Planning a beach trip? Look no further than Devon and Cornwall!
With long sandy beaches and dazzling blue water, these coastal counties have secured themselves as one of the top destinations for holidaymakers. But it’s not just looks, some of Devon and Cornwall’s beaches offer the cleanest water quality in the UK. Woolacombe Beach has secured itself as having ‘excellent’ water quality for the third year in a row. Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks used data from the Government’s Environment Agency to take a look and analyse the water bathing quality all across the UK. The data looks at all the tested areas from Devon and Cornwall over the last 3 years.
And this ’excellent’ rating is not unique to Woolacombe Bay. Other shorelines across Devon have also managed to bag a quality rating. Beaches like Bantham Beach and Bigbury-on-Sea enjoy an ‘excellent’ rating, and are expected to keep it in the years ahead. Although Croyde only achieved a ‘good’ rating in 2021, it secured an ‘excellent’ status in 2022 & 2023 that’s set to continue for years to come. 
Devon and Cornwall enjoy consistently clean water quality
Devon isn’t alone with its exemplary clean water quality results. The findings also showed that Cornwall has seen a similar trend over the last 3 years.
73.8% of areas tested in Devon and Cornwall had consistent ‘excellent’ clean water quality, benefitting the residents, tourists and surrounding environment. 23.1% areas fell short of the consistent ‘excellent’ rating, including Mothecombe in Devon and Porthkidney Sands in Cornwall. The remaining 3.1% were put in a N/A category, due to bathing no longer being recommended or the area closed.
‘Excellent’ water quality results aren’t limited to rural areas like Hartland Quay and Polzeath. Plymouth Hoe East and West achieved an excellent rating in 2022 and 2023, and areas local to Exeter like Dawlish Warren achieved excellent rating over the last 3 years.
Would you like to visit some of these clean beaches, with your four legged friend? The good news is many of these ‘excellent’ beaches are dog friendly, benefitting both tourists and locals across both counties. Some of these beaches include Woolacombe Beach (dog friendly all year round), Bantham Beach (dog friendly off season) and Newquay (dog friendly all year round).
Main Photo by Peter Ford on Unsplash
