Telegraph names Portstewart as one of the best seaside towns in the UK

The Telegraph has revealed their top picks for the best locations across the UK, looking at factors such as high streets and conservation.

Using these factors, each town was given a ranking out of 100 which shaped out their top 10 locations.

Portstewart in Co Londonderry was the only location from Northern Ireland to feature on the list, coming in at number nine with a highly impressive score of 53 out of 100.

On how they conducted the research, The Telegraph said: "We chose a score of classic resorts and studied how they have adapted – or not – over the past three decades, looking at factors such as housing and high streets, renovations and conservation, as well as the cultural clout that so often accompanies gentrification."

Portstewart was given high praise for its thriving cultural attractions, golden, pristine beaches and ever-busy, buzzing hospitality establishments.

They said: "On Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast, Portstewart has all the Victorian middle-class resort credentials you could ask for: a handsome crescent-shaped promenade, three-course golf club, thriving Flowerfield Arts Centre, pretty harbour, two-mile long National Trust-managed strand and an ancient dune system.

"Right next door is Benone Strand, seven miles of golden sand and Northern Ireland’s first fully inclusive beach – with access, hoists and a special surfboard for wheelchair users."To these enduring assets, it has added good coffee shops on the front, some great food at Harry’s Shack on the beach, and Morelli’s, scooping ice cream here since 1927.

"There’s fine dining at the golf club’s Eighteen Ninety Four.

"There are opulent rooms at Me and Mrs Jones and top-notch self-catering at Strand Hea to boot. It’s not so much gentrification as gently does it – Portstewart doesn’t need much pimping up to impress."

The seaside resort neighbours the also uber-popular Portrush.

Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leading to a two-miles beach (Portstewart Strand), popular with holidaymakers in summer and surfers year-round due to its plethora of roiling, sky-high, crashing waves that only the brave can master.