The beautiful seaside village which might just have the UK’s best beach

From Scotland to Cornwall, the UK is full of beautiful beaches that are among the most beautiful in the world. 

And one of the best can be found in West Sussex. West Wittering Beach often comes near the top of charts of the prettiest British beaches and it’s easy to see why. 

Views of Chichester Harbour, out towards the Isle of Wight, Sandy Point on Hayling Island and ships heading into Portsmouth can all be enjoyed from the sandy beach. 

The privately managed beach has Blue Flag status, an internationally recognised award given in almost 50 countries around the world to recognise the cleanest and best beaches. 

It also boasts picnic areas and a dog-friendly Beach Café where fish and chips can be bought for a little over £15 and double-kayaks can be rented for an hour. 

It also has all the necessities you could need when spending a day with the family at the beach from showers and toilets to several water points. 

It is perhaps no surprise that it made The Times’s list of the top 50 beaches in the UK this year and was named the regional winner. 

Although it has a strict parking policy, costing £10.50 a day when pre-booking and £14 if you do not book at the weekend, it helps with overcrowding. 

During last year’s heatwave in July, the beach sold out of car parking spaces and when this happens new visitors are turned away.  

Because the village of West Wittering itself is very small there isn’t really anywhere else to park so it means the long beach rarely feels crowded. 

West Wittering counts several A-Listers among its fanbase, including Michael Ball and Kate Winslet.

Ball has loved the area for donkey’s years, describing it as a “little heaven on earth” in the Telegraph in 2010. 

And the Titanic star moved to the area in 2015 and lives in one of the many luxury properties in the area. Her £4million mansion sits on a private road, according to Sussex Live. 

The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards is also a big fan of the area after he stumbled across a “small thatched cottage” by accident after taking a wrong turn. 

The band’s co-founder and guitarist, 79, bought the now infamous Redlands Elizabethan mansion in 1966 and uses it when he wants an escape from his showbiz lifestyle. 

His Grade II estate, built in the 15th century, was raided in 1967 and both he and Mick Jagger were infamously arrested and jailed for drug offences but their sentences were later overturned.