Woolacombe beach in North Devon has been named 20 in TripAdvisor’s top 25 beaches in the world – in this year’s list, Woolacombe ranks higher than all of Cornwall’s beaches and all of Australia’s as well as being the highest ranking English beach. The only other UK beach to score higher is Luskentyre in the Outer Hebrides.
The full list from TripAdvisor is as follows:
1 Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
2 Grace Bay Beach, Turks and Caicos
3 Playa Paraiso, Cayo Largo, Cuba
4 Spiaggia dei Conigli, Sicily, Italy
5 Prainhas do Pontal do Atalaoa, Arraial do Cabo, Brazil
6 Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
7 Eagle Beach, Aruba
8 Flamenco Beach, Culebra, Puerto Rico
9 Varadero Beach, Cuba
10 Klefiko Beach, Milos, Cyclades, Greece
11 Siesta Beach, Siesta Key, Florida, USA
12 Radhanager Beach, Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
13 Luskentyre, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
14 Playa de Ses Illetes, Formenera, Spain
15 La Concha Beach, San Sebastian, Donostia, Spain
16 Saint Pete beach, Florida, USA
17 Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres, Mexico
18 Maho Bay Beach, Cruz Bay, St John, Virgin Islands
19 Bavaro Beach, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
20 Wollacombe Beach, Devon UK
21 Elafonissi Beach, Elafonissi, Greece
22 Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia
23 Cala Mariolu, Baunei, Italy
24 Balos Lagoon, Kissamos, Greece
25 Black Sand Beach, Vik, Iceland
As well as appearing in the top twenty in this list, Woolacombe has also been named as the 6th best beach in Europe.