A beach on St Martins has been named as the best beach in England in a controversial new travel guide.
But the new Rough Guide to England describes the country in general as a nation of “overweight, alcopop-swilling, sex-and-celebrity obsessed television addicts,” where talking to strangers in London could be seen as ?tantamount to physical assault.?
Far from the image of shingle-covered English beaches with brown or grey sea, the book praises their natural beauty - and says they could compare with those in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Second and third are Porthcurno and Polzeath, both in Cornwall. Par Beach is described as having “perfect sand” and a lack of visitors which keeps it quiet and pristine.
Tourist body Enjoy England has criticised the book as “unhelpful”.
“Visitors who come here frequently comment on how, rather than stand-offish, the English are extremely helpful and welcoming,” Elliott Frisby told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
But the guide praises England as a nation of “animal loving, tea-drinking charity donors who thrive on irony and Radio 4”.