Keep Scotland Beautiful announces 2019 Scottish Beach Award winners
Environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has announced that 61 Scottish beaches from across the country have achieved Scottish Beach Award status in 2019. The accolade recognises the high standards provided across the country to beach users.
With the Scottish bathing season started on 1 June, the annual Scottish Beach Awards recognise the best beaches across the country and act as the benchmark for local environmental quality all along Scotland’s coastline.
The 2019 awards sees many long standing award participants return, including Gullane Bents which celebrates 27 consecutive years as award winner.
Derek Robertson, Chief Executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, commented: “Scotland’s coastlines and waters attract thousands of visitors every year. These beach users can be assured that where they see the Scottish Beach Award flag they will have the experience they are looking for: a clean beach, excellent amenities and signposting about the local area, as well as information about water quality.” Focussing on local environmental quality, the award is designed to complement the work currently undertaken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on bathing water quality.
Environment spokesperson, Cllr Norman Hampshire, added: “East Lothian’s varied coastline and beaches are popular attractions for both local residents and visitors. Now, perhaps more than ever, people are increasingly aware of environmental issues and the negative impacts our life choices can have on nature. These awards recognise the quality of the beaches and associated facilities and we have been fortunate in East Lothian to have had beaches included for many years. However, to keep this quality, we all must take responsibility when visiting beaches and minimise our impact on the natural environment by cleaning up after dogs, taking home any litter and not damaging the diverse coastal vegetation.”
A map showing all the award-winning beaches with directions, facilities and images can be found at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/beach
For a beach to be successful in achieving a Beach Award, it has to meet a range of criteria, including beach safety, access and facilities, and cleanliness. The full criteria can be accessed here.