Holkham named as nation's favourite beach

The expansive, windswept sands of Holkham have been crowned the UK's favourite beach by readers of a national magazine. The North Norfolk beach has scooped the Coast Magazine Award for Best Beach 2009, beating last year's winner, Bournemouth.

The expansive, windswept sands of Holkham have been crowned the UK's favourite beach by readers of a national magazine.

The North Norfolk beach has scooped the Coast Magazine Award for Best Beach 2009, beating last year's winner, Bournemouth.

The category was voted for by readers who selected Holkham for its miles of dunes, colourful beach huts and maze of creeks and saltings.

The Norfolk beach found fame as a Hollywood movie setting after Gwyneth Paltrow's memorable final scene from Shakespeare in Love in 1998, and is also a National Nature Reserve.

Coast editor Clare Gogerty said: 'The standard of nominations and the animated judging of this year's awards prove what we already knew on Coast - the British seaside is an exciting, lively and relevant place.

'If people are looking for things to do and see at the coast, our winners are a great place to start.'

The Coast Awards, launched last year, were established to recognise anything innovative, valuable and exciting around the British coastline.

This year, the categories included Best Coastal Caf�, Pub or Restaurant, Best Seaside Landmark Building and Best Reinvented Seaside Town.

Other East Anglian attractions claimed runners up places - The White Horse at Brancaster Staithe in the Best Shoreline B&B category and Southwold Pier for Best Seaside Attraction.

And there was more success for Holkham with the Bringing The Outside In shop on Main Road also named runner-up in the Best New Business by the Sea category.

The runners-up in the Best Beach category were Bamburgh in Northumberland and Brighton in East Sussex.