Denbighshire and Anglesey beaches among Wales' best at awards
Environmental charity Keep Wales Tidy announced the recipients of its annual Coast Awards on Thursday (May 15).
A total of 49 sites received awards:
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Blue Flag Award
The Blue Flag Award is one of the world's most recognised awards for beaches, marinas and boats.
It is awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) to beaches that adhere to specific criteria that ensures the beach or marina is:
Seaside Award
The Seaside Award is a UK-only beach award available in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Its distinctive yellow and blue flag signifies a clean, attractive and well-managed coastal stretch, with a good standard of water quality, public facilities, safety provision and management.
Green Coast Award
Green Coast Awards celebrates the "hidden gems" of the Welsh coastline and shows a site is:
The 49 sites that received a Wales Coast Award in 2025 are:
Chief Executive of Keep Wales Tidy, Owen Derbyshire, said: "The Wales Coast Awards are a fantastic celebration of Wales' beautiful and diverse coastline and are testament to the huge effort of staff and volunteers at sites across Wales.
"Thank you to everyone who works so hard to protect and preserve our natural landscape in the face of increasingly challenging circumstances.'
There were three beaches in North Wales named among the nation's best at the Coast Awards:
Silver Bay was one of 13 beaches in Wales to receive a Green Coast Award. (Image: Getty Images) Silver Bay, in Rhoscolyn, was one of 13 locations in Wales to receive a Green Coast Award in 2025.
Keep Wales Tidy describes the private beach, located in the Silver Bay Holiday Park, as one of the "hidden gems" of the Welsh coastline.
It added: "The Green Coast Award marks Silver Bay as an exceptional place to enjoy stunning scenery, rich coastal heritage and diversity.
"It joins the likes of Mwnt and Penbryn in Ceredigion and Freshwater East and Manobier in Pembrokeshire in being commended for unspoilt beauty, excellent water quality and a high standard of environmental education."
Prestatyn Central was also recognised among Wales' best beaches in the 2025 Coast Awards. (Image: Tripadvisor) Prestatyn Central was recognised among the best in Wales with a Seaside Award.
The North Wales beach is described as a "much-loved tourist destination" and is popular for its wide, sandy beaches and water sports (including surfing, sailing and windsurfing).
Prestatyn Central boasts a 4.3 (out of 5) rating on Tripadvisor from 84 reviews (at the time of writing).
One person described it as "my favourite beach", before adding: "This is a lovely Beach, my husband grew up staying with his nan & grandad during the school holidays at Lido beach caravan park so it's always been a favourite.
"It's clean, tidy and my grandchildren love it. Will continue to visit this for years to come."
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Rhyl East, which is a "long-sandy stretch of coastline", also received a Seaside Award in 2025.
It was also commended for its dedicated zone for beach sport activities including kite surfing, wind surfing and kayaking.
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