Sun, sea, sand and inflatable flamingos

The summer hols are here. School’s out, work’s… still going on - but at least we’ve got the weekends, and the seaside beckons. Who needs 35 degrees and palm trees when Britain has some of the most stunning coastline in the world?

Wherever you are in the UK, you’re never more than 70 miles from the sea. And, because the SMARTY team love a bit of sun, sand, and sea, we thought we’d tell you about some of our favourite beaches. Why not check them out and snap, tweet, and tag your photos without worrying about data? SMARTY add-ons are just £1.25 per GB.

Top of our list is Three Cliffs Bay near Swansea. A little walking will reward you with a postcard-worthy vista of golden sand dunes, salt marsh and limestone rocks. When the tide is out you can stroll for miles. And, if you’re looking for a little adventure, there’s some awesome rock climbing. You might fancy scaling the world-famous cliffs with Gower Adventures.

For that extra wow factor, the north Cornish coastline is hard to beat. There are dozens of quirky coves to be explored. We think one of the best is Trebarwith Strand, where you can lounge on golden sand at low tide, and clamber around rock pools and caves at high tide. If you’re a reasonable surfer there’s some impressive swell too. Oh, and The Strand Cafe sells the best carrot cake in the world (it’s official).

If you’re fascinated by fossils, get yourself down to Charmouth beach on Dorset’s Jurassic coast. 190-million-year-old sea creatures literally fall out of the cliffs onto the beach. And, Charmouth gets even better when the weather sucks. Rain, wind and storms often reveal troves of undiscovered fossils for you to pluck out of the shingle.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your mates, pack a picnic and zoom off to the great British beach. While you’re toasting marshmallows and watching the sun set you could invite your bestie to join you on SMARTY. You’ll both get a free month and they also get a £10 Amazon voucher. Maybe they could put it towards an inflatable flamingo, so you can bob around the sea together…