List of best beaches within a two-hour drive of Sunderland, according to luxury magazine Condé Nast Traveller

Luxury travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller has listed its best 49 beaches in the UK and while Sunderland’s Roker beach didn’t make the list, there’s plenty of choice close by, including a north east favourite. While the UK is not often thought of as a beach holiday destination, Condé Nast Traveller said: “It takes some by surprise, but it turns out the UK does have some of the world’s most beautiful sandy beaches.

“From Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly, you can expect sun-kissed sandy beaches, with each stretch of coastline more beautiful than the next. While we don’t like to pick favourites, we do recommend exploring the south-west corner of Wales, which has an enchanting stretch of coast and sandy UK beaches.”

The Condé Nast Traveller list includes 30 beaches in England, six in Scotland, eight in Wales and five in Northern Ireland. In the north east, Whitley Bay beach makes the list, coming in at number 27.

Condé Nast Traveller described Whitley Bay beach as a “stunning beach front which was originally a famous Victorian holiday resort, complete with a traditional funfair and bathing area. Now, it is still a popular holiday destination for locals, who come here to swim in the clean, safe waters.”

The best beaches within two hours of Sunderland, according to Condé Nast Traveller 

• Whitley Bay beach, Tyneside - 35 minute drive from Sunderland city centre 
• Filey Brigg, North Yorkshire - two hour drive from Sunderland city centre
• South Bay, Scarborough, Yorkshire - One hour 55 minute drive from Sunderland city centre 

Condé Nast Traveller 49 best beaches in the UK - full list

England

1. Blackpool Sands, Devon 
2. Seven Sisters, Sussex
3. Sennen Cove, Cornwall
4. Walberswick Beach, Suffolk
5. Pentle Bay, Scilly Isles
6. Holkham Beach, Norfolk
7. Durdle Door, Jurassic Coast, Dorset
8. Dunwich Beach, Suffolk
9. Pedn Vounder Beach, Cornwall
10. Hunstanton, Norfolk
11. Shell Bay, Studland, Dorset
12. Southwold, Suffolk
13. Mudeford Sandbank, Dorset
14. Cuckmere Haven, Seaford, East Sussex
15. Whitstable beach, Kent
16. Aldeburgh, Suffolk
17. Branchester Beach, Norfolk
18. Dungeness, Romney Marsh, Kent
19. Polzeath, Cornwall
20. Bantham Beach, South Devon
21. Filey Brigg, North Yorkshire
22. West Wittering, West Sussex
23. Sandbanks, Dorset
24. St. Bees, Cumbria
25. Woolacombe Sands, Devon
26. Cromer Beach, North Norfolk
27. Whitley Bay, Tyneside
28. Sheringham beach, North Norfolk
29. South Bay, Scarborough, Yorkshire
30. Ventnor, Isle of Wight

Scotland

1. Scarista Beach, Lewis & Harris
2. Achmelvich Beach, North-west 
3. Machir Bay, Islay
4. Uig beach, Isle of Lewis
5. St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire
6. Luskentyre, Outer Hebrides

1. Three Cliffs Bay
2. Aberfforest Beach
3. Llanddwyn, Anglesey
4. Barafundle Bay, Pembrokeshire
5. Rhossili Bay, Gower Coast
6. Harlech Gwynedd
7. Penbryn Ceredigion
8. Whitesands Beach, Pembrokeshire