USER GUIDE
(Click for handy hints)

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has published the Good Beach Guide so you can plan your visit to the coast. Choose from over 1,200 beaches, each described in detail with a photo, OS map, weather forecast and tidetables. For a Quick Search simply click a region on the homepage map and select a beach from the drop down menu. Alternatively, use Beach Search to produce a tailored list of beaches matching your criteria.

This symbol denotes beaches recommended by MCS for excellent water quality and a minimal risk of sewage pollution. Click Clean Seas on the homepage for a full list of all the beaches recommended by MCS. Remember not every beach in the guide is recommended by MCS, so look for the symbol.

For Beach Safety, MCS has teamed up with the RNLI Beach Lifeguards Service to provide information on lifeguard cover and emergency facilities (if any) for all the beaches listed in this guide. Use the search options available with Beach Search to choose beaches where the whole family can enjoy swimming in clean water with good safety provision. Click Beach Safety on the homepage to find out more about the RNLI Beach Lifeguards Service and planning a safe day at the beach.
    1. Finding a beach
For a Quick Search simply click a region on the homepage map and select a beach from the drop down menu. Alternatively, use Beach Search to produce a tailored list of beaches matching your criteria.

Click for handy hints.

Please note that inclusion in the Good Beach Guide does not automatically mean that a beach is recommended by MCS for bathing. Only those that feature the MCS Recommended icon have water quality which meets the stringent standards set by MCS for clean bathing water.
    2. Recommended beaches
The Marine Conservation Society will only recommend beaches in the Good Beach Guide which:
1. Have achieved the Marine Conservation Society water quality standard (see Water Quality for details)
2. Are not affected by any sewage outfalls which discharge raw, screened, preliminary or primary treated sewage (see Sewage Treatment for details)

    3. Non-Recommended beaches
If a beach is not recommended by MCS in this guide, it did not achieve a high enough water quality standard in the previous bathing season, and there is an unacceptable risk to swimmers from sewage related bacteria and viruses.

More information on sewage pollution, water quality standards, sewage treatment and and beach awards can be found by selecting topics from the Info drop down menu in the banner.
    4. Revisiting the Good Beach Guide
If you like the site, bookmark it and tell your friends. You shouldn't get lost and you can always use the Back button in your browser to return to previous pages.


Published by

the UK charity for the protection of the marine environment and its wildlife

Reg Charity No (England and Wales) 1004005 Reg Charity No (Scotland) SC037480 Company Limited by Guarantee (England & Wales) No: 2550966
Registered Office: Unit 3, Wolf Business Park, Alton Road, Ross-on-Wye HR9 5NB VAT No. 489 1505 17info@mcsuk.org
click here for a list of all beaches contained in the guide
Disclaimer: In brief - any individual acting upon information contained in this Guide does so entirely at their own risk.
MCS does not accept any responsibility for any individual visiting or bathing at beaches listed in the Good Beach
Guide. The symbols depicting the water quality of all beaches refer to 2006 water quality only, and apply to
normal bathing conditions. Bathers swim entirely at their own risk. Click here for full disclaimer text