英國也有沙灘！4個英國海灘推薦 ｜A beach holiday in Britain!
This May, I’m going on a trip to the Pembrokeshire coastline in Wales. The weather’s been surprisingly good, and I’ve been itching to explore a part of the UK I’ve never been to before. That said, a few people have asked me why my family and I have chosen to have a staycation in Wales, rather than travelling somewhere a bit more exotic where sunshine is guaranteed.
Aside from the logistical nightmare of trying to get seven adults, two kids, and two dogs somewhere more far-flung than Wales, I love the British seaside for its unspoilt coastlines and rugged beauty. A long time ago, a family friend from Australia made the mistake of telling me that “in the UK, you only have pebbled beaches, no sandy ones”. I was fuming – not because I think British beaches can compete with the sands of Australia – but because this simply isn’t true!
So here’s a rundown of some of my family and friends’ favourite beaches in the UK. This definitely isn’t an exhaustive list – I’ve only included beaches that I’ve personally visited. But if you get into any arguments about what should be on the list, that just goes to show that my Australian friend was totally, utterly wrong.
今年五月，我打算去威爾斯的Pembrokeshire coastline走走。最近天氣意外地不錯，也讓我很想去探索一個自己還沒去過的英國角落。不過也有人問，為什麼我們一家要選擇在威爾斯國內旅遊，而不是飛去一個更有異國感、又保證有陽光的地方。
老實說，如果要帶著七個大人、兩個小孩再加兩隻狗跑去更遠的地方，光想就覺得頭很痛。但更重要的是，我真的很喜歡英國的海邊——那種還沒被過度開發的海岸線，還有帶點粗獷的自然感。很久以前，有個來自澳洲的家庭朋友曾經說過一句話：「在英國，你們只有石頭海灘，沒有沙灘。」當下真的有點火大。倒不是因為我覺得英國海灘可以跟澳洲相比，而是這句話根本就不是真的。
所以這篇就來分享幾個我和家人、朋友很喜歡的英國海灘。當然這絕對不是完整清單——我只放了自己實際去過的地方。但如果你看完之後開始跟別人爭論「還有哪些應該上榜」，那就代表我那位澳洲朋友，真的是大錯特錯了。
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Gwithian Beach,St Ives Bay, Cornwall
Pronunciation: GWI-thee-uhn
Gwithian, in St Ives Bay, is my friend Zoe's favourite — and Zoe is a surfer, so I trust her on this. It's the kind of beach where the sand just goes on forever, which means that even on a hot August Saturday you can find your own spot without having to step over someone else's picnic. The lighthouse at Godrevy sits just offshore, and if you time it right, the sunset behind it is stunning. Come for the surf if you can surf; come for the walk and the chips if (like me) you can't.
圖片來源：Visit Cornwall
位在St Ives Bay的 Gwithian，是我朋友 Zoe 最愛的海灘——而她是衝浪的人，所以我很相信她的眼光。這裡最迷人的地方就是沙灘大到像沒有盡頭一樣，就算是八月的熱門週末，也很容易找到屬於自己的位置，不用在人群中擠來擠去。離岸不遠的Godrevy Lighthouse靜靜地立在海上，如果時間抓得剛好，夕陽從燈塔後面落下的畫面真的很漂亮。會衝浪的可以來這裡追浪；不會的話（像我），來散步、吃份炸魚薯條也完全值得。
West Wittering, West Sussex
Pronunciation: WIT-uh-ring
Although I grew up in Surrey, West Wittering was the beach we all went to. The minute my friends and I passed our driving tests at 17, we were off there practically every weekend. It's got miles of golden sand and grassy dunes, with a windsurfing club at one end and a safe swimming area manned by lifeguards, which makes it a magnet for families. Nowadays, I live just a few miles away in Chichester, so it's still a summer hotspot for me.
