Blue Flag Awards given to 25 beaches in Wales

There are 139 Marine Protected Areas covering 69% of Welsh inshore waters

Now the sun has come out, people are flocking to Wales' beaches.

Of its many beautiful stretches of coast, 25 have been awarded a prestigious Blue Flag award.

Keep Wales Tidy, the national operator, has awarded the beaches the status for 2023 - this is awarded based on water cleanliness and quality.

While the number has remained the same as last year, Southerndown, Vale of Glamorgan, has lost its status, with Aberporth in Ceredigion gaining the title.

Since 2021, Wales has lost 20 Blue Flags.

The country also has 14 beaches with a Green Coast Award - up one since 2022 - but just 12 with a Seaside Award, down from 23 in 2022.

The Blue Flag award is a globally recognised eco-label owned by the Foundation for Environmental Education.

It takes water quality, environmental education and management into consideration, as well as safety and services on site.

Globally, as the Blue Flag is an international award, beaches must reach the highest standard which is classified as “ excellent”.

The Green Coast Award recognises excellent water quality and the unspoiled environment, but put less focus on the infrastructure and management than the Blue Flag award.

The seaside award considers how clean and safe beaches are and what facilities they have.

Last year Wales had 23 Seaside Awards but this has dropped to 12 this year.

Research by Keep Wales Tidy shows more than 50% of people said a beach losing its Blue Flag could influence their decision to visit.

The blue Flag award was implemented in Europe from 1987 and became international in 2001.

The most beaches with Blue Flags are in Pembrokeshire, then Ceredigion and then Swansea.

Among the Blue Flag beaches are Whitesands in Pembrokeshire, Rest Bay in Bridgend and Llangrannog in Ceredigion.

Minister for Climate Change Julie James said: “Wales has some of the best beaches and water quality across the whole of Europe, and it is only fitting that this is recognised with the awarding of blue flags.

“We’re known across the world for our beautiful coastlines and if we’re to keep our beaches and coast this way, we need to ensure we leave nothing but footprints so blue flags can continue to fly for many generations to come.”

Beaches can be considered for the award if they achieve ‘excellent’ bathing water quality

Keep Wales Tidy Chief Executive Owen Derbyshire said these awards are a "tribute to the hard work and dedication" of those who work to maintain the coastline.

"However, with the privilege of enjoying these breath-taking landscapes comes the responsibility to protect and preserve them," he said.

“Let us all pledge to do our part by respecting the environment and keeping our beaches clean and litter-free.

"Together, we can ensure that future generations have the opportunity to experience the wonder of Wales' coast.”

Keep Wales Tidy said it acknowledges there is more work to be done with coastal stakeholders to improve bathing waters throughout the year in terms of the Wales Coast Awards and Blue Flag.

It also said this year Gwynedd, Conwy and Anglesey chose not to submit any applications for the awards.

"There is one exception, Silver Bay Holiday Park, a private enterprise on Anglesey made a successful Green Coast Award application for the nearby Silver Bay," it said.

"Sadly, this season Southerndown has not reached the high standards of the Blue Flag Award.

"The national jury did not make the decision lightly but felt that in addition to minor issues identified the toilet facilities at the beach were not reaching the expectations of the Blue Flag criterion."