Six Blue Flags for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in 2026

Six beaches across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole hold Blue Flag status for 2026: Sandbanks, Shore Road, Canford Cliffs, Durley Chine, Fisherman's Walk and Highcliffe. ITV News Meridian reported the awards on 18 May, and the tourism boards for Bournemouth and Poole published the full list.

The area also collected nine Seaside Awards, the national award for the best beaches in England, including Bournemouth, Boscombe and Avon Beach. Avon Beach does not carry a Blue Flag this year because of what BCP Council called an administrative error rather than any change in water quality.

Sandbanks has now held a Blue Flag in every year the scheme has run, 39 in all.

What the flags mean when you choose a beach

A Blue Flag is only given to a well-managed beach whose bathing water is rated excellent, with lifeguards, facilities and information to a set standard. In practice, on this coast, it tells you three things: the water is clean, the beach is patrolled in season, and there are toilets, showers and a café within reach.

The six flags are spread along the whole seven miles, which is useful. From west to east:

• Sandbanks, Shore Road and Canford Cliffs are the Poole end: wide, sheltered by the harbour mouth, and busiest with families. Our beaches guide explains the differences.
• Durley Chine is the West Cliff beach nearest the Flexiestays hotels, a few minutes down the chine from the clifftop, with the beach huts that line the promenade.
• Fisherman's Walk is the quiet Southbourne stretch below the zigzag, covered in Southbourne beach.
• Highcliffe is the Christchurch end, backed by cliffs and the castle grounds.

Bournemouth and Boscombe, the two beaches by the piers, hold Seaside Awards and remain the main beaches for most visitors; the water at both is sampled through the season by the Environment Agency and the results are posted on the boards on the promenade.