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Soft sand and crystal clear water might not be the first things you associate with a vacation to the United Kingdom, but perhaps they should be. While the U.K. is better known for the Royal Family, football, and London’s vibrant pub scene<\/a>, its beaches are often overlooked in favor of the warmer coastline of Southern Europe. While that’s likely due to the country’s famously unpredictable weather, for those who are willing to explore, the U.K. has a coastline worth bragging about. Sandbanks Beach in Poole, Dorset, is one of Great Britain’s most iconic seaside destinations<\/a>. Not only is it visually stunning, but it has also earned itself the title of the “world’s most sustainable beach,”\u00a0according to Tripadvisor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Currently making up one third\u00a0of the globe’s coastline, sandy beaches are vital, not just for the ecosystems they support, but also for tourism. As climate change worsens and sea levels rise, these beaches are slowly eroding. A study backed by the European Commission estimates that nearly half of the world’s sandy beaches could disappear in the next 80 years.<\/p>\n Sandbanks earned its sustainable title based on four factors: environmental management, environmental education, water quality, and safety. These were assessed through a combination of visitor reviews and data collected by BeCause and the Blue Flag program. In fact, the European Commission<\/a> has praised Sandbanks for maintaining a consistently high standard of cleanliness. Sandbanks has waved the metaphorical Blue Flag for over 30 years\u00a0as a sign of its environmental efforts. Sustainability isn’t the only thing the beach does well. It’s also impressively accessible. Accessible parking spaces, wheelchair-friendly toilets, ramps, and mats to reach the sand, and even beach wheelchairs available on a first-come-first-served basis, make it a beach everyone can enjoy.<\/p>\n