Every summer, Which? magazine sends a postcard to the UK’s long-suffering seaside towns and tells them to pull their socks up or to remove them, sandals and all, and run across the golden sand with glee. With 126 towns and villages in its 2024 table, it’s a reminder of how central coastal resorts are to the history of leisure in Britain. Seaside towns are a huge part of the collective memory – even if we might prefer to take our main holidays in Bali or the Balearics. 

The destinations are star-rated according to 10 categories: hotel prices, beaches, value for money, seafront/pier, food and drink, tourist attractions, scenery, shopping, parking and peace and quiet. These are added together to give an overall customer score as a percentage. For this year’s survey, Which? garnered responses from 4,744 “members” (ie, subscribers) – people, we might presume, who think a lot about how they spend their money. 

The top five for 2024 were Bamburgh (which scored 86 per cent, retaining the top spot), Portmeirion, St Andrews, Tynemouth and St Davids. All scored in the eighties and were awarded four or five stars in most of the categories. 

The bottom five were Skegness, Bognor Regis, Burnham-on-Sea, Mablethorpe and, at the very foot of the table, Bangor in Gwynedd, with just 42 per cent overall.