The South West beaches crowned some of the best in the UK
Towns and villages across the West Country have been ranked among the very best seaside places in the UK.
Dartmouth took the title of second best town or village on the coast, beaten only by Bamburgh in Northumberland.
Other leading West Country places included Beer (12th) and Sidmouth (15th) in Devon and Mevagissey (18th) in Cornwall.
It comes following a new survey of more than 4,000 people by Which?, ranking nearly 100 seaside towns and villages across the UK.
Voters were asked to rank locations based on 10 factors, including the cost of hotels, beaches, piers or tourist attractions, food and drink as well as categories such as 'scenery' and 'peace and quiet'. Every location then had an overall score calculated.
The West Country seaside towns and villages in the rankings:
2nd - Dartmouth, Devon
12th - Beer, Devon
15th - Sidmouth, Devon
18th- Mevagissey, Cornwall
23rd - Falmouth, Cornwall
24th - Fowey, Cornwall
30th - St Mawes, Cornwall
31st - Exmouth, Devon
33rd - Plymouth, Devon
39th - Lyme Regis, Dorset
40th - Lynmouth, Devon
41st - Salcombe, Devon
43rd - St Ives, Cornwall
50th - Bude, Cornwall
53rd - Appledore, Devon
55th - Teignmouth, Devon
59th - Brixham, Devon
67th - Looe, Cornwall
68th - Minehead, Somerset
69th - Torquay, Devon
71st - Padstow, Cornwall
72nd - Penzance, Cornwall
75th - Dawlish, Devon
84th - Newquay, Cornwall
88th - Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset
95th - Ilfracombe, Devon
96th - Weston-super-Mare
Dartmouth was rated joint score with a total of 84 per cent, just one per cent behind Bamburgh and level with Tynemouth in Tyne and Weir.
The Devon town was given a full five stars for its seafront and for scenery, though doing less well on shopping and peace and quiet with just three stars.
Cornwall's highest ranked location, Mevagissey, was rated 78 per cent, with tourists also particularly enjoying the town's seafront and scenery, while food and drink received just three stars.
Tourists rated nearly 60 destinations at 70 per cent or higher, while 30 were given at least four stars for peace and quiet.
More traditionally popular seaside towns such as Newquay, Ilfracombe and Weston-super-Mare performed less well, ranking 84th, 95th and 96th respectively.
But those who visited Dartmouth recommended certain activities, such as taking a boat trip along the River Dart or the steam train to Paignton to get there.
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