Full list of 21 Blue Flag beaches in South West including in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset

Weymouth is one of 21 beaches in the South West to have been given the prestigious status. Credit: PA images

More than twenty of the South West's beautiful beaches have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag status for the year.

Blue Flag is an international award for well-maintained, clean beaches that have a high-water quality. It is given by the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

Beaches are judged on criteria including whether they have safety services like lifeguards, information about the local environment, its water quality, and facilities for discarding litter.

Across the country 77 beaches won a Blue Flag Award, more than a quarter of them are in the South West.

Westward Ho! has been awarded Blue Flag status this year Credit: Torridge District Council

Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “Visitors to a beach flying a Blue Flag or Seaside Award can be assured the beach will be clean, safe, and meet the highest environmental standards, as well as international bathing water quality standards.

“The Blue Flag is the world’s most recognised award for beaches and marinas and, to qualify, each applicant must meet and maintain a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria.

“We’d therefore like to recognise and applaud all those who have worked so hard to protect and improve some of our best-loved and most popular beaches. The collective efforts of beach managers, volunteers, residents and businesses all contribute to the success of these sites in achieving the incredibly high standards demanded.”

Nine beaches in Torbay, Devon have been awarded the status this year.

The full list of 21 beaches awarded Blue Flag status in the South West:

  • Crooklets, Cornwall

  • Trevone Bay, Cornwall

  • Porthtowan, Cornwall

  • Carbis Bay, Cornwall

  • Porthminster, Cornwall

  • Porthmeor, Cornwall

  • Gyllyngvase, Cornwall

  • Westward Ho!, Devon

  • Blackpool Sands, Devon

  • Breakwater Beach, Torbay

  • Broadsands Beach,Torbay

  • Preston Sands, Torbay

  • Torre Abbey Sands, Torbay

  • Meadfoot Beach, Torbay

  • Oddicombe Beach, Torbay

  • Teignmouth Town, Devon

  • Dawlish Warren, Devon

  • Exmouth, Devon

  • Sidmouth Town, Devon

  • Seaton, Devon

  • Weymouth Central, Dorset