Scotland's best seaside picnic spots with incredible views
Culzean Castle, Ayrshire
There is a majestic stretch of towering cliffs, rocky shores and sandy bays around Culzean Castle that is perfect for picnicking and has plenty of scope for adventure. Not least when it comes to guddling in rock pools – or scouring the beach for other magical treasures.
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At low tide, the volcanic rock formations and lava platforms are brilliant for glimpsing pockets of marine life. Keep your eyes peeled for ghost prawns, sea urchins and starfish. Geology buffs, meanwhile, can enjoy looking for semi-precious stones, such as agate, jasper and amethyst.
Tuck into a leisurely feast with vistas of Arran, Kintyre and Ailsa Craig. Afterwards, head back up into the castle grounds to grab dessert at the Aviary Ice Cream Parlour beside the Swan Pond.
Seacliff, East Lothian
This private and unspoilt beach, around five miles from North Berwick, offers spellbinding views of the Bass Rock and the ruins of Tantallon Castle. The tiny sandstone harbour, dating from the 1890s, is widely credited as the smallest in the UK.
Popular among surfers, dog walkers and, yep, picnic lovers, Seacliff has graced the screen in a clutch of star-studded TV shows and films in recent times, including Outlaw King, Mary Queen of Scots and The Buccaneers. Car entry is controlled by a coin-operated barrier.
If you fancy topping up your beach banquet with some coffee and cake, you are less than a 10-minute drive from Drift, a gorgeous cliff top cafe that operates out of converted shipping containers and a former horse trailer.
Kingsbarns, Fife
Fife is packed with coastal gems, from the family-friendly Burntisland and Aberdour Silver Sands to low-key beauties such as Leven Beach, which is believed to have inspired Jack Vettriano's famed painting The Singing Butler.
Leven beach (Image: Alamy Stock Photo)
There are the unmistakable golden panoramas of St Andrews West Sands, as captured on celluloid in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, and the classic East Neuk charm of Elie, Crail Roome Bay, Lower Largo and Kingsbarns.
The latter beach, also known as Cambo Sands, has something for everyone, proffering soul-salving solitude and sheltered dunes, with ample opportunities for wildlife spotting, fossil hunting and rockpooling.
In addition to being heavenly for hosting a picnic, Kingsbarns is a great place to tap into the growing outdoorsy wellness trend for 'wild saunas', aka 'hot boxes'. Wild Seaside Sauna has a location here – as well as at St Andrews West Sands and Elie – if you fancy giving it a whirl.
Balmedie Country Park, Aberdeenshire
This corner of north-east Scotland has the best of both worlds, with a beach and sand dunes, alongside heathland and wooded areas – all connected by a network of boardwalks and paths.
These include the mile-long (1.7km) Ice House Route, which gives a window into a bygone era when fish caught along the coast would be stored in a series of underground, stone-vaulted structures deep within the dunes – an early form of refrigeration.
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If you hanker after a post-picnic ice cream, the Sand Bothy kiosk is open on weekends. Another excellent facility is Balmedie Beach Wheelchairs, a free, volunteer-run service, which is staffed on Sundays from noon until 3pm and bookable in advance at other times.
Westport Beach, Kintyre, Argyll
Picking a picnic beach on the Kintyre peninsula is no easy task, simply because you are spoiled for choice.
Westport Beach, with its six miles of golden sand, rarely feels overcrowded. It is set against a backdrop of the mighty Machrihanish Dunes which, the largest of their kind in mainland Argyll, are designated as a Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Don't be surprised if you see folk with binoculars and fancy cameras: the area is renowned for myriad bird species – Leach's petrel, Balearic shearwater, grey phalarope and Sabine's gull – with Machrihanish Seabird and Wildlife Observatory only a short jaunt down the coast.
Susan Swarbrick is a columnist and freelance writer who loves history and the outdoors. Follow her on X @SusanSwarbrick and Bluesky @susanswarbrick.bsky.social
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