Best Beaches Near Durham
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best beaches near Durham are Seaham Hall Beach, Chemical Beach, Whitburn Beach, Warkworth Beach, Low Hauxley Beach, Druridge Bay Beach and Cresswell Bay Beach.
Durham sits inland in the north-east, but a short run east reaches the magnesian-limestone coast of the Durham and Wearside shore, and a longer drive north opens up the great sandy sweeps of Northumberland. Nearest the city, the Durham coast tells a story of sea glass and industry: the frosted, tumbled glass of Seaham Hall Beach, worn from a Victorian bottleworks, and the rocky, industrial-named Chemical Beach nearby, with Whitburn's quiet limestone foreshore further north below Souter Lighthouse.
North into Northumberland lie broad, dune-backed strands, each open and undeveloped and quiet even in high summer: the wide sands of Warkworth below its riverside castle, the archaeology-rich shore at Low Hauxley with its restored nature reserve, the seven-mile curve of Druridge Bay, and the open sands of Cresswell at its southern end. Some are quiet and rocky, others long and golden.
Here are seven beaches to seek out near Durham.
Seaham Hall Beach
Photo: DS Pugh via Geograph.org.uk
Seaham Hall Beach Comb the tide line here and you turn up glass, frosted and rounded into little coloured pebbles by a hundred years of surf. The source lies in the town's Victorian past, when one of the country's biggest bottleworks stood at Seaham and poured its waste glass straight into the sea, year after year.
The waves did the rest, grinding those broken shards smooth until they came back as treasure. Collectors work this sand and shingle strand just north of the town, and a red or a blue among the finds counts as a proper prize.
The bottleworks fell silent in the 1920s, yet its colours keep arriving on the shore.
Chemical Beach
Photo: Ian S via Geograph.org.uk
Chemical Beach At low tide the wheels of old chaldron wagons rise from the rock, iron relics of the industry that once ran along this Durham shore near Seaham. The beach takes its odd name from a Victorian chemical works that stood on the ground above, and waste tipped over the cliffs in those years still tints the earth.
Below the magnesian limestone the foreshore is a rocky jumble of ledges and a lone sea stack. This is also a length of coast prized for sea glass, where the tide keeps rolling up smoothed, coloured fragments among the pebbles.
Come with your eyes down and time it for low water.
Whitburn Beach
Photo: Oliver Dixon via Geograph.org.uk
Whitburn Beach Waders and seabirds work the tideline here, drawing binoculars to a rocky, pebbled foreshore that never became a resort. A low shelf of rock and its scatter of tide pools take the place of broad sand, on the magnesian limestone coast between Sunderland and South Shields in Tyne and Wear, and the shore stays quiet and undeveloped for it.
The England Coast Path runs along the clifftop above. Just to the north, the National Trust's Souter Lighthouse brings a cafe and a car park within easy reach.
Come with sturdy shoes and time to pick over the pools at low water.
Warkworth Beach
Photo: Russel Wills via Geograph.org.uk
Warkworth Beach There is no promenade here, no line of resort buildings, just a wide slope of North Sea sand behind the dunes, which is exactly why it stays so open and quiet. Walkers, dog walkers and surfers have it largely to themselves on the Northumberland coast between Amble and Alnmouth.
About a mile out lies Coquet Island, an RSPB seabird reserve, while a mile inland the village of Warkworth curls inside a loop of the River Coquet beneath its castle. Park at the dunes picnic site and the long, empty sands are yours to walk.
Low Hauxley Beach
Photo: Maigheach-gheal via Geograph.org.uk
Low Hauxley Beach is a quiet sandy, dune-backed beach at the southern end of Druridge Bay in Northumberland, near Amble, with a nature reserve just behind it. The reserve, a former open-cast mine restored to lakes and dunes, has an eco-built discovery centre with a cafe, bird hides and an accessible trail.
The beach itself has drawn archaeologists: erosion has uncovered ancient remains here, including Mesolithic traces, a Bronze Age burial and old peat beds preserving prehistoric footprints. A Bronze Age stone cist found on the shore is now on show at the centre.
Druridge Bay Beach
Photo: Jim Barton via Geograph.org.uk
Druridge Bay is a broad sweep of sand running some seven miles along the Northumberland coast, between Amble and Cresswell, backed by a long line of dunes. Behind the middle of the bay lies a country park built around Ladyburn Lake, with a visitor centre, water sports and walks through the dunes.
The beach is wide and open, quiet even in summer for its size. The coast path and cycle route run through the park behind, making it easy to combine a long beach walk with the lake and dunes.
Cresswell Bay Beach
Photo: Leanmeanmo via Geograph.org.uk
Cresswell Beach is a long, gently sloping sandy beach at the southern end of Druridge Bay on the Northumberland coast. Wide dunes back the shore, and at low tide the sand runs out a long way, with rocky patches and pools showing at the edges.
It is an open, quiet beach popular with walkers and their dogs. A small village, cafe and parking sit close to the sands, making it one of the easier points to reach the great curve of Druridge Bay.
FAQs
What are the best beaches near Durham for sea glass and beachcombing?
Seaham Hall Beach on the Durham coast is the best for sea glass, its sand and shingle scattered with frosted, tumbled glass worn from a Victorian bottleworks and prized in rare reds and blues. Nearby Chemical Beach sits on the same sea-glass coast, rocky and industrial-named, with old chaldron wheels and a sea stack showing at low tide.
Which beaches near Durham have the widest, quietest sands?
Druridge Bay is the widest and quietest near Durham, running some seven miles between Amble and Cresswell, backed by dunes and a country park and staying quiet even in summer. Warkworth below its castle and Cresswell at the southern end of Druridge Bay are also wide, open, undeveloped strands good for long walks.
What can you see at Low Hauxley Beach beyond the sand?
Low Hauxley pairs its dune-backed sand with a nature reserve and discovery centre, and erosion here has uncovered Mesolithic traces, a Bronze Age burial and prehistoric footprints in old peat beds. Warkworth nearby looks out to the RSPB seabird reserve on Coquet Island, with a castle village a mile inland.
Conclusion
Durham sits inland, but a short run east reaches the limestone coast and a longer drive north the great sands of Northumberland. Nearest the city, the Durham coast tells a story of sea glass and industry, in the frosted glass of Seaham Hall Beach and the rocky Chemical Beach, with Whitburn's quiet foreshore further north below Souter Lighthouse.
North into Northumberland lie the wide sands of Warkworth below its castle, the archaeology-rich shore at Low Hauxley, the seven-mile curve of Druridge Bay and the open sands of Cresswell. From a beachcomber's sea glass to a seven-mile strand, these are the beaches to seek out near Durham.
