Three Moray beaches graded ‘excellent’ by SEPA to join nationwide elite of 50

Three local beaches have been named as among the best 50 in Scotland.

Environment agency SEPA have released their gradings for the water quality at a total of 89 beaches across the country to coincide with the start of Scotland’s bathing water season, with three of the top slots going to Findhorn, Lossiemouth and Cullen beaches.

It joins 49 others from up and down the country in being rated excellent including Lossiemouth’s east beach and Findorn beach in Moray..

A total of 89 beaches have been rated by SEPA for this year, with 50 being graded excellent, 27 good, nine sufficient and three poor.

Cullen beach’s gold standard award from SEPA comes as no surprise to David McCubbin, who chairs the volunteer-run local tourism group Discover Cullen.

He said: “"We're delighted that Cullen alongside Findhorn and Lossiemouth have been recognised by SEPA with excellent status for their beaches.

“This recognition provides reassurance to visitors about the quality of the beach and will help attract visitors to Moray.”

This year Scotland starts the season with the highest ever number of bathing waters rated excellent for water quality;.

Ruth Stidson, SEPA’s Principal Scientist for Bathing Waters, commented: “Scotland’s bathing waters are a vital part of our natural environment - important for health, wellbeing, tourism and community pride.

“A decade on from the revised directive, we’re seeing more sites rated excellent than ever before, 56 per cent today compared to 20 per cent in 2015.

“This improvement is a real testament to partnerships with local authorities and stakeholders, including communities, to protect our water environment, and targeted investment by Scottish Water, farmers and land managers to reduce pollution.”

Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin added: “I am pleased to see a record number of Scotland’s bathing waters rated as ‘excellent’ this year.

“This is testament to our continued investment in protecting and improving bathing waters across the country and targeted work in priority catchments.

"We want to make sure that as many people as possible can enjoy our bathing waters, which is why we continue to work closely with SEPA, Scottish Water and other public partners to protect and improve water quality.

“We encourage everyone to make use of SEPA’s resources and information to help make an informed decision about where and when to bathe.”