73 locations in Scotland were tested for water quality and met strict water quality standards. Of those, 26 of the beaches were rated excellent, while 11 were rated poor. This ranking was a change from last year when 17 were rated excellent and another 17 were rated poor. The country is continuously working to improve water quality at all beaches and these rankings are evidence of “great progress” being made to increase water quality, though they understand that there are communities that surely will be disappointed as the water there as been rated poor.

Key Takeaways:

• Among the 26 Scottish beaches with an ‘excellent’ rating are Achmelvich in the Highlands and Southerness in Dumfries and Galloway.
• 11 beaches received a rating of ‘poor’ are the popular beaches at Ayr, Nairn and Sandyhills.
• The beach ratings are good news for those areas that depend on beach tourism.

“The agency also announced that it would be monitoring water quality at Gairloch beach and Sand beach in the north-west of Scotland for the first time this year.”

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40107383