World's Most Beautiful Beaches

Welsh beach voted as beautiful as the Côte d'Azur

A LITTLE KNOWN Welsh beach has been voted one of the world's most beautiful, ranked as high as those in the Côte d'Azur, India and Antigua. A team of researchers from Travel Magazine visited more than 1,000 coastlines across the globe to come up with the definitive list of the world's most beautiful beaches, including Oxwich Bay in South Wales, and claim you don't have to jump on a plane to witness real beauty.

'Wales has some lovely spots,' says one of the report's authors. 'What makes Oxwich so special is its Arcadian quality – there are two-and-a-half miles of wonderful pale sand, with safe, shallow seas. Even on the hottest of days this secluded beach is quiet.'

Surrounded by a nature reserve, which plays home to 600 different animal and bird species, Oxwich Bay is overlooked by Penrice Castle and is a favourite watersporting spot with locals. 'You don't need to worry about a 12-hour plane ride and leaving a carbon footprint,' adds the magazine's editor, Sharron Livingston. Other beaches which made the grade include Pink Beach in Antigua, Ensenada Grande in Mexico, Praia da Lopes Mendes in Brazil and Whitehaven Beach in Australia's Whitsunday Islands.