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The cleanest beaches, by area

566 of the 836 bathing waters in Britain and Ireland that carry a classification were rated Excellent for 2025. Here they are by area.

A classification is not a reading of today’s water. It is worked out from samples taken across the last three or four bathing seasons, so it describes how a beach usually behaves — and a beach rated Excellent can still be one to stay out of the afternoon after a storm overflow discharges. Today’s answer for any of them is on its own page, and on everywhere with a warning right now.

Cornwall80 rated ExcellentPembrokeshire25 rated ExcellentBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole19 rated ExcellentGwynedd18 rated ExcellentDorset17 rated ExcellentDonegal16 rated ExcellentKerry16 rated ExcellentSouth Hams15 rated ExcellentMayo14 rated ExcellentClare13 rated ExcellentGalway13 rated ExcellentTorbay13 rated ExcellentIsle of Wight12 rated ExcellentNorthumberland12 rated ExcellentCork10 rated ExcellentDublin10 rated ExcellentFife9 rated ExcellentHighland9 rated ExcellentIsle of Anglesey9 rated ExcellentNorth Coast8 rated ExcellentCeredigion7 rated ExcellentEast Lindsey7 rated ExcellentNorth Norfolk7 rated ExcellentTendring7 rated ExcellentThanet7 rated ExcellentWexford7 rated ExcellentAberdeenshire6 rated ExcellentAntrim Coast6 rated ExcellentEast Devon6 rated ExcellentGreat Yarmouth6 rated ExcellentNorth Devon6 rated ExcellentAngus5 rated ExcellentEast Riding of Yorkshire5 rated ExcellentNorth Down5 rated ExcellentSligo5 rated ExcellentSouth Down5 rated ExcellentSwansea5 rated ExcellentWicklow5 rated ExcellentConwy4 rated ExcellentEast Lothian4 rated ExcellentEast Suffolk4 rated ExcellentLouth4 rated ExcellentNew Forest4 rated ExcellentNorth Tyneside4 rated ExcellentRedcar and Cleveland4 rated ExcellentTeignbridge4 rated ExcellentThe City of Brighton and Hove4 rated ExcellentWestmorland and Furness4 rated ExcellentBridgend3 rated ExcellentCanterbury3 rated ExcellentChichester3 rated ExcellentCity of Plymouth3 rated ExcellentHavant3 rated ExcellentNorth Ayrshire3 rated ExcellentNorth Yorkshire3 rated ExcellentSouth Ayrshire3 rated ExcellentSouthend-on-Sea3 rated ExcellentWaterford3 rated Excellentthe Vale of Glamorgan3 rated Excellent

Areas with one or two

Not enough for a page of their own, so these go to the area page, where the rest of the local beaches are too.

Aberdeen City (1)Adur (2)Argyll and Bute (2)Arun (1)Cardiff (1)Carmarthenshire (2)City and County of the City of London (2)City of Bristol (1)City of Nottingham (1)Cotswold (1)County Durham (1)Cumberland (1)Dover (1)Dumfries and Galloway (1)Dundee City (1)Fareham (1)Folkestone and Hythe (2)Gosport (1)Hartlepool (1)Hastings (1)Leitrim (1)Lewes (1)Meath (1)Moray (2)Neath Port Talbot (1)Rother (1)Rutland (2)Scottish Borders (1)Sefton (1)Somerset (2)South Tyneside (1)Sunderland (1)Swale (2)Torridge (2)Waverley (1)Wealden (1)Westmeath (2)

What the four classifications actually mean, and why an Excellent beach can still have a bad day.