I'm hoping that at some point this 'summer' I'll have a whole day to spare and I fancy a swim in the sea. Any recommendations for the quickest day trip by public transport from London with good swimming, sandy, ideally not too urban (ie not Brighton/Hove etc)?

Last year took the bikes down to Chichester on the train and rode to West Wittering – perfect beach for my purposes, but I'd like to get nearer to the beach on the train (not because it was a long ride – it wasn't – just because I wanted to be on the beach rather than the bike for as long as possible).

Bournemouth? About 2 hrs from Waterloo to the station, and about 20 mins walk from station to beach.

Broadstairs is just under 2 hours from Victoria and has a nice sandy beach plus the 'quaint' Dickensiana of the town – return ticket about £25

Hayling Island is also a great beach, but a bit further from the nearest station (Havant)

Littlehampton also worth considering, again, just under 2 hours/£25 from London – although the beach is only sandy at low tide

Camber Sands ?

Yeah I know it's full of greasy-burger-eating Tesco shoppers, but if you find the whole experience too awful to endure, you can always just pop up the road to Rye where you can rub shoulders with Daily Telegraph readers as you enjoy a nice glass of wine with your sun-dried organic meal.

Sandwich, Kent