<strong>Bamburgh, Northumberland: </strong>Buffeted by the high waves of the North Sea and loomed over by a vertiginous castle, few places on the coast of Britain can match Bamburgh's eerie atmosphere on a cold winter's day.
Bamburgh, Northumberland: Buffeted by the high waves of the North Sea and loomed over by a vertiginous castle, few places on the coast of Britain can match Bamburgh's eerie atmosphere on a cold winter's day.
MatthewHartley/Flickr
<strong>Bamburgh, Northumberland: </strong>A Celtic fort first occupied the site before the Normans built the core of today's castle. It is open to the public and sits on a high outcrop above the golden sands on England's northeast coast.
Bamburgh, Northumberland: A Celtic fort first occupied the site before the Normans built the core of today's castle. It is open to the public and sits on a high outcrop above the golden sands on England's northeast coast.
FrancescoVeronesi/Flickr
<strong>Barmouth, Wales: </strong>Backed by the glowering mountains of the <a href="http://www.visitsnowdonia.info/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Snowdonia National Park</a>, Barmouth Sands border the wind-whipped Irish Sea. When the cloud rolls in, there's a moodiness here that's especially acute in winter.
Barmouth, Wales: Backed by the glowering mountains of the Snowdonia National Park, Barmouth Sands border the wind-whipped Irish Sea. When the cloud rolls in, there's a moodiness here that's especially acute in winter.
Gordon Plant/Flickr
<strong>Barmouth, Wales: </strong>The wooden viaduct which carries trains across the Mawddach estuary makes this distant corner of northwest Wales even more special.
Barmouth, Wales: The wooden viaduct which carries trains across the Mawddach estuary makes this distant corner of northwest Wales even more special.
AndrewGinty_Flickr
<strong>Brighton, Sussex: </strong>The all-shingle Brighton beach is a tourist magnet in summer but a preserve of lusty locals filling thier lungs with bracing sea air in winter.
Brighton, Sussex: The all-shingle Brighton beach is a tourist magnet in summer but a preserve of lusty locals filling thier lungs with bracing sea air in winter.
Getty Images
<strong>Brighton, Sussex: </strong>The nightly starling murmurations from late October until March are a natural wonder to behold. The birds flock to the water from their city roosts and form a giant, roiling wave, arcing through the sky above the burnt out West Pier as the sun dips into the sea.
Brighton, Sussex: The nightly starling murmurations from late October until March are a natural wonder to behold. The birds flock to the water from their city roosts and form a giant, roiling wave, arcing through the sky above the burnt out West Pier as the sun dips into the sea.
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<strong>Crosby, Merseyside: </strong>This is home to Another Place, an art installation by <a href="http://www.antonygormley.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Antony Gormle</a>y featuring 100 life-size sculptures. These metal creations change daily, collecting barnacles and seaweed and appearing worn as the wind whistles across the Irish Sea. The late afternoon is best for the full, atmospheric winter experience.
Crosby, Merseyside: This is home to Another Place, an art installation by Antony Gormley featuring 100 life-size sculptures. These metal creations change daily, collecting barnacles and seaweed and appearing worn as the wind whistles across the Irish Sea. The late afternoon is best for the full, atmospheric winter experience.
PeteSeaward/@VisitBritain
<strong>Crosby, Merseyside: </strong>The expansive strand of Crosby stretches for nearly three miles north of Liverpool docks on England's northwest coast.
Crosby, Merseyside: The expansive strand of Crosby stretches for nearly three miles north of Liverpool docks on England's northwest coast.
Reading Tom_Flickr
<strong>Dungeness, Kent: </strong>The only place in the UK classed as a desert, the shingle bank of Dungeness has a bleakness and unique beauty that comes into its own once the nights draw in and the winds whip up from the English Channel.
Dungeness, Kent: The only place in the UK classed as a desert, the shingle bank of Dungeness has a bleakness and unique beauty that comes into its own once the nights draw in and the winds whip up from the English Channel.
Barry Neild/CNN
<strong>Dungeness, Kent: </strong>Dungeness sits on a triangular shingle foreland which juts into the English Channel on England's south coast. A nuclear power station that overlooks the beach adds to the eerie atmosphere.<br />
Dungeness, Kent: Dungeness sits on a triangular shingle foreland which juts into the English Channel on England's south coast. A nuclear power station that overlooks the beach adds to the eerie atmosphere.
Barry Neild/CNN
<strong>Elgol, Scotland: </strong>The small village of Elgol, on the western coast of the island of Skye, has a small, rocky beach that offers some of the most dramatic sunset views in the world.
Elgol, Scotland: The small village of Elgol, on the western coast of the island of Skye, has a small, rocky beach that offers some of the most dramatic sunset views in the world.
Ian Robertson_Flickr
<strong>Elgol, Scotland: </strong>With the soaring backdrop of the Cuillin mountains and the island of Rum in the distance, winter here can be rough, the weather changing by the hour. Skye's tourist numbers plummet when summer ends, meaning hardy visitors have this popular spot all to themselves.
Elgol, Scotland: With the soaring backdrop of the Cuillin mountains and the island of Rum in the distance, winter here can be rough, the weather changing by the hour. Skye's tourist numbers plummet when summer ends, meaning hardy visitors have this popular spot all to themselves.
