Well ladies and gentlemen the results are out - The Radio Times have revealed their eight favourite beaches in Britain, so how did your favourite fare? Taking its inspiration from the BBC2 series Coast, The Radio Times has put together its favourite beaches for lounging, exploring and enjoying the scenery – and we have a selection of luxury holiday cottages close to two of the winners.

Newquay’s no stranger to the top of a beach poll, and the beautifully modest Crantock flies the flag for it at number one. Crantock is one of the quieter beaches in the Newquay area, and it’s just out of the way enough to avoid the crowds that its neighbours attract. If you park up in the National Trust car park at the bottom of Crantock village and make your way over the dune you’ll see just why it’s today’s number one.

The sprawling sandy beach feels miles away from anywhere, and it’s easy to spend hours enjoying the views without even realising it. You can even catch a ferry across the Gannel to Fern Pit and sample the fresh lobster before returning. We have Newquay holiday apartments within easy reach of Crantock Beach, and many of them welcome dogs too (don’t forget that Crantock Beach is dog friendly all year round).

The height of luxury for any aspiring millionaire has to be the outdoor pool.  Typically these are found on the continent, but increasingly luxury self-catering properties are making waves in the UK with their own pools. With a summer that's predicted to be a ‘scorcher' by the MET office, Blue Chip Holidays has found a selection of available properties in July and August that have access to heated outdoor pools; just the tonic for a hot summer of fun!

Inow and Polurrian, St Ives

Inow and  are set within the magnificent Tregenna Castle Estate situated in the picturesque town of St Ives. There is an extensive leisure centre with a spa and hair salon, fully equipped gym, indoor and outdoor heated pools, sauna, jacuzzi, squash, table tennis, croquet, tennis and badminton courts plus a 16 hole golf course with views overlooking the fantastic St Ives coastline. Set within 72 acres of garden and woodland, and with direct access to Porthminster beach, it's the perfect place to escape for a beach break with that extra touch of luxury.

And if that's not enough, Inow and Polurrian are ideally positioned for days out exploring the beautiful county of Cornwall and all its delights, including the Eden Project, Tate Gallery, Newquay Zoo, Land's End, as well as the county's historical monuments and castles.

On Monday myself, Caron, Alan & Brian the Blue Chip Travel Turtle dusted off our passports and set off for Saunton in North Devon.

We took a fairly unconventional route to Saunton, which included driving up the M5 to the Bridgwater junction, realising the error of our ways and driving 20 minutes back down the M5 to the junction which we should have turn off in the first place, signposted Barnstable.

Despite this slight misjudgement we were kept "entertained" by the BBC Radio 2 music quiz where Alan really came into his own and started to show his age.

After the Human Navigation System error and a spell of flirting with the low petrol warning light, we safely made it to Saunton Sands, which has been the setting for several famous productions including Robbie Williams Angel's music video. The beach itself is surely one of the best in the area, with 3 miles of flat golden sand located in front of the Braunton Borrows, which are a huge area of sand dunes. The beach benefits from good surf, making it a haven for longboarders, kite surfers and sailors. Even in Mid-December the beach seems to retain its popularity with the keen surfers who were prepared to enter the icy waters in the hope of catching a good wave.