| Unusually bad weather last summer has stemmed the previously consistent rise in water quality at the UK's beaches, according to the Marine Conservation Society.
For a breakdown of how beaches in your region have fared, click on the relevant section of the map.
Key:
MCS recommended - Marine Conservation Society recommended (the top grade);
EC - EC guideline level (Europe-wide standard based on EC Bathing Water Directives);
Basic - EC minimum standard;
Fail - Failure to attain EC minimum.
Source: Marine Conservation Society
CHANNEL ISLANDS 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 14
EC - 4
Basic - 7
Fail - 0
Total - 25 Maintained their usual consistency, boasting no failures for the fourth time in the past five years.
The MCS says Grouville was the only Jersey beach not recommended, while three of Guernsey's achieved the top accolade.
It says that number could double if secondary sewage-treatment facilities were to be installed.
ISLE OF MAN 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 1
EC - 0
Basic - 6
Fail - 9
Total - 16
Failure rate shot up this year, which the MCS blames in part on the heavy summer rain, which increased pollution levels.
Only one of its beaches achieved the MCS recommendation, as has been the case in most recent years.
The full benefits of a sewage recycling and treatment system will not be evident until it is fully integrated.
NORTH EAST 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 26
EC - 9
Basic - 29
Fail - 4
Total - 68
Number of top-ranking beaches fell after consistent progress in recent years, and four failed, compared with three last year.
The MCS attributes this to the particularly heavy rain in the region last summer.
NORTH WEST 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 7
EC - 0
Basic - 28
Fail - 3
Total - 38
Suffered a massive drop in the number of beaches achieving top ranking after a particularly rainy summer.
The seven MCS-recommended total was half the 2004 figure - and was proportionally even less, as fewer beaches were sampled this year.
NORTHERN IRELAND MCS recommended - 6
EC - 9
Basic - 7
Fail - 5
Total - 27
Success rate dropped slightly, but number of failures rose from none in 2004 to five this year.
The MCS says Northern Ireland could more than double its tally of top-ranked beaches if sewage treatment was improved at a number of sites.
SCOTLAND 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 50
EC - 9
Basic - 45
Fail - 14
Total - 118
Performance suffered slightly after a particularly bad summer - its wettest August since 1956.
But the proportion of MCS recommendations was still better than in 2003 and failures lower.
SOUTH EAST 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 85
EC - 5
Basic - 47
Fail - 1
Total - 138
The South East's previously inexorable rise in beach-water quality ground to a halt this year following a wet summer.
It also experienced its first failure for two years, and lost top spot in the MCS rankings to the South West, which enjoyed a higher proportion of MCS-recommended beaches.
SOUTH WEST 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 147
EC - 9
Basic - 37
Fail - 3
Total - 196
Regained top spot with a record 75% of its monitored beaches achieving MCS recommendation.
Despite also enduring a summer of heavy rain - and vulnerability to pollution from farmland - it had only three failing beaches out of nearly 200 sampled, thanks to investment in waste-water treatment by the utility companies.
WALES 2005 performance
MCS recommended - 91
EC - 16
Basic - 65
Fail - 13
Total - 185
Beaches survived relatively unscathed from the poor summer, with only a marginally lower proportion of top grades achieved than last year.
Failures more than doubled, however, but the MCS says measures in the pipeline to curb pollution and treat sewage should improve water quality along the Welsh coastline.
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