ENVIRONMENTAL charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has awarded Ayr Beach as one of Scotland’s busiest beaches.

With families set to take over to Scottish shorelines this summer to make the most of the warm weather, the Scottish Beach Awards celebrate some of the best beaches in the country and has acted as the national benchmark for local environmental quality around Scotland’s coastline for a quarter of a century.

And among the award winners Ayr was given the title of Scotland’s busiest beach.

Other Ayrshire winners included Newton Beach in Millport, which was recognised for the high standards, from keeping sand litter free to providing accessible amenities.

Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “The Scottish Beach Awards set the standard for our stunning coastlines and inland shores - making sure that they are litter free, provide excellent facilities for families and encourage more visitors to our beautiful beaches.

“Going to the beach is a tradition that we want to continue, whilst protecting this valuable environment. It is vital that we maintain our support for organisations efforts to ensure that Ayrshire’s coastlines offer a great day out whilst recognising the wider benefits of a good quality environment for people’s health and wellbeing and local economies.”

With visits to seaside locations in Scotland worth over £3m each year to the Scottish economy, the awards serve as a quality benchmark for the provision of facilities to visitors.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, added: “Trips to the seaside are incredibly popular, with our new Scotland Visitor Survey revealing that more than a third of our visitors enjoy going to the beach while on holiday. 

“We would like to congratulate all the winners of this year’s awards and wish everyone a successful summer season.”