Gorgeous seaside town voted best in Scotland with beautiful beaches & scenery

DESPITE this summer’s dreadful weather, many of us are still planning trips to the seaside to keep the kids entertained during the school holidays.

Luckily in Scotland we have lots beautiful beachside places to choose from, giving us plenty of choice for staycations and days out.

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But working out which one is the best can be a more difficult task – until now that is.

Consumer watchdogs Which? has just revealed the best in the country after surveying nearly 5,000 holiday-makers on everything from the quality of their beaches to the calibre of restaurants.

And coming out on top in Scotland is St Andrews – and third overall in the UK, with a score of 82%, just behind the winner Bamburgh in Northumberland and Portmeirion in Wales.

It’s the second year running the ‘wonderfully scenic’ town won the best of the best in Scotland.

The Fife university town gained top marks for its stunning expansive sandy beach – a two-mile stretch of sand 15 minutes from the centre.

It also received a whopping five stars out of five stars for its picturesque seafront, tourist attractions and scenery.

It was awarded four stars for shopping and the same for food and drink, with visitors saying they loved wandering the town’s cobbled streets and alleyways to discover ice-cream parlours, bistros and artisanal food, as well as specialist knitwear and second-hand bookshops.

Parking however scored low, with just two stars and don’t go looking for peace and quiet there, as that scored just two as well.

The choice of accommodation was rated three stars, with an average price of £147, among the highest of all the towns. And it got a middle of the road three stars for value for money.

The town, which is a haven for golfers and is where Prince William studied, is packed full of great things for visitors including a top class aquarium and a historic castle.

Crail, also in Fife, was the next Scottish seaside town to make the list, coming in at no12.

This pretty little harbour town has charming cobbled streets, incredible fresh seafood and cosy pubs aplenty.

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It was followed by Nairn in Aberdeenshire at no21 and North Berwick in Eats Lothian at no30.

The popular Fife seaside town of Pittwenweem made the list at no42, with Oban in Argyll ranked 47th best in the UK.

Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire came in at No50, with stunning Tobermory on the isle of Mull just one behind at no 51.

Its famous for it’s colourful houses and for being the setting of the fictional town Balamory in the kids TV show of the same name. It was praised for its scenery and serenity.

Ayr was the lowest ranked of all the Scottish beaches to make the list, coming in at no 102.

For the fourth year in a row, Bamburgh, a Northumberland village with a population of just 400 people, can call itself the best seaside town in the UK, beating 120 other UK towns and villages.

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It received the full five-star ratings for its beach, seafront, scenery, tourist attractions, and peace and quiet. It also clinched an outstanding 86% overall destination score.

Visitors loved the spectacular views of Bamburgh Castle, standing guard on a rocky outcrop above miles of sand and windswept dunes.

‘Bamburgh Castle is probably the most impressive castle in the British Isles,’ one visitor said, while many others praised the ‘wild, beautiful beach’ and the handful of excellent pubs, restaurants or cafés in the tiny village itself.

The best seaside destination in Wales, Portmeirion in Gwynedd, is also one of the UK’s most unusual holiday villages.

It was dreamed up in the 1920s by Welsh architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who described it as a ‘home for fallen buildings’.

Inspired by Italian towns such as Portofino on the Mediterranean, Williams-Ellis designed extravagant, Italianate buildings complete with brightly coloured domes, colonnades and towers.

Visitors loved the architecture and its setting above a wide, sandy estuary – giving it five stars out of five for its tourist attractions, scenery and seafront. It got a destination score of 83%.

Portstewart in Londonderry/Derry was the highest-rated town in Northern Ireland, with a score of 76% and five stars for both its two miles of beach and its scenery.

It’s equally popular with families and surfers. Cars can park directly on the beach, allowing easy lugging of windbreakers and picnic hampers. The town itself was also popular, with half-timbered, pedestrianised streets lined with small shops. It ‘has a lovely feel to it’, one visitor told us.

Two other Welsh towns – St Davids and Llandudno – appear in the top 10, while, surprisingly, there’s no Cornish town in the top 15.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “From wild, unspoilt stretches of remote coastline to charming traditional bucket and spade resorts, the UK’s seaside towns offer something for everyone.

“While you may have your own favourite coastal spot, this year’s survey shows that it’s worth looking beyond the most famous resorts this summer, to the lesser-visited hidden gems in every corner of the UK.”