Analysts from mother and baby retailer JoJo Maman Bébé ranked every UK beach using Google Maps, looking at its overall visitor rating, how many reviews it has received, and its proximity to shops and restaurants. A weighted rank was then calculated to give an overall beach score out of 100.
Whitby Beach in North Yorkshire came in first place with a rating of 4.7 on Google from 6,699 and an overall score of 98.0.
Formby beach flew the flag for the north west, coming in fifth place. The researchers found it had a Google score of 4.7 from 2,585 visitors and gave it an overall score of 89.1 out of 100.
No other North West beaches made the JoJo Maman Bebe list, but plenty have been hailed by experts over the years. In April 2023, TimeOut media placed Morecambe at number 28 in its ‘handpicked guide to the UK’s finest beaches’ –the only Lancashire beach to make the cut.
See our list below of 10 tempting beaches for Boxing Day walks in the North West this year.
9. Fleetwood beach (Marine Beach)
The seafront area here has recently been renovated and has views across to Morecambe Bay, but the tides can be dangerously unpredictable off Fleetwood beach. | nw Photo: BEG
10. St Annes beach
According to thebeachguide.co.uk: "This sandy beach, backed by dunes is located on the Fylde coastline, between Lytham St Annes and Blackpool. At low tide up to 300 metres of clean, golden sand is exposed, perfect for building sandcastles and playing beach games." Photo: Daniel Martino
11. Hest Bank beach
The village of Hest Bank between Morecambe and Carnforth has a grassy foreshore and a sandy beach. It has views onto the saltmarshes and mudflats of Morecambe Bay. | google Photo: Google