As August reaches its peak holiday season, Park Holidays UK is urging dog owners to double-check local beach rules before booking or heading to the coast. Seasonal restrictions are now in place across many parts of the UK, with dozens of popular Cornwall beaches included.

Cornwall’s Seasonal Dog Bans

In Cornwall, restrictions typically run from July to 31st August, enforced daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Several beaches have full summer bans during this time, including:

• Polzeath Beach

• Porthmeor, Porthgwarra, Porthgwidden, Porthcurno

• Porthleven West, Sennen Beach, Swanpool and Trevone

Violating these Public Spaces Protection Orders can lead to fines of up to £1,000. View our article for a full list of dog beach restrictions here.

Warnings for Other UK Holiday Destinations

Similar restrictions apply elsewhere in the UK. In East Sussex, major seaside towns such as Brighton & Hove, Eastbourne, Seaford, Hastings, and parts of Bexhill and Camber Sands have bans from 1st May to 30th September.

In Wales, Caswell Bay in Swansea enforces a ban from 1st May to 30th September, while across the UK hundreds of beaches operate seasonal restrictions during this period.

Advice from Park Holidays UK

Kelly Johnstone, Head of Brand & Content at Park Holidays UK, said:

“We understand dogs are part of the family, and nothing beats that seaside splash! But with beach dog bans active this August, it’s really important to check local rules before you book or travel. That helps avoid surprises and keeps everyone safe and welcome.

“Many of Park Holidays UK’s coastal holiday parks remain dog-friendly, often situated near beaches that are off-leash outside restricted hours, or totally accessible to dogs year-round, such as; St Osyth Beach near Seawick Holiday Park in Essex, or Pevensey Bay Beach near Pevensey Bay Holiday Park in Sussex*”

Planning Ahead for a Stress-Free Holiday

Park Holidays UK encourages dog owners to plan trips around these restrictions and recommends checking local council websites or using resources such as The Beach Guide for up-to-date rules before travelling.

This approach ensures that every member of the family – including the four-legged ones – can enjoy a safe and welcome break by the sea.

Italians appear to be snubbing beaches this summer, amid claims they are rebelling against the high prices charged by the owners of private beach concessions.

Going to the beach and renting cabins, loungers and parasols – usually at the same location – has long been an ingrained habit of Italian summer holiday culture.

But this year’s season began with a notable fall in beachgoer numbers after private resorts along Italy’s two long stretches of coastline recorded a decrease of between 15% and 25% in June and July compared with the same period in 2024.

The problem is not so much the weekend, when beach resorts are often congested, especially those close to cities such as Rome, but during the week. Those who do go are also spending less on food and drink.

Fabrizio Licordari, the president of Assobalneari Italia, an association representing beach clubs, blamed the decline on the high cost of living and its consequences on spending power.

“Even with two salaries, many families struggle to reach the end of the month,” he told Ansa news agency. “In such circumstances, it’s natural that the first expenses to be cut are those for leisure, entertainment and holidays.”

The drop in attendance, however, also coincides with increases in the cost of private beach resorts and the growing rebellion against their dominance of Italian shorelines, which has left very little space for free beaches.

The cost of renting a sunlounger is a recurring topic of discussion, and rightly so – on average, it costs 17% more than it did four years ago, according to figures this week from the consumer group Altroconsumo. On beaches in the Lazio region, for example, it is difficult to rent two loungers and an umbrella for less than €30 (£26) a day. That rises to about €90 in the popular resort of Gallipoli in Puglia.

The actor Alessandro Gassmann stoked the debate after sharing a photo of a beach with deserted loungers on his Instagram page and writing alongside it: “I read that the season is not going well. Maybe it’s because the prices are exaggerated and the country’s economic situation is forcing Italians to choose free beaches? Lower the prices and maybe things will get better.”

Maurizio Rustignoli, the president of Fiba, the Italian beach resorts federation, argued that reports of high price rises were “misleading” and that, where they occurred, it was by only a small percentage. He added that people in return benefited from services including security and lifeguard supervision.

But the consumers association Codacons said going to beach resorts had become “a drain” on people’s finances and accused the concession owners of “shedding crocodile tears”.

The beaches might be losing custom, but areas in the mountains, especially the Dolomites, have had a significant rise in visitor numbers, with some areas fearing overtourism. According to a report this week in the newspaper Il Messaggero, more Italians are venturing to the mountains for their holidays, partly as a way to escape increasingly hot summers caused in part by the climate crisis.

While we all know that “costa” is simply the Spanish word for “coast”, for most of us it has a much wider meaning, evoking all sorts of images, both positive and negative. It may be beaches, fun, cold beers and tapas at a chiringuito (beach bar) with your feet in the sand. Perhaps you’re thinking of childhood holidays in a thrillingly huge hotel, where you happily stuffed yourself with ice-cream and chips for a fortnight. More recent memories might revolve around showy beach clubs with exorbitant prices. If you’ve been to the costas of eastern or southern Spain in the past few years, however, you may have reluctantly concluded that your favourite resorts are now a bit too hot for comfort.