Keep Scotland Beautiful

Beach Awards and Coastal Campaigns: Seaside Awards

Background

Seaside Awards

In 2009 sixty beaches were awarded Seaside Award status. The summer season is now over and although award criteria are not all met, many of these beaches are still well managed and worth a visit over the autumn and winter period. The Seaside Award programme runs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To allow for the very different character of Scottish beaches the award is broken down into two categories; resort and rural.

Resort – A total of 30 criteria must be met. Resort Seaside Award beaches are usually actively promoted to encourage visitors and are within easy access of developed facilities. The resort beach typically provide toilets, public transport, first aid, access and facilities for disabled people, information boards, maps, appropriate safety management and excellent standards of cleanliness. The beaches sometimes have cafes or shops close by.

Rural – A minimum of 15 criteria must be met. Rural Seaside Award beaches are usually not as developed as Resort Seaside Award ones. They often only have basic facilities and access can be down steep steps or across dunes. They must be clean and promote sustainable behaviour on information boards, provide maps and have appropriate safety management. Community involvement is also encouraged.

To find out what each Seaside Award beach offers before visiting check out the information via our on line map. Seaside Awards are only given for the bathing season from 1st June to 15th September, but some beaches chose to fly the flag for a slightly shorter time.

To find out more about applying for a Seaside Award please contact beach@ksbscotland.org.uk

Candidate Seaside Award beaches

A number of local authorities and communities are working towards Seaside Award status.

These beaches are following the award criteria with a view to applying for awards in the future. Some may have received awards in the past, but had them removed because of poor water quality the season before.

This year Keep Scotland Beautiful has recognised two candidate Seaside Award beaches. They are:

If you chose to visit these beaches you will find well managed sites with clean sand and information about the site, including the latest water quality information.

We would recommend that you check the water quality for the current season at www.sepa.org.uk before visiting these sites.