The sun has got its hat on: Best British beaches for a last-minute getaway

With temperatures set to soar, Pitchup.com recommends heading to Britain’s best beaches this weekend to grab those much-deserved rays. Find a beach that's perfect for surfing, friendly to dogs, or even suitable for naturists.

Make a proper break of it with an overnight stay at Pitchup.com’s top glamping and camping recommendations – perfect for a budget conscious break and heaven knows we deserve some sunshine time after all the rain!

ISLE OF WIGHT

BEACH: Shanklin - lies at the southern end of Sandown Bay and has the most glorious, soft, yellow sand which slopes gently to the sea. Look out for Small Hope Beach on the left hand side as towards the Esplanade, separated from the main beach by Hope Road and public car park. This small, triangular beach is very popular with families – there are beach huts to hire and ice creams available from the café at the far end.

CAMP: Stay at the gorgeous site of Ninham Country Holidays - tucked in a quiet glen beside an calm duck pond, and embraced by woods full of wildlife. Perhaps the best part of all – there is a heated outdoor pool, ideal for a dip after coming back from the beach. Pitches are priced from £10 per night

DEVON

BEACH: Bigbury on Sea - dusted with sand and lapped by shallow waters, the beach is particularly great if you’ve got children in tow. The beach is dotted with rock pools and if visitors want to try something different from the usual bodyboarding or surfing, then windsurfing and kite-surfing are gaining popularity here, with hire facilities located right on the beach. There are lifeguards present at Bigbury on Sea beach during May to September and the beach also has a first-aid room.

CAMP: Langstone Manor Holiday Park offers beach bums fresh bread and pain au chocolat, with Dartmoor as their back garden. This friendly site offers cosy camping pods with sheltered decks and fab views, plus immaculate showers, loos and laundry facilities. As well as the wealth of hiking and biking routes in the area, there are centres for horse riding, canoeing and climbing on Dartmoor, to help visitors make the most of the spectacular landscapes. Priced from £40 per night.

WEST WALES

BEACH: Discover Aberporth – Traeth-y-Dyffryn Beach, a lovely little secluded beach with high cliff faces surrounding the main beach sands. A perfect escape for privacy: venture into the waves or just relax on the golden sands and soak up some of the fine weather we’ve been promised.

CAMP: Cardigan Caravan Camping Site is a lovely farm site on Aelybryn Farm with pitches for campers just a few metres away from the working farmyard. Guests will be greeted by the resident ducks, sheep, hens, Welsh cobs and Arab horses - as well as some rather stately-looking white peacocks! There are beautiful sunset views over Cardigan Bay. Pitches are priced from £15 per night.

CORNWALL

BEACH: Pentewan, on the ‘Cornish Riviera’ near St Austell is a beautifully large sandy beach, excellent for swimming and all water sports - swimming, surfing, windsurfing, sea canoeing, water skiing and sailing. Canoes and sailing dinghies can be hired on the beach itself. The waters are crystal clear – visitors will find it hard to believe they’re still in the UK.

CAMP: Court Farm Caravan and Camping Holidays has been given a 10 out of 10 rating by Pitchup.com users – visitors love the wonderful views over the surrounding countryside, each pitch has ample space and the farm site even has its own fishing lake with mirror carp, tench, perch, grass carp, roach and rudd. When the weather is clear, the site hosts star gazing evenings for guests. Pitches are priced from £15 per night.

YORKSHIRE

BEACH: Not so much a beach than a destination – Scarborough was the country’s first ever seaside resort. As well as the obvious attractions of the sandy beaches, Italian gardens and the beautiful Peasholm Park, there are trips by boat, open air bus or miniature steam railway, and it’s definitely worth making your way up to the imposing castle on the cliff tops.

CAMP:  Visitors can stay at Jasmine Park, North Yorkshire – an award winning caravan and camping park on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, midway between Scarborough and Pickering, and just a short drive from the numerous sandy beaches. Pitches are priced from £20 per night.

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About Pitchup.com

Winner of the Travel Journalists’ Award for Best UK Travel Website of the Year at the British Travel Press Awards 2011 and Best Travel Information Site at the 2010 Travolution awards, Pitchup.com is the most comprehensive website in the camping and caravanning sector. Launched in July 2009, the site features 5,000 campsites and holiday parks in the UK and Ireland, including many in hard-to-find locations. The website enables users to search and book using more than 80 search criteria to fine-tune their holiday requirements, and features mapping technology to make getting there simple too. The site also lists accommodation near nine National Parks, hundreds of beaches, 17 World Heritage Sites and the main UK festivals and can view nearby Good Pub Guide pubs, National Trust properties and National Cycle Network routes. Website owners can also add custom Pitchup.com listings to their site.

For further media information please contact:

Lewis Shields   020 7886 8449 lewis.shields@flagshipconsulting.co.uk

Laetitia Redbond 020 7886 8457 laetitia.redbond@flagshipconsulting.co.uk