The best of beaches within your reach

1. Deal, Kent: No amusement arcades here. This is the genuine Georgian article, with blustery promenade and winding streets.

2. Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria: This is a late-Victorian resort which had been neglected in favour of the Lakes but now its beaches and lively, bustling town are pulling in more crowds.

3. Colonsay, Hebrides: This Scottish island is worth every minute of the two-hour ferry trip from Oban because of its golden sands, wildflower machair (sandy pasture) and crystal-clear sea.

4. Ventnor, Isle of Wight: Its fashionable moment was in the 19th century. But this hilly town has some of the most beautiful beaches of the British Isles on which one can unwind.

5. Dungeness, Kent: Lovers of the other-worldly will enjoy the rusted pieces of maritime salvage this place has to offer. To top that, Derek Jarman's house and fish fresh out of the smokehouse act as equally charming crowd-pullers.

6. Llandudno, Wales: A sandy beach, a Grade II-listed pier and the United Kingdom's longest cable car.

7. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk: Its Golden Mile is packed with traditional entertainment.

8. Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland: This is a handsome seafront town, which boasts many well-preserved Georgian buildings and bohemian shops.

9. Whitby, North Yorkshire: Home to the Gothic Weekend, spooky abbey and fish and chips at the Magpie Café.

10. Spurn Head, East Yorkshire: This spit of mudflat and sand in the Humber is the perfect place for bird-watching.
(Nominated by Clare Gogerty, editor of Coast magazine.)