We all love a beach on a sunny day but no one wants to be cheek by jowl, towel by towel or stuck queueing for an overpriced car park. But if you’re prepared to work a bit harder, there’s a chance you’ll still be able to find a spot where it’s just you and the sand, sea and sky. Come prepared with a picnic — the downside to these secluded spots is that there are no cafés or lavatories — and check the tides as most of these beaches are better when the water’s low.
1. White Park Bay Beach, Ballintoy, Co Antrim
The cows know about White Park — they wander down regularly to nibble the seaweed and stare ruminatively out to sea. Few people do, though, owing to the pulling power of Giant’s Causeway a couple of miles west along the Antrim coastal route, and the popular tourist town of Portstewart beyond that. At low tide you can walk east along the white sand to Ballintoy Harbour, a pretty inlet that played a role in Game of Thrones. It’s a similar distance to Ballycastle, home of the Salthouse Hotel, with outdoor hot tubs and striking sea views.
Details B&B doubles from £204 (thesalthousehotel.com)
2. Vault Beach, Gorran Haven, Cornwall
The village of Gorran Haven has a tiny jetty and a slice of easy-access sand, but Vault beach lies a 20-minute walk beyond it, around gorse-topped headlands to a 1,000m-long crescent cradled by an amphitheatre of cliffs. The whimsical Richard Curtis film About Time was filmed here, and its star Bill Nighy spent hours skimming its sea-smoothed stones. Stay near St Austell at the Cornwall, a spa hotel perfectly placed beside Kings Wood and a couple of miles from the Eden Project.
Details B&B doubles from £150 (thecornwall.com)
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3. Penbryn, Llangrannog, Ceredigion
There’s little to mark this Ceredigion wonder, so look out for the telltale trickle of cars filling a farmer’s field. The beach is exhilarating, with great sunsets and crashing surf when the wind is strong. Penbryn is a National Trust property, so there are no facilities other than the brilliantly named Plwmp Tart café by the road. Stay in the Pentre Arms, a popular little seafront hotel in the village of Llangrannog, which has another busier but equally lovely beach that’s popular with families.
Details B&B doubles from £120 (pentrearms.co.uk)
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4. Camusdarach, Mallaig, Highland
A straightforward walk through shrubs and dunes brings you to a beach that looks like Scotland’s take on the Caribbean, with bone-white sand, turquoise water and fabulous views across to Rhum, Eigg and Muck. Camusdarach had its moment of fame in the 1983 film Local Hero, when its purity and beauty brought a brash corporate American (played by Burt Lancaster) to his senses. A campsite nearby might mean that others are sharing the sunset, so head a couple of miles south to the spectacular inlet at Arisaig, where you can rent a kayak (ask at the Arisaig Hotel) and have a soulful experience of your own.
Details B&B doubles from £97 (arisaighotel.co.uk)
5. Broadsands Beach, Combe Martin, Devon
This is a beach for the brave-hearted: it involves a dramatic descent via steps through heavily wooded cliffs, with occasional railings to cling on to, but the reward is worth it. The sheltered cove of coarse, gunmetal-grey sand is best at low tide, with views north across Combe Martin Bay to where the Little Hangman cliff rears up, further along the rollercoaster ride that is the South West Coast Path. Beyond Hangman the cliffs are fierce, broken only at Heddon’s Mouth, where a bucolic stream runs through the landscaped gardens of the National Trust-owned Hunter’s Inn hotel, the perfect place for hearty pub meals after a day on the beach.
Details B&B doubles from £105 (bespokehotels.com)
6. Covehithe, South Cove, Suffolk
Rapid erosion has shaped the Suffolk coast and on the beach at Covehithe the remains of trees stick out of the sand — a reminder of the constant invasion of the North Sea. There’s a huge stretch of sand to amble along; park at the medieval church of St Andrew and trace the water’s edge towards Southwold’s Victorian pier. Stay at the Swan, a 17th-century hotel where rooms come with a bottle of gin on the house. A 20-minute drive away is Dunwich beach, where some say at low tide you can hear the bells of a church lost to the sea.
Details B&B doubles from £213 (theswansouthwold.co.uk)
7. Llanddwyn Beach, Newborough, Anglesey
The giant sweeping curve of Llanddwyn, at the bottom of a mile-long track through Newborough Forest, faces south with magnificent views towards Snowdon. It is sheltered from the prevailing wind by the tiny Llanddwyn promontory at its western end, where the water is so calm and clear it can barely summon up the energy for a wave. The promontory with lighthouse and ruin is said to have been home to St Dwynwen, the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine. Stay beside the Menai Bridge in the massive Victorian folly Château Rhianfa, built by a baronet for his wife, who loved the Loire Valley’s châteaux.
Details B&B doubles from £165 (chateaurhianfa.co.uk)
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