WALES is home to three of the UK’s ten best-rated beaches, according to TripAdvisor's travellers' choice awards.

A spokeswoman for the review site said: "Rhossili Bay, in the Swansea county, takes the title of third best-rated beach in the UK and 25th in Europe.

"The largest expanse of white sand on the Gower Peninsula, Rhossili Bay stretches for three miles and it is this vast stretch of sand and towering cliffs which make it popular with surfers, paragliders and ramblers alike.

"Also in Swansea, Three Cliffs Bay comes in at eighth place in the UK, while Barafundle Beach in Stackpole is ranked tenth."

City and County of Swansea cabinet member for culture, tourism and major projects Robert Francis-Davies said: “People have been sharing their love of Gower for years and now they are doing it online and, importantly, globally. It’s fantastic that such a relatively short stretch of coastline has collected two accolades in 2018, Wales’ ‘Year of the Sea’.

“TripAdvisor’s travellers’ choice awards for Three Cliffs Bay and Rhossili are particularly prestigious because their ratings are based on reviews from visitors worldwide and our ‘Year of the Sea’ campaign is setting out to highlight exactly what makes our coastline so glorious.

"The awards will give our destination even wider recognition on a global platform used by millions of travellers. It also reinforces how lucky we are to have such world-class beaches on our doorstep here in Swansea Bay.”