine pebbles, as flounder fishermen moor up on the beach. Clamber up the shingle to get a showstopping hot choc and finger-licking cream cake from Sea Lane, a no-frills caff beloved by locals: the tables on the beach are popular on sunny days, so while you wait, have a kickabout on the green behind Goring’s rentable beach huts.
Samphire Hoe, Kent
This man-made chalk expanse is a fine spot for fish / Image: Adobe Stock
The best for: Grand Designs fans and 21st-century fishermen
At the foot of the actual White Cliffs is the newest bit of England. After the Eurotunnel burrowed through the sea bed, they were left with 5 million cubic feet of chalk. The result? Samphire Hoe, reclaimed land turned nature reserve. For a man-made construction, the beach here is rather rugged, better suited to rockpooling and fishing than swimming and sunbathing (even though the water is astonishingly clear). Amateurs will love catching tiddlers in their nets, but anglers go for the bigger catch to be found off the sea wall.
Shoebury-on-Sea East, Essex
This Southend-adjacent bay is far dreamier than the town's own stretch
The best for: lazy days and train trips
East Beach? More like Easy Beach, y’get me? A direct train whisks you from Fenchurch Street to this sandy Southend esplanade in one short hour. The shore is steps away from the station, through Shoebury’s fascinating former garrison. Expect to see crowds of kitesurfers heading in the same direction: the windy Thames Estuary has optimal conditions for catching some air, but you can also put up a windbreaker and roll out the picnic blanket. It’s also the only beach in town with a barbecue area, so you can throw some burgers on the grill while you go for a dip.
Bulverhythe, East Sussex
Sweet sands at Bulverhythe (eldritch wreck just out of view) / Image: Alamy
The best for: tales of the sea
Once in a blue moon – well, a moon that makes the tide vanish – the skeletal wreck of the Amsterdam pokes above the Bulverhythe sand. The troubled Dutch vessel ran aground in 1749, after a voyage that saw its sailors get drunk on its wine cargo, mutiny then contract plague (not on the same day). Its well-preserved remains are only visible at the lowest tides of the year, but well-timed walking tours are available from the Shipwreck Museum. If you’re not around for that, either take to the shingle and swim between the groynes that bookmark the beach, or hire a bike and use Bulverhythe as a base to whizz between historic Hastings and arty Eastbourne.
