What are the most dangerous beaches in U.K. ? In terms of drowning

[Lardlizard]

The sort of places where you can eat cut off by the tide etc

@lardlizard thank god you're alright mate. I was so scared my light-hearted comment would turn out to be beyond inappropriate when a MNer washed up on a beach somewhere!

Anyway, how about trying the countryside instead? Very little chance of drowning there I'd say. Mind out for cows.

Ignorance is the most dangerous thing.

Learning about tide times and rip tides is the most useful. Taking advice from life guards too...

Also a tiny bit of information can go a long way:

Swim sideways in a rip tide

Keep an eye on the shore in case you’re moved along by the tide

If you fall in cold water lie back and tread water and take time to breathe

NEVER go in the sea with a lilo. It’s basically a recipe for being blown out to sea.

I think we need to swim in the sea to learn about it- and to learn to respect it.

Wellmet ! 😂😂no worries !! I’m here fine and well and pondering about holidays !!

Girlwhowearsglasses I’ve been caught in a rip tide before and it was horrible
Got out by swimming parallel more by goodluck than knowing what to do
As I couldn’t really think of anything else to do as swimming directly to the shore
I was swimming as fast as I could, an I’m a decent swimmer, and I was going no where at all
So ended up seimmingpm paraele because I simply didn’t know what else to do
This was in the Maldives as well, where I thought daftley that kinda thing didn’t happen there
That’s possibly partly why I’m so curious about the sea and safety etc
And I don’t know much about how too escape quick sand

Lots of beaches and it can change, rip tides can occur in most places too. Large flat beaches are worse for fast tides

If you go by the behaviour at Whitesands in Pembrokeshire yesterday, that's a very safe beach.

Because the big red flag and the red banner warning of a rip tide were just there for decoration judging by the number of people ignoring them

A beach which is completely safe one day can be dangerous the next. Learn a little about tides. Learn to read tide tables - lifeguard stations on a beach indicate that it can be safe to go in the water there (providing it is manned), they normally have a board with tide and weather information on. And learn the flags they fly (danger, powered craft etc). --- There's a song my kids learnt to the tune of 'the alley alley oh' - it goes 'Always swim between the red and yellow flags, red and yellow flags, red and yellow flags. Always swim between the red and yellow flags.....'

Most beaches I've been to where quicksand is an issue will have signs up warning of it. That's certainly the case near me (Morecambe Bay/Cumbria area). I think the advice if stuck is to keep as still as possible and ring 999? Don't quote me on that though. Also beaches where tides come in fast and can cut people off generally have big signs up warning people.

I'd imagine any beach can be dangerous though if you're not careful. If you're wary, stick to one that has a lifeguard.

LardLizard There are lots of very strong currents in the Maldives. Where channels are created between islands a Venturi effect is created and the water flows rapidly through these areas. They are often very attractive-looking to swim in because it looks shallower, but that shallowness is precisely the thing creating the current in the first place. We have a very strong current at the Maldivian island we stay on with work. Although it looks only a narrow, shallow channel between 2 islands we are expressly forbidden from trying to swim in it because of the danger of being swept through it and out to sea - and the Indian Ocean is s very big sea!

I just don't swim in the sea and don't let my kids either.

I know a wee boy who was swept (is that the word?) out to sea on holiday. Thankfully he was rescued but ever since that incident I've just avoided it.

The sea actually scares me to death tbh.

Once you’ve found a good one, would you mind taking my stbex swimming there?

Anywhere along the North Somerset coast. So Burnham in sea, Weston super mare, Brean, minehead. Lots of super sticky mud to get stuck in and a tide that comes in very very fast.

The beaches with the highest number of visitors/swimmers, surely?

Statistics, innit?

A teenage girl has died at Clacton today and a teenage boy is critical.

I spent much of my childhood worrying about quicksand😱also what to do when charged by bulls🐂

Only swim where there are lifeguards, between the flags, and learn to spot rips.

The sea is perfectly safe so long as you are sensible.

All beaches can be dangerous if you don't know basic beach/ocean safety.
Growing up in Cornwall we had this drummed into our heads.
Pay close attention to any signs at the beach, they will tell you if it's safe to swim or not, Also if there are any other dangers like quick sand or pockets on the beach where you can get stranded if the tide comes in. Learn what the different flags and their colours mean (only swim between the yellow/red stripe flags, don't swim if the flags are solid red, black and white is surfing only). The RNLI website has information on how to identify riptides and what to do if caught in one

I spent much of my childhood worrying about quicksand😱also what to do when charged by bulls🐂

Me too. Also rabies, piranhas and falling in a silo of grain.

I have found my people. I spent my teen years worrying about quicksand, rabies and nuclear war.

This might be interesting to you. It doesn't tell you specific locations but it's does tell you how many people were given aid and how many call outs there have been in each region each year from 2013 to 2017.

It also shows what activities people had been doing when they got into trouble.
Interestingly walking was the most common for lifeguard call outs and second most common for lifeboat call outs.

https://rnli.org/-/media/rnli/downloads/170073annuallopsstatssreportlr.pdff_
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They also have loads of info on their website about keeping safe on the beach, including what different warning flags mean
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https://rnli.org/safety/beach-safetyy_
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If you're worried about getting stranded because of the tide 'My Tide Times is a useful app that's free on both android and apple and you can also check local tide tables on the BBC website
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coastt_andsea/tidee_tables

Me too. I used to get survival books out of the library which gave advice on what to do if caught in a thunderstorm or avalanche or something. I’m sure quicksand featured too. We live in the Midlands, ffs!

A very young relative of mine died at Burnham and I've learned since that it's dangerous because of the rip tides. I'm not keen on the idea of swimming in the sea / open water. Even strong swimmers can get it wrong and get into serious trouble.

I almost drowned in a pond as a toddler though, so am very wary of water generally.

*spent much of my childhood worrying about quicksand😱also what to do when charged by bulls🐂

Me too. Also rabies, piranhas and falling in a silo of grain.*

And how to defeat Dracula, werewolves and avoiding electrocution!

I blame those information films we had to sit through at school! Though I didn't catch the Dracula one.

Terrible news today about the girl who died today and the boy who is seriously ill.

West wittering a has terrible tides too. Number of people drowned there over the years.

to hear about Clacton today - thoughts are with family of victims.