As the weather warms up, new research has revealed which beaches are the most accessible for those with limited mobility.

There are few places more appealing than the seaside on a hot day and in the last three years the number of people spending their leisure time at a UK beach has increased by 4 million.

For those with mobility issues however, spending some time on the sand is that little bit trickier. With this in mind, Middletons Mobility has conducted research, revealing the top 10 most accessible beaches in the UK.

To create their league table, Middletons Mobility considered data sourced from TripAdvisor, Disability Rights UK, beach websites and customer reviews.

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Top 10 most accessible beaches

Falmouth Packet: Bournemouth beach named UK's most accessible beach. Picture: PABournemouth beach named UK's most accessible beach. Picture: PA

Cornwall is the second most accessible destination after Dorset, according to the list, with two locations making it into the top 10.

Appearing third was Porthminster Beach in St Ives with Perranporth Beach not too far behind, coming in at number five.

Dorset saw a whopping four locations make an appearance with Bournemouth Beach coming in first and Sandbanks Beach following it in second place. A little further down the list, Weymouth Beach and Studland Beach took seventh and eighth place respectively.

Here’s the full list of beaches scoring highly enough to be named among the most accessible:

  1. Bournemouth Beach, Dorset
  2. Sandbanks Beach, Poole, Dorset
  3. Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall
  4. Portobello Beach, Edinburgh
  5. Perranporth Beach, Cornwall
  6. Brighton Beach, Brighton and Hove
  7. Weymouth Beach, Dorset
  8. Studland Beach, Dorset
  9. West Wittering Beach, Chichester, West Sussex
  10. Whitby Beach, North Yorkshire

Beaches with accessibility and affordability

Falmouth Packet: Affordability of the most accessible beaches varies. Picture: PAAffordability of the most accessible beaches varies. Picture: PA

While all beaches within the top 10 boast high levels of accessibility, the costs for amenities relating to physical disabilities differs.

Portobello Beach and Perranporth Beach are the only beaches to offer free wheelchair hire, while also offering free disabled toilet access, along with Sandbanks Beach and Porthminster Beach also offering free disabled toilet access. All other beaches require a £5 daily fee to access the disabled toilets.

Most offer a refundable deposit scheme for wheelchair hire, the exceptions being Portminster at £45 per week, and Whitby Beach at £37 per week.

Ricky Towler, founder of Middletons Mobility, said: “The summertime is the perfect season to spend time at the beach, regardless of levels of mobility.

“As we have assessed which beaches are the most accessible for people with physical disabilities, we wish to inform the public as frequently as possible whenever UK destinations have good or poor accessibility.

“As UK accessibility plummets nearly 50% in just three years, we wish to ensure that our beaches remain accessible to all, allowing for the life quality of individuals with mobility issues and disabilities to consistently match that of physically able people.

“Ensuring that beaches have appropriate entrances, pathways and amenities that allow for wheelchair and motor scooter use is imperative to allowing equality for all.