The distinctively diverse British shoreline is secluded, spectacular, windswept and sandy - so pick a winner from the best beaches in the world.

Blackpool Sands, Devon: Privately owned Blackpool Sands beach on Devon's south coast is perfect for families. There is a safe swimming area, lifeguards on patrol during summer and a lost child collection point. The beach is mainly fine pebbles, but fear not sandcastle engineers, as a sandy area has been added to avoid disappointment.

Llanbedrog, Gwynedd: This 16km walk from Llanbedrog to Chwilog forms part of the Llyn Coastal Path in north Wales, a 146km route from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. The path, which opened last year, is Britain's newest long distance path, and 75 per cent of the walk is beach.

St Bees, Cumbria: The ancient village of St Bees has one of Cumbria's most popular rural beaches. It is also the start of the scenic coast-to-coast walk, a challenging but very popular 300km route linking St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay on the Yorkshire coast.

Bournemouth, Dorset: This one is a large and popular south coast beach resort in the county of Dorset, generally green, affluent and lacking both heavy industry and violent crime. A bank survey in 2007 indicated that Bournemouth was the happiest place to live in Great Britain

New Quay, Wales: New Quay Beach is located between Llangrannog and Aberaeron on the Cardigan Bay coast of Ceredigion, West Wales. There are a number of beaches at New Quay including the north beach, the south beach and the harbour beach. The beach is popular for swimming, sailing and fishing. Due to its popularity there are zoned areas for beach and sea waters.

Sennen Cove, Cornwall: Sennen Cove lies just one mile northeast of Land`s End , at the southwestern tip of Cornwall. Sheltered by the mighty headland of Pedn-men-du , the Cove is tucked into the southeast corner of Whitesand Bay , with Sennen Cove Beach and Gwenver Beach to the northeast.

West Sands, Scotland: The West Sands has gained world fame from the movie "Chariots of Fire". In the opening scene, as the British Olympic team is training, they run along the West Sands. Sadly the movie wrongly credits the scene to Broad Stairs, Kent.

If you requiere further information about the best beaches in the world please click on the links provided for an up to date list of the top beaches.