Earlier this year, I wrote in these pages about why I chose Walton’s beaches to film one of Reform’s Party Political Broadcasts, which as an aside, has had more than 4 million views across social media.

I explained in my article back in February that I often walk my dogs Pebble and Baxter along the stretch of historic coastline in Walton, which is one of my favourite places in the local area.

I was therefore very pleased to read that Walton-on-the-Naze’s Albion Beach has been awarded Keep Britain Tidy’s prestigious Blue Flag award. The award recognises the country’s top beaches and I am also proud to say that Brightlingsea, Dovercourt Bay and Frinton beaches have also received the same recognition.

This success is in addition to Walton’s Naze Beach, Harwich, and Martello Bay in Clacton all receiving Seaside Awards in recognition of their high quality.

All those that won the Blue Flag award have also received the Seaside Award, meaning that seven beaches along Essex’s Sunshine Coast will proudly fly Blue Flags or Seaside Awards as this year’s summer season gets underway.

It’s a fantastic achievement for all involved and well-deserved recognition of the high quality and stunning beauty of Tendring’s beaches, not to mention their public amenities.

While mentioning awards, it would be remiss of me not to mention that for the second year in a row Clacton Pier has been named by TripAdvisor one of the best amusement parks in Europe. In fact, the pier ranked 17th out of more than 1,000 amusement and water parks on the continent. Not bad at all!

We can be rightly proud of our beaches and piers and it’s great news that they are receiving this recognition. I just hope that many visitors from near and far visit our award-winning coastline as we begin this new summer season.