This Hampshire beach is one of the best in the UK - and is currently one of the hottest as heatwave hits

A Hampshire beach has been dubbed the best in the South East thanks to its picture-perfect scenery and warm temperatures.

AA has crunched the numbers and revealed the best beaches in the country by allocating each area a score out of 100.

The study has analysed multiple factors including Blue Flag awards, Google review scores, parking costs, lifeguard services, RNLI lifeboat station proximity, average water temperature and monthly hours of sunshine in July, plus Google search volumes.

Hayling Island has secured its place as the best beach in the South East with an impressive score of 69.22. The popular spot, which gets a staggering 60,500 monthly Google searches, has also ranked ninth in the country, with Exmouth Beach coming first.

The AA data also revealed parking at Hayling Island is on the pricer side at £11.80 for the day in comparison to Whitley Bay which costs a mere £3.

The Hampshire seaside also gets an average of 222 hours of July sunshine, and has today (June 24) reached 40.8 degrees making it one of the warmest beaches in the UK, according to the Met Office observation site. This comes as the country experiences a heatwave, with record-breaking temperatures forecast this week.

Lee Morley, AA patrol of the year 2026, said: “There’s nothing quite like a summer’s day at the beach and we’re extremely lucky to have so many beautiful destinations available to us on UK and Irish shores.

“But when you’re planning your next roadtrip, be it with family or friends, make sure that you plan ahead. It’s important to keep kids, pets and yourself cool in the car in summer.”