This article needs to be updated.(September 2020) |
Below is a list of Blue Flag beaches and marinas in Wales, sorted by regulatory body. As of September 2022, 53 locations had been designated by the internationally recognised Foundation for Environmental Education based in Copenhagen, Denmark. [1] The foundation awards, or removes, beaches and marinas from their list each July.
The 2022 is up 13, [2] beaches. In the past the reduced number was due to stricter water quality criteria being used, coupled with the fact that 2012 was a wet year in the country meaning that there were more naturally occurring bacteria present. [3] In comparison, the larger countries of England and Scotland had 55 [4] and 3 [5] beaches listed and no marinas. The Welsh organisation Keep Wales Tidy helps to keep the beaches in good condition as well as running two separate sets of awards - the Green Coast Award and the Seaside Award. [6]
The vast majority of the beaches and marinas are located on the Wales Coast Path. [7]
Ceredigion is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Ceredigion is considered a centre of Welsh culture and just under half of the population can speak Welsh according to the 2011 Census. The county is mainly rural, with over 50 miles (80 km) of coastline and a mountainous hinterland. The numerous sandy beaches and the long-distance Ceredigion Coast Path provide views of Cardigan Bay.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
Carmarthen Bay is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee list Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries as a Special Area of Conservation.
Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales.
Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 and of the village 1241. Aberporth's beaches have earned Blue Flag status.
Tresaith is a coastal village in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberporth and Llangranog. It is linked to the former by a two-mile section of the Ceredigion Coast Path, part of the Wales Coast Path. Tresaith is within the Ceredigion Heritage Coast which offers extensive walking and views. There is an abundance of wildlife and flora. Many kinds of seabirds can be spotted and regular sightings of grey seals and dolphins are made.
Dinas Dinlle is a small settlement in Gwynedd, north-west Wales which is also, historically, part of Caernarfonshire.
The Ceredigion Coast Path is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It is 65 miles (105 km) in length, running along the coast of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan (52.0810°N 4.6608°W) to Ynyslas (52.5271°N 4.0495°W).
The Llŷn Coastal Path is a waymarked 146-kilometre (91 mi) long-distance footpath running along the coast of the Llŷn Peninsula from Caernarfon to Porthmadog in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. A large part of the Llŷn Peninsula is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Golf is a popular sport in Wales. Although the sport of golf in Great Britain is most associated with Scotland, where it was established and developed, Wales can record its first courses back to the 1880s, and today has over 200 clubs. The first amateur golf competition was held in 1895 and the first professional championship was in 1904. Wales has produced several players of note, including one player, Ian Woosnam, who has won one of the Men's major golf championships and Wales has twice won the men's World Cup, in 1987 and 2005, respectively. Wales also hosted the Ryder Cup, when it was held at Newport's Celtic Manor Resort in 2010.
The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).