One of the dirtiest beaches in England is in Cornwall

Porthluney, a beach in Cornwall, has been given the dubious honor of a ‘Brown Flag’ award, marking it as one of the dirtiest beaches in England. This is according to research that has identified 13 of the least clean beaches in the country.

However, it’s not all bad news for Cornwall. The county is the fourth cleanest in England when it comes to swimming in the sea during the summer months.

Dorset, Devon and Suffolk lead the group with the highest percentage of beaches rated ‘excellent’ for clean water, according to data from UK travel website Holiday Park Guru.

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The travel site analyzed summer water quality data from the Environment Agency, covering hundreds of beaches across the country. He then singled out the dirtiest 13 by presenting them with ‘Brown Flag Awards’, with Porthluney among the recipients.

These “winning” beaches are given free brown flags emblazoned with a poop emoji for swimmers to see. These beaches have been rated ‘poor’ by the Environment Agency due to the presence of bacteria such as e-coli from sewage and other waste.

Despite this, 81% of Cornwall’s beaches are rated ‘excellent’ for seawater quality. Dorset scored 89 per cent while Devon came in at 86 per cent.

Cornwall has become the county with the most “excellent” bathing beaches in England, with 72 top spots. Despite having a larger coastline, this achievement stands out through the Lancashire trails at the bottom, with none of the 10 designated bathing areas reaching the three-star ‘excellent’ standard.

Counties such as Somerset, Norfolk, Yorkshire and Kent were in the lower echelons of the rankings for cleanliness. In contrast, the Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Essex saw their designated bathing spots achieve either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ ratings.

Holiday Park Guru’s Robbie Lane commented on the new initiative saying: “We’re hoping to make a real splash in the papers with the launch of England’s first ‘Brown Flag Awards’. Congratulations to our 13 winners this year, you really are top notch. of plops”.

He added: “We just hope they will take up our offer of a free brown flag, although I’m afraid we can’t afford to provide a flagpole as well. On a more positive note, high praise is due for England. 273 beaches with the best rating for water quality – including 72 beaches in Cornwall.”

It’s worth noting that the Environment Agency only includes water quality readings between 15 May and 30 September when rating bathing areas. Seawater quality tends to be worse in winter after heavy rains.

Holiday Park Guru says that although the ‘Brown Flag Awards’ uses official Environment Agency data, it has no official link with the Environment Agency or any other awards. This is designed as a sincere award to support the campaign for cleaner beaches.

Winners of the 2024 Brown Flag Awards

It says: “Brown Flag awards are reserved for those selected beaches that have a ‘poor’ rating (or should be ‘poor rating’) in Environment Agency water quality tests.”

Porthluney in Cornwall

Southsea East in Hampshire

Saint Mary’s Bay in Kent

Littlestone in Kent

Blackpool North in Lancashire

St Annes North in Lancashire

Heacham in Norfolk

Weston Main, Weston Super Mare Sand Bay and Weston Super Mare Uphill Slipway in Somerset

Dunster Beach in Somerset

Bognor Regis, Aldwick in Sussex

Tynemouth Cullercoats in Tyne and Wear

Scarborough South Bay in North Yorkshire

Bridlington South Beach in the East Riding of Yorkshire

Weston Super Mare’s three water quality reading locations all achieved the minimum possible score, but Holiday Park Guru has just awarded them a Brown Flag award.

County-by-county ranking table for clean beaches

For the 2024 ranking, Holiday Park Guru analyzed data from every designated bathing beach in England. The study looked at the percentage of beaches in each county that achieved the Environment Agency’s best rating for water cleanliness (three stars = “excellent”).

Percentage of beaches rated ‘excellent’ by the Environment Agency for seawater cleanliness. From best to worst:

Dorset: 89%

Devon: 86%

Suffolk: 83%

Cornwall: 81%

Tyne and Wear: 78%

Northumberland: 77%

Lincolnshire: 77%

Hampshire and New Forest: 75%

Isle of Wight: 73%

Merseyside: 57%

Essex: 53%

Sussex: 52%

Cumbria: 50%

Norfolk: 50%

Kent: 45%

Yorkshire: 40%

County Durham: 16%

Somerset: 10%

Lancashire 0%

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