Trip to the Seaside? UK Good Beach Guide for 2009

If travel industry reports are accurate, many Brits are planning a ’staycation’ in the UK this year.  Are you packing up the kids, buckets, spades and sunscreen and heading to a UK beach for the long Bank Holiday weekend, or your summer holiday?  If so, it might be a good idea to check the cleanliness of the beaches and water at your intended destination. 

The Marine Conservation Society’s Good Beach Guide, listing recommended bathing beaches for 2009, is now available on their website and also available to download to your Sat-Nav.  In this MCS video Kate Humble talks about the need to protect the marine environment:

The number of top quality clean UK beaches for swimming is reported to have fallen more than 16 percent from last year.  Out of a total of 777 beaches tested, only 370 are on the recommended list – down from 444 last year.  This is reported to be the largest drop in the 22-year history of the MCS.

The tests were carried out between May and September 2008 and the results are believed to have been negatively affected by the very wet summer.  Following heavy rains pollutants like farm and street waste, raw sewage and petro-chemicals are picked up and swept into the rivers and sea.  Investment is being made in counter-pollution and monitoring measures, improving drainage systems and expanding sewer systems to handle excess water during storms.  The MCS and other great organizations need our help and support.

The MCS advises beach-goers to refer to the Good Beach Guide before swimming and to pick beaches with a good record for water quality.  They also recommend that after a period of heavy rain it is best to stay out of the water for a period of at least twenty-four hours.

The Good Beach Guide is supported by the RNLI which has its own excellent Sea and Beach Safety programme.