Caroline Grubb_Flickr
<strong>Godrevy, Cornwall: </strong>The northern stretch of St Ives Bay is home to Godrevy beach, one of the most exposed stretches on the northern coast of Cornwall. Huge Atlantic swells batter the shore here during winter, but on calmer days, its three miles of soft, golden sands offer pleasant walking in bracing winds
Godrevy, Cornwall: The northern stretch of St Ives Bay is home to Godrevy beach, one of the most exposed stretches on the northern coast of Cornwall. Huge Atlantic swells batter the shore here during winter, but on calmer days, its three miles of soft, golden sands offer pleasant walking in bracing winds
TimGreen/Flickr
<strong>Godrevy, Cornwall: </strong>The white lighthouse on Godrevy Island, which sits at the tip of the bay, was the inspiration for Virginia Woolf's novel "To The Lighthouse." Binoculars are a good idea here as seabirds and birds of prey, including Merlin, are easily spotted.
Godrevy, Cornwall: The white lighthouse on Godrevy Island, which sits at the tip of the bay, was the inspiration for Virginia Woolf's novel "To The Lighthouse." Binoculars are a good idea here as seabirds and birds of prey, including Merlin, are easily spotted.
mike193823319483_Flickr
<strong>Holkham, Norfolk: </strong>The vast, open sands of Holkham on the north Norfolk coast offer the perfect chance for a long winter walk without encountering anything other than the occasional seabird or a resting seal.
Holkham, Norfolk: The vast, open sands of Holkham on the north Norfolk coast offer the perfect chance for a long winter walk without encountering anything other than the occasional seabird or a resting seal.
ptwo_Flickr
<strong>Holkham, Norfolk:</strong> Holkham Beach, backed by a national nature reserve, looks north into the North Sea and offers sublime winter wandering.
Holkham, Norfolk: Holkham Beach, backed by a national nature reserve, looks north into the North Sea and offers sublime winter wandering.
Michael Button_Flickr
<strong>Jaywick, Essex: </strong>There's something undeniably alluring about the bleakness of Essex's beaches in winter. Jaywick, home to a small town of art-deco chalets, is something of a time warp, a faded, once-popular holiday resort just down the coast from the more famous Clacton-on-Sea.
Jaywick, Essex: There's something undeniably alluring about the bleakness of Essex's beaches in winter. Jaywick, home to a small town of art-deco chalets, is something of a time warp, a faded, once-popular holiday resort just down the coast from the more famous Clacton-on-Sea.
Joe Minihane
<strong>Jaywick, Essex: </strong>Jaywick, home to a popular Martello Tower which has been turned into a local cultural center, faces south into the North Sea and lies 60 miles from London.
Jaywick, Essex: Jaywick, home to a popular Martello Tower which has been turned into a local cultural center, faces south into the North Sea and lies 60 miles from London.
Ray Rogers_Flickr
<strong>Machir Bay, Islay: </strong>The beaches in western Scotland vary wildly, from quiet, sandy coves to vast bays where the Atlantic rages. Machir Bay, on the island of Islay, is undoubtedly one of the country's most beautiful, especially when the winter storms pile in and the waves slam onto shore.
Machir Bay, Islay: The beaches in western Scotland vary wildly, from quiet, sandy coves to vast bays where the Atlantic rages. Machir Bay, on the island of Islay, is undoubtedly one of the country's most beautiful, especially when the winter storms pile in and the waves slam onto shore.
Visit Scotland
<strong>Machir Bay, Islay: </strong>Guaranteed to blow away the cobwebs after a night on the local single malt at the nearby Kilchoman distillery, a winter's morning here is truly exhilarating and far more fun than visiting on a benign summer's day.<br />
Machir Bay, Islay: Guaranteed to blow away the cobwebs after a night on the local single malt at the nearby Kilchoman distillery, a winter's morning here is truly exhilarating and far more fun than visiting on a benign summer's day.
GaryDenham/Flickr
<strong>Mothecombe, Devon: </strong>Beautiful, remote and unspoilt, Devon's Mothecombe and Coastguards beaches are well worth the long drive down winding country lanes.
Mothecombe, Devon: Beautiful, remote and unspoilt, Devon's Mothecombe and Coastguards beaches are well worth the long drive down winding country lanes.
Joe Minihane
<strong>Mothecombe, Devon: </strong>Mothecombe lies on the tidal estuary of the River Erme east of Plymouth on England's south coast. The river is one of a number in this stretch of the county that drain down from Dartmoor.
Mothecombe, Devon: Mothecombe lies on the tidal estuary of the River Erme east of Plymouth on England's south coast. The river is one of a number in this stretch of the county that drain down from Dartmoor.
Andrew_Flickr
<strong>Rhossili, Wales: </strong>Often described as the most beautiful beach in Wales, Rhossili Bay on the Gower peninsula near Swansea is as much a winter beach as a summer one. Its three miles of sands make for an easy walk even when the wind is up, the high waves tempting in surfers no matter the weather.
Rhossili, Wales: Often described as the most beautiful beach in Wales, Rhossili Bay on the Gower peninsula near Swansea is as much a winter beach as a summer one. Its three miles of sands make for an easy walk even when the wind is up, the high waves tempting in surfers no matter the weather.
National Trust
<strong>Rhossili, Wales: </strong>At low tide adventurous souls can cross the causeway to Worm's Head, a rocky island which gives sweeping views across the bay, the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel and out to several local shipwrecks.
Rhossili, Wales: At low tide adventurous souls can cross the causeway to Worm's Head, a rocky island which gives sweeping views across the bay, the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel and out to several local shipwrecks.
Getty Images