Sandy shores, picturesque sea views and classic British seaside charm are what one might expect when spending the day at the beach.
But, not every beach is charming and clean, and the unofficial Brown Flag Awards by HolidayParkGuru.co.uk has identified some of the grubbiest seaside spots in England.
Using data from Environment Agency and identifying which beaches have bathing water rated as ‘poor’, the travel website hands out brown flags featuring poo emojis to filthy beaches.
Somerset came out as the worst region – with three of its sandy spots making the list of 15.
Dunster Beach, Blue Anchor West and Weston Main, Weston Super Mare Sand Bay and Weston Super Mare Uphill Slipway all had ‘poor’ ratings.
Sussex was another dirty contender, with two of its beaches making the cut – Bognor Regis, Aldwick and Worthing Beach House featuring on the list.
Kent also has two ‘Brown Flag’ beaches – Dymchurch and Littlestone – as does Tyne and Wear with Littlehaven Beach and Tynemouth Cullercoats.
Coastguards Beach, Erme Estuary was the only one in Devon while Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach put Dorset on the list.
Blue Anchor West is one of the beaches identified as having received a ‘poor’ water cleanliness rating
Bognor Regis, in Sussex, is another spot to be awarded a Brown Flag
Southsea East performed badly for Hampshire, as did Blackpool North in Lancashire and Scarborough South Bay in North Yorkshire.
Haverigg in Cumbria is the only ‘Poocomer’ for 2026 – the only beach on the list to feature for the first time.
Meanwhile, Brown Flag winners for the third year in a row include beaches in Blackpool, Weston Super Mare, Bognor Regis, Lyme Regis and Scarborough.
The Brown Flag Awards are announced each year just before the May Bank Holiday – when many families will be heading to the beach to enjoy quality time in the sun together.
There have been some improvements however – a total of five beaches have wiped away their Brown Flag status this year, including beaches in Cornwall, Kent, Lancashire, Norfolk and Yorkshire.
Now, they are all rated as ‘sufficient’ for levels of E. coli and other bacteria, which can come from sewage, cattle, wildlife, road drainage and bird poo.
The country as a whole has improved slightly too, with 68 per cent of England’s beaches now boasting ‘excellent’ ratings, up from 66.5 per cent the year before.
The area with the cleanest beaches in 2026 is Northumberland, with Dorset placing second, followed by Cornwall in third.
Blackpool North beach, in Lancashire, also bagged a spot on the list
As did the bustling Dymchurch Beach, located in Kent
Bamburgh Beach can be found in Northumberland – the county with the highest amount of ‘excellent’ rated beaches
Porthminister Beach, in Cornwall, is another clean spot to visit
In Northumberland, a whopping 92 per cent of beaches rated as ‘excellent’ for water cleanliness.
Meanwhile, 90 per cent of Dorset’s and Cornwall’s beaches were ‘excellent’.
Some beaches managed to improve and remove themselves from the Brown Flag status this year too.
Porthluney in Cornwall, Deal Castle in Kent and St Annes North in Lancashire went up from ‘poor’ to ‘sufficient’ in their rating from the Environment Agency.
As did Heacham in Norfolk and Bridlington South Beach in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Robbie Lane from HolidayParkGuru.co.uk said: ‘Some of England’s beaches are in a terrible state – as we saw in Channel 4’s Dirty Business.
‘We’ve handed out fewer Brown Flags this year, but this campaign is far from over.
‘At the current rate of improvement, it will be 2047 before all of England’s official swimming beaches are rated as excellent.
‘Hopefully a bit of embarrassment – and a brown flag with a poo emoji – might help encourage improvement whilst serving as a warning to families on holiday.’