THE COAST OF ENGLAND HAS THE MOST SPECTACULAR VARIETY OF BEACHES IN THE WORLD. From the sunken sands of Weston-super-Mare and Yorkshire to the hidden coves, caves and bays of Cornwall and Devon.

Finding quiet places means different things in different areas. Sometimes it will entail a 45-minute hike around a cliff edge to where a tiny path zig-zags down to the clear waters of a white sand bay. St other times, it can mean skipping down from one of the busiest car parks at Padstow in Cornwall, St Bees in Cumbria, or Margate in Kent, and then walking from cove to cove at low tide to places others don’t know or care about.

If you’re not overloaded with deckchairs nd heavy hampers for six, it’s all good fun.

Learn about the tides and the moon. This is the key to finding ‘hidden places’. What can appear dull, rocky and littered at high tide can look like a deserted paradise on the low. Research spring tides and the lowest equinox tides. It doesn’t take much these days. At the very least, search the web for tide times and extreme lows. Try to arrange your costal trips to coincide with the moons and the tides. That way, you get to see it all at both low and high tide.

Remote beaches

Reaching a remote beach doesn’t always require a kayak or canoe, and there’s a huge sense of empowerment and freedom to be had from being able to get somewhere that’s isolated by feet alone — especially if it involves an old rope ladder or a scramble down a worn cliff path.  A secret swim followed by a hot coffee warmed on a campfire or out of a flask is a moment beyond magical.

South East

Covehithe Broad – Suffolk

Covehurst Wood — East Sussex

Egypt Bay Beach – Kent

South West

Allwoods Copse — Hampshire

Ryde East Sands — Isle of Wight

Lee Bay — North Devon

North East

Long Nanny Bridge — Northumberland

Huttoft Beach — Lincolnshire

Black Buoy Sand — Lincolnshire

North West

Jenny Brown’s Point — Lancashire

Gutterby — Cumbria

Longton Sands — Lancashire

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