Top beaches for beachcombing

The UK’s leading provider of holiday cottages, cottages4you, in association with Qualitycoast.org, has announced the UK’s top ten beaches for beachcombing. What’s more, the company has put together an online beachcombing guide consisting of tips, what to take, as well as the chance to win a stay at one of their unique cottages for the most unusual item found.

Launched by BBC presenter of Coast and zoologist Miranda Krestovnikoff, and with the support of world champion beachcomber Cathy Yow, the campaign hopes to help promote holidaying in the UK by visiting one of the top ten beaches for beachcombing. As further incentive, beachcombers are encouraged to send in pictures of their most unusual find for the chance to win a stay at a holiday cottage or one of twenty iPod Nanos.

With the summer weather being so unpredictable this year, beachcombing is the perfect activity for families everywhere whatever the weather! Beachcombing consists of wandering along the beach and searching the high water mark for items washed up by the sea. It makes trips to the seaside even more fun and can make coastal walks more interesting.

Findings can be anything from semi-precious stones, shells and drift wood to more unusual items such as shark egg cases, voodoo dolls and an armada of 29,000 plastic ducks that are expected to land on the beaches of southwest England this summer!

Compiled by world champion beachcomber and swashbuckler Cathy Yow, in association with Qualitycoast.org, the UK’s top ten beaches were identified based on safety, accessibility, make-up of the beach, tidal variation and gradient. For those of you unable to access any of the top ten beaches listed below, there are plenty of other great beaches to be found on the Qualitycoast.org website.

Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire tops the list and with over 300 properties in the cottages4you portfolio across the North Yorkshire coast, there’s plenty of places to stay should families wish to visit Britain’s number one beach for beachcombing.

Britain’s Top Ten Beaches for Beachcombing

1. Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire
2. Newgale Beach, Pembrokeshire
3. Westward Ho! Beach, Devon
4. Cowes, Isle of Wight
5. Camber, East Sussex
6. Frinton on Sea, Frinton Beach, Essex
7. Herne Bay East, Kent
8. Barmston, East Yorkshire
9. Combe Martin Beach, Devon
10. Cresswell Dunes & Foreshore, Northumberland

Miranda Krestovnikoff, commented: “Beachcombing is great fun for all the family because anyone of any age can do it. There are no rules: all you need is a bag, a stick and some appropriate shoes! We always seem to be inundated with statistics suggesting how little time our kids are spending outdoors – instead they are stuck inside staring at TV or computer screens. Beaches are a great place to spend a day with the family outdoors during the school holidays and beachcombing is a fun way to make exciting discoveries and tap into your sense of adventure.

“Everything on a beach tells a story whether it’s a shell or a lost piece of jewellery and interpreting this story can be even more exciting than the discovery. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of our competition – we are encouraging people to email in photos of their discoveries and share their experiences, with the most unusual winning a holiday with cottages4you.”

Cathy Yow, world champion beachcomber, enthused “There are no hard and fast rules to beachcombing, that’s the fun of it, we can all be experts. I have found endless wonders on the seashore from voodoo dolls to semi-precious stones. Beachcombing is not just a great reason to visit a beach, but it teaches you about world currents, plant migration, shipping and piracy, global warming effects and marine biology. If you can’t get to one of our suggested top ten beaches, don’t worry, every beach is worthy of examining.”

Ian Gill, marketing director for cottages4you, went on to say, “With thousands of cottages ideally placed for exploring the coast across the UK, our guests are always looking for things to do when on holiday and beachcombing offers a perfect pastime for families and individuals alike.”

cottages4you provides over 9,000 holiday cottages across the UK and has a range of properties to suit every size of family from two to thirty. The portfolio of unique cottages ranges from farmhouses and converted barns to schoolhouses, castles and even a Harbour Master’s mansion!

For more information about cottages4you, to book a break near to a beachcombing beach or to find out more about beachcombing, including the competition to win a holiday and twenty iPod Nano’s, visit Cottages4you.co.uk.