One of the UK's most celebrated beaches has missed out on a prestigious Blue Flag award following water quality concerns. Tenby's North Beach in Pembrokeshire was absent from the list of beaches granted the status, while the town's South Beach and Castle Beach both retained the accolade.
Blue Flag Not Awarded for 2026
Keep Wales Tidy confirmed that Tenby's North Beach did not apply for, and was therefore not awarded, a Blue Flag in the 2026 Wales Coast Awards. This follows a decline in water quality from 'excellent' to 'good'. The beach also lost the award in 2022 and 2023 for identical reasons, after more than 25 consecutive years of being hailed as one of Wales' finest beaches.
Investigation Underway
Natural Resources Wales is currently investigating the cause behind the deterioration in water quality, though a reason has not yet been identified. The Blue Flag, granted by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), is one of the world's most recognised accolades, requiring beaches and marinas to meet strict criteria ensuring cleanliness, safety, and sustainable management.
Owen Derbyshire, chief executive of Keep Wales Tidy, described the development as extremely disappointing. He stated: 'Like many people in Wales, Tenby's North Beach holds happy memories for me, and I share the sadness of all those who will be disappointed by this news. It is an important local beauty spot and key tourist attraction, and the announcement will come as a blow to local residents, business owners who rely on tourism, and of course the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the beach every year.'
Derbyshire noted that a 'good' water quality rating still places North Beach among the top-ranking beaches in Wales. He praised those involved in overseeing other award aspects, including sustainability and visitor experience, which are essential for a Blue Flag Award.
Welsh Water Responds
A Welsh Water spokesman explained: 'At North Tenby, the classification moved from excellent to good following samples taken during July and August. These samples test for two types of bacteria that can originate from various environmental sources. Importantly, there were no storm overflow spills in the area in the weeks before those samples were taken.' He added: 'Improving water quality is a shared challenge requiring coordinated action across sectors, including rural land use, urban runoff, industry, soil erosion, illegal misconnections, and private septic systems.'
Welsh Water is currently investing more than £2.3 million per day to improve services, including £2.5 billion between 2025 and 2030 for environmental improvements across Wales.
