Beaches rated Poor in the United Kingdom
Bathing waters in the United Kingdom that failed the EU Bathing Water Directive standard, with the agency's classification and current status.
Poor is the failing classification under the EU Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC), assessed on E. coli and intestinal enterococci across the previous four bathing seasons. A water classified Poor must display advice against bathing for the following season, and in England most of these carry that advice now. The classification is the agency's, published annually.
A Poor classification means the monitoring body's four-year assessment failed the directive standard.
37 spots, grouped by region. Each shows its current swim status — an award or a classification is not the same as today’s water.
Arun
Blackpool
Bradford
Cambridge
City of Portsmouth
Cumberland
Dorset
Folkestone and Hythe
Leeds
New Forest
North Somerset
North Tyneside
North Yorkshire
Oxford
Ribble Valley
Scotland
Shropshire
Somerset
South Hams
South Tyneside
Telford and Wrekin
the Vale of Glamorgan
Worthing
Common questions
- How many beaches rated poor are there in the United Kingdom?
- 37 — this page lists all of them, grouped by area, with each one's current swim status.
- What does this mean?
- Poor is the failing classification under the EU Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC), assessed on E. coli and intestinal enterococci across the previous four bathing seasons. A water classified Poor must display advice against bathing for the following season, and in England most of these carry that advice now. The classification is the agency's, published annually.
- Can I swim at all of these right now?
- No. 37 of these 37 spots are currently flagged, including 9 under an active do-not-swim notice. A rating or an award describes a past assessment; the status on each spot page is today's. Neither is a safety clearance — bathing-water monitoring covers bacterial quality only, and says nothing about tides, currents, swell or cold-water shock.
- Which areas of the United Kingdom have the most?
- Somerset (4), North Somerset (3), Scotland (3). They are spread across 23 areas in total.