10 August 2023 , 13:17
414
0
Disappointed tourists said they could not leave a British beach fast enough after discovering "disturbing" items by the water.
Visitors who went to Margate Main Sands on England’s southeast coast in July said they discovered "poo-streaked toilet paper" floating in the sea. Another tourist, who went to the beach in August, said it was the "worst day trip ever". They wrote on Tripadvisor: "Took grandchildren to Margate by train. First thing you notice on emerging from the train station is the smell of sewage everywhere. The beach was full of rubbish, broken glass and large flies. Sea was full of seaweed and more rubbish. The only place to shelter from the rain was taken up by homeless and their bedding. Will not be going again."
The person who visited the beach in July wrote: "The beach at Margate was fine, clean looking and little litter but the sea was filthy! Walked into the sea with my 3 yr old granddaughter and was wading through seaweed, not a problem but there was lots of poo-streaked toilet paper and a dirty sanitary towel!! My God! I couldn't get out of there fast enough, really shocked at the filth, especially as people were swimming nearby."
Thanet Council leaders have said there are "unusually high levels of seaweed" this year, reports Bristol Live. Council staff have collected 1,000 tonnes over the five weeks from the beginning of July compared to usually collecting between 400 and 800 tonnes in a whole season. Rough seas, higher tides, and strong winds cause large amounts of marine material such as seaweed to get washed up on beaches regularly around the UK.
But not everyone who visited Margate had a bad experience, and there are plenty of reviews praising the destination, which is one of the closest beaches to London. Overall, the spot gets four out of five stars on TripAdvisor. One person wrote:
Holiday hack to get 48 days off by booking just 19 days of annual leave in 2023
"On par with Weymouth but much quieter. We visited from Allhallows Haven and came back for another day! Beach is amazing, lifeguards everywhere, felt safe and it was clean. Enough shops to potter around in and Dreamland was fantastic. Looking forward to coming back."
Someone else penned: "Lovely large beach, soft sand, not busy even in summer schools. Toilets only at one far end. Very clean when we went, there are bins all along the sidewalk. A few rides for children at the back of the beach and plenty of arcades and restaurants along the beach front. Old town end is lovely for food and drink."
Earlier this year, a little-known beach was named as one of the best in the world. Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk was judged to be the 12th best beach in Europe, in rankings from Tripadvisor.
While lesser known than neighbouring beach Great Yarmouth, the three-mile sandy stretch was the backdrop to the Richard Curtis film, ‘Yesterday’, has hosted famous faces like Ed Sheeran and Danny Boyle, and has been lavished with praise in online reviews. It scored highly in rankings that were produced by analysing the tens of millions of reviews submitted by global travellers over the past 12 months, looking at the quality and quantity of ratings for beach experiences.
Gorleston is known as being one the best spots in Norfolk for a holiday, particularly if water sports are your thing, with the area having great windsurfing, surfing and bodyboarding opportunities. It also offers lovely green cliffs, beautiful lawns, bowling greens, tennis courts and a trim trail on the cliff top where views of the beach, harbour, pier and wind turbines can be enjoyed.