A travel adviser who travels “constantly” says there is one UK beach so special it gives her goosebumps every time she visits. 

Georgia Fowkes is a travel advisor for Altezza Travel, a specialist tour operator which is ranked 5/5 on TripAdvisor with more than 2,000 reviews. An American based in Pittsburgh, she is regularly travelling around the world and spends a lot of time with family in the UK. She says Bamburgh beach in Northumberland is her personal favourite.

“Bamburgh is the raw North in its purest form: endless sand with a castle rising straight out of the dunes”, she says.

“You walk the shoreline and the dark fortress walls reflect in the wet sand, the sea stretching out like the castle’s extension. For me, Bamburgh is the best beach in Britain because it ties the vastness of the ocean to the weight of history.

“This isn’t just a holiday sea — it roars the same way it did centuries ago, when the castle walls faced the same waves I’m watching now. Standing there gives me goosebumps every single time.”

Bamburgh Beach is not the only beach in the UK where a castle looms over the sea below. You can see incredibly impressive examples of this in places like Llansteffan and Harlech in Wales, as well as in Tintagel in Cornwall. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a standout feature of the UK coastline, with pristine sand and drifting sand dunes, as well as a magificent view of the castle almost everywhere you turn. 

Bamburgh has also been named the UK’s finest seaside spot five years on the trot, earning five-star ratings for its beach, seafront, scenery, and peaceful atmosphere. One Bamburgh visitor told Which? what they love about it: “It’s a gem. The beaches are sandy, clean, and stretch for miles. There are walks galore, the food on offer is top notch, the feel is of a time gone by, and there’s enough history to delve into to last several holidays.”

The castle’s history goes back 3,000 years and is now owned by Francis and Claire Watson-Armstrong. 

“There is nowhere like Bamburgh. You can see dolphins, the sunsets, the sunrises. You just stand there and breathe in — the smell of the sea. It is unique. As it has been over the centuries, there is something about the soul of the place,” she said.

Despite the British weather on the unforgiving North Sea coast, Bamburgh is increasingly becoming a global attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world. It has several places to eat and drink including a seafood shack called Creel and Reel, the Victoria Hotel pub and the Potted Lobster restaurant. 

Georgia also said Holkham beach in Norfolk was another favourite. She said: “Holkham is cinematic in scale. Dunes and a flat sweep of sand run to the horizon so far you lose all sense of boundaries.

“It’s no surprise filmmakers chose it for Pride and Prejudice and Shakespeare in Love — standing here, you see why: the landscape itself looks like a film still. I’d call it England’s best beach because it turns a simple walk into a moment you want to hold on to. Empty yet majestic, it’s where sea, sky, and infinite sand shrink you down — but make you feel lucky to be part of the vast picture.”