THE latest list of bathing water quality ratings for beaches in Cumbria has been revealed, and it's looking 'good' for the county.

The results follow testing at over 400 sites regularly used by swimmers throughout the summer.

These tests, carried out by the Environment Agency, monitor for sources of pollution known to be a risk to bathers’ health, specifically E coli and intestinal enterococci. 

The specific ratings for some of the key beaches in the area are:

  • Allonby: Good
  • Seascale: Good
  • St Bees: Excellent
  • Windermere, Rayrigg Meadow: Excellent

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: “We are pleased to see that it has been another good year for bathing water quality around Northwest Cumbria, with Allonby, St Bees and Seascale at Good or Excellent condition. 

"This reflects hard work to by partners and Environment Agency officers over several seasons to improve bathing conditions," they said. 

Last year, St Bees was also crowned one of the 'best beaches in the UK' by travel experts.

Experts at Conde Nast Traveller "searched high and low to bring you our expert pick of the best UK beaches". 

St. Bees beach, was ranked 27th on their list.

This positive trend of high-quality bathing water is not limited to Cumbria, as 96 per cent of bathing waters in England have met the minimum standards, with 90 per cent rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.

This compares with just 28 per cent being rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ in the 1990s and 76 per cent in 2010.