圖片來源：The Great Sussex Way
雖然我是在 Surrey 長大的，但 West Wittering 一直都是我們最常去的海邊。17 歲一考到駕照，我跟朋友幾乎每個週末都往那裡跑。這裡有一整片延伸很長的金色沙灘，後面是草地沙丘，一邊有風帆俱樂部，另一邊是有救生員看守的安全戲水區，所以一直都是家庭客很愛來的地方。現在我住在Chichester附近，開車幾分鐘就到，夏天還是很常往那裡跑，對我來說一直都是固定會去的海邊。
Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Ireland
Pronunciation: muh-luh-MAW
This one is my mum's beach more than mine. She grew up in Northern Ireland and the west coast of Ireland was where her family went when they wanted proper sand and proper sea. Mullaghmore was the one she always came back to, and she still calls it her ‘happy place’. I've only been once, a long time ago, and I can't pretend I remember it in much detail, but I do remember the shape of it, three kilometres of pale sand curving around, and the cold, dark Atlantic crashing in at the end of it.
這個海灘比較像是我媽的，不太算是我的。她是在北愛爾蘭長大的，當年只要家裡想去真正有沙灘、有海的地方，就會往愛爾蘭西岸跑。而 Mullaghmore 是她最常去、也最念念不忘的一個，到現在她還是會說那是她的「happy place」。我自己其實只去過一次，而且是很久以前了，很多細節早就記不清。但我還記得它的大致樣子——一整片大約三公里長的淺色沙灘，彎彎地延伸開來，盡頭是冰冷又帶點陰暗的Atlantic Ocean海浪一波波打上岸。
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Murlough Bay, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Pronunciation: MER-lokh [like ‘lock’, but a bit softer]
Murlough Bay, on the Antrim coast, is one of the Game of Thrones beaches (Note: if you’ve seen the series, Tyrion and Jorah were captured by slavers there, and the cliffs above doubled as the Stormlands). But what I remember is being there one Christmas, jumping out at my little cousins from the caves along the coast and pretending to be a dragon. The caves may technically have been the next bay over (Cushendun Caves are nearby, and just as dramatic), but the whole stretch of coast definitely feels like it belongs in a fantasy series – it's wild, cinematic, and almost completely empty even when we visited at Christmas.
It's a different kind of beach to West Wittering or Gwithian: less for sunbathing, and more for the vibes of pretending you're somewhere ancient and slightly haunted.
位在County Antrim海岸的 Murlough Bay，是《Game of Thrones》的取景地之一（如果你有看過，Tyrion 和 Jorah 就是在這一帶被奴隸商抓走，上方的懸崖還被當成 Stormlands）。但我自己最有印象的，其實是某一年聖誕節來這裡的時候。我躲在海岸邊的洞穴裡，突然跳出來嚇我那些小表弟妹，還假裝自己是龍（笑）。那些洞穴嚴格說可能是在隔壁的Cushendun Caves，但整段海岸連在一起看，真的都很有那種奇幻世界的感覺。
這裡跟 West Wittering 或 Gwithian 那種沙灘很不一樣，不是拿來曬太陽的，而是那種會讓你覺得自己走進某個古老、甚至有點詭異故事裡的地方。整個氛圍很野、很有電影感，而且就算我們是聖誕節去，人也幾乎少到不行。
So, to my Australian friend: I rest my case. And to everyone else — what beaches have I missed? Let me know, and you might be featured in a future blog post!
所以，對我那位澳洲朋友，我只能說：我講完了，證據就在這裡（笑）。那其他人呢？我還漏掉了哪些海灘？告訴我吧，說不定下次的部落格就會寫到你推薦的地方！
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Vocabulary
To be itching to do something = 很想做某件事／迫不及待想做某事
A staycation = 國內旅遊
A logistical nightmare = 安排起來超麻煩的狀況
Far-flung (adj) = 偏遠的／很遙遠的
Rugged (adj) = 崎嶇的／粗獷的（多用在自然景觀）
Pebbled beach = 石頭海灘／卵石海灘
Fuming (adj) = 非常生氣的
An exhaustive list = 完整詳盡的清單
A hotspot = 熱門地點
A happy place = 讓人放鬆開心的地方／心靈避風港
