Six beaches in the Vale of Glamorgan have received prestigious yellow and blue Seaside Award flags in Keep Wales Tidy 2026 Wales Coast Awards.
The beaches were all named in the 2026 Wales Coast Awards, which are managed by leading Welsh environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy and play a vital role in protecting our precious marine environment.
Barry Island’s Whitmore Bay and Jackson’s Bay, Cold Knap in Barry, Penarth, Llantwit Major Beach, and Dunraven Bay in Southerndown all once again retain their status as Seaside Award winners for 2026.
All received the award in recognition of their good standard of water quality, public facilities, safety provision and management, and can be recognised by a distinctive yellow and blue flag.
A total of 48 beaches across Wales were recognised in the awards, which play a vital role in protecting our precious marine environment and are known around the world as a symbol of quality.
The six Vale locations were among 15 beaches across Wales to receive the Seaside Award for 2026. Six beaches in Ceredigion also received the honour, with Aberystwyth South, Aberystwyth North, New Quay Harbour, Aberporth, Clarach and Traeth y Dolau (New Quay North) all meeting the award’s high standards, along with Aberavon in Neath Port Talbot, and Prestatyn Central and Rhyl East in Denbighshire.
The Seaside Award is a UK-only beach award available in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, with the distinctive yellow and blue flag signifying a clean, attractive and well-managed coastal stretch with good public facilities.
The 2026 Wales Coast Awards also saw 20 beaches achieving Blue Flag status, including Tenby’s South and North beaches, Poppit Sands and Broadhaven North in Pembrokeshire, and Caswell Bay, Langland Bay and Port Eynon in Swansea.
The Blue Flag Award is one of the world’s most recognised awards for beaches, marinas and tourism boats, recognising not only the highest standards of water quality, but also high-quality amenities, sustainable development of tourism, information provision, environmental education, safety and access, and site management. Awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), beaches must adhere to specific criteria ensuring the beach or marina is clean, safe, and well-managed, promoting sustainability and attracting visitors.
A further 13 Welsh beaches have also attained Green Coast Award, in recognition of their clean environment, excellent water quality and natural beauty. This includes Mwnt and Penbryn in Ceredigion and Freshwater East and Manobier in Pembrokeshire all of which were commended for unspoilt beauty, excellent water quality and a high standard of environmental education.
The Wales Coast Awards have been managed by Keep Wales Tidy for more than 20 years and signify that a beach or marina meets and maintains the highest environmental standards and achieves tough water quality targets, as well as ensuring high standards of information provision, environmental education, safety, and site management.
The Awards are voluntary and recognise the huge effort of staff and volunteers across Wales who are committed to protecting and preserving our natural landscape in the face of increasingly challenging circumstances.
Owen Derbyshire, Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy, congratulated the Vale of Glamorgan on maintaining its impressive tally of Seaside Awards.
He said: “A day at the seaside is a centuries-old tradition in Wales and a real highlight, whether you live locally and regularly visit your nearest beach, or are visiting an area. We are delighted to see all of last year’s Seaside Award-winning beaches in the Vale of Glamorgan retaining their title for 2026 by maintaining a good standard of water quality, public facilities, safety provision and management, and ensuring visitors know they can expect a clean and safe day out.”
“These awards recognise high and consistent standards and we would like to thank staff, volunteers and everyone else at sites across Wales who works so hard to protect and preserve our natural landscape in the face of increasingly challenging circumstances.”
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