The chime of seagulls, on the prowl for a dropped chip. A coastal path following the contours of Jurassic cliffs, with white waves crashing beneath. A rickety harbour pub, recovering from last night’s knees up.
As islanders, never more than 80 miles from the coast, an appreciation of Britain’s seaside is written in our DNA. And when it comes to picking our favourite spot, we have plenty to choose from.
The Great British coastline (islands included) stretches for somewhere between 12,000 and 31,000km, depending on which source you believe. Even on the shorter end of that spectrum ours would be one of the longest coastlines in Europe, trumped only by the likes of fjord-rich Norway and island-peppered Greece.
But, for an island bordered by such a bountiful coastline, we have a tendency to flock to certain beaches when the mercury rises. No doubt on the first sunny day of the year, in April or May, we will see news reports of sunbathers lining the sands of Newquay, Bournemouth and Blackpool beaches. All well deserving of their love, of course. But there’s so much to enjoy in between.
Our experts have their own little black books filled with their favourite secret spots, the specifics of which we will continue to entrust Telegraph readers with in the coming months, but with sunnier days on the horizon we want to hear about your favourite lesser-known stretches of Britain’s seaside.
It might be a remote white-sand Scottish bay, shared with windswept highland cows and not another soul. Perhaps it is a traditional English seaside promenade, where glimmers of a bygone era can be found in its wobbly pier planks and fish and chip shops. Or maybe there is an island off the coast of Wales, occupied by busy puffins and lazy seals, where you return each year with a long lens in tow.
Wherever your secret seaside spot might be, we want to hear about it. Share your recommendation using the form below for your chance to have a travel article published in the Telegraph. If we select your entry, we will get in touch to hear more about what makes that stretch of the seaside so special.
Fill in the form below and in no more than 200 words, describe your favourite seaside spot in the country.
Tell us why you hold it so dear, and include detail on special pubs, hotels or lookout points along the way.