Huisinis Beach, Isle of Harris
Thirty miles off Scotland's remote north-west coast, Harris is the sort of place you'd expect to find some pretty special scenery. Nothing, however, can quite prepare you for the shock of stumbling across utterly deserted beaches that wouldn't look out of place in a Maldives tourist brochure. The southern section of the island is probably the most visited, but you'll have to head to the mountainous north for this hidden gem.
Holkham Beach, Norfolk
With a foreshore that's at least half a mile wide, this is a beach on an awesome, elemental scale. It plays havoc with your senses: on an overcast day it's hard to distinguish between sand, sea and sky. Brooding, windswept and other-worldly, it's the sort of place where you could shoot a Joy Division album cover. The beach is part of Holkham national nature reserve - a diverse landscape of dunes, marshes and pine woods.
Oxwich Bay, Gower Peninsula
There's something to be said for every one of the beaches lining the southern coast of Wales' beautiful Gower peninsula, but Oxwich Bay is the one to go to for sand: it's pristine, golden and there's at least three miles of the stuff, as well as dunes, saltmarshes, woodland and a ruined medieval castle. It was recently named by Travel Magazine as one of the 12 best beaches in the world in a survey of travel writers.
Saunton Sands, Devon
An epic, three-mile arc of flat sand enclosed by a huge expanse of dunes, Saunton Sands is one of Devon's classic beaches. Popular with longboard surfers, it's big enough never to feel crowded. The scale of the beach has proved a draw for film-makers: David Niven bailed out over Saunton Sands in A Matter of Life and Death, and Robbie Williams' Angels video was shot here.
Rushy Bay, Bryher, Isles of Scilly
Lying squarely in the path of the Gulf Stream, the Isles of Scilly enjoy a subtropical microclimate unlike anywhere else in Britain. The island scenery is a beguiling mixture of tropical plants and flowers, gorse-covered moorland and granite outcrops. For dazzling white sandy beaches head to Bryher, the smallest inhabited island in the archipelago. Rushy Bay, with its clear, shallow water, has views across to the island of Samson.
Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan
Shells and the odd piece of driftwood are the only litter you will ever find on this perfect arc of white shell sand on the most westerly point of the British mainland. Getting there involves an arduous drive through some of the most remote single-track roads in Scotland, but the magnificent stretch of beach, with superb views of the islands of Rùm, Muck, Eigg and Canna, makes it well worth the journey.
Whitepark Bay, Co Antrim
Dangerous currents and sand shelves put off swimmers at Whitepark Bay, meaning that you'll regularly have Northern Ireland's most photographed stretch of coastline more or less to yourself. Backed by a spectacular landscape of dunes and cliffs, the beach is known for its "singing sands", which whistle and squeak as you walk over them. Whitepark Bay has an unusually long tradition of attracting visitors: Neolithic settlements and Bronze Age burial sites have all been unearthed here.
Shell Beach, Herm, Channel Islands
It takes dedication to get to the Channel Islands' best beach. After the ferry trip from Guernsey there's a hike from Herm Harbour before you reach your reward: a sweep of perfect, golden sand flanked by dunes, wild flowers and a glittering, crystal-clear ocean. The beach is made even more magical by millions of pink and golden shells, washed ashore by the Gulf Stream.
Barafundle Bay, Pembrokeshire
No vehicle access has helped to ensure that this remains one of the most unspoilt, delightful beaches in the UK. The only way to get to Barafundle is by talking the steep cliff path from Stackpole Quay, which helps to add to its isolated, Robinson Crusoe appeal. The beach itself is a lovely crescent of fine white sand backed by trees and grassy dunes. A piece of the Caribbean in Wales.
Oldshoremore, Sutherland
Overlooked for the more famous Sandwood Bay by the few tourists who reach this northern tip of Scotland, correspondents to the Guardian's BeenThere travel site swear this one is even better, with postcard-perfect golden beach lapped by glass-clear water. Surrounded by rocky outcrops and marram-grass dunes - and a two-mile hike from the nearest village - it's a secluded, spellbinding place.