Five of the best wild beaches in Scotland
People south of the border refuse to believe it when you tell them that Scotland has better beaches than the Caribbean — but we do. Wild, windswept and often drawing more kelp-munching coos and nosey seals than tourists, Scotland's beaches have a soul-stirring beauty that will stay with you long after you've shaken the sand from your shoes.
From Aberdeenshire to the Outer Hebrides, the Hidden Beaches author, Daniel Start, picks out five of the wildest and most enchanting.
Uist and Harris are places of pilgrimage for the beach connoisseur. Ribbons of snow-white sand drift down the islands' Atlantic coasts and collect in sweeping bays, while meadows covered in wildflowers provide the perfect backdrop. One of the more remote is Traigh Mheilein, where shallow azure waters and wild camping beckon. From Tarbet take the B887 north to park at Huisinis. Then walk 1½ miles north to swim overlooking Scarp island.
The wild coastline along the extreme north tip of the country, from Ullapool to Cape Wrath and along the Sutherland coast to John o' Groats, harbours some of the most beautiful swimming beaches in Britain. Including Port Alltan na Bradhan, a very sheltered sandy bay with a waterfall and rocks for jumping. To reach it, walk 1½ miles north along the coast from Achmelvich, or drive along the B869 and park at the first proper lay-by on the right, then follow the stream down past ruins.
Mull has perfect white sand and swimming coves galore, yet few people ever find them. Even more remote is the neighbouring island of Erraid, used as the shore station and stone quarry for the building of the Dubh Artach lighthouse (and as one of the settings in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Kidnapped). Accessible at low tide via a sandy causeway, the island is home to Traigh Gheal, a beautiful cove. From Knockvologan farm, on Mull, follow the track for 500m to cross the Erraid Sound, heading to the right.
If you're looking for a really wild beach and don't mind a good hour's walk, head for Camas an Lighe and its 'singing sands' in the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. From Arivegaig car park you hike past the flats of Kentra Bay and emerge through woodland to find a remote heather and birch-lined beach with grand views to the Small Isles. Singing sands occur when sand grains are completely round and between 0.1 and 0.5mm in diameter. To generate the low frequency sound of about 450Hz they must also contain silica and have the right level of humidity. To make the sands sing, shuffle across them with bare feet.
The Sands of Forvie is a national nature reserve with extensive dunes and four miles of foreshore with marram grass, pennywort, crowberry and creeping willow. A village and its church once stood amid these dunes but the entire community was overwhelmed by a sandstorm in 1413, allegedly the result of a curse uttered by three sisters who were put out to sea in a leaky boat. Take the A975 south of Collieston to the car park opposite the river, before the causeway. Follow the mile-long path to the beach, then bear left along the coast to beautiful Hackley Bay.
Taken from Hidden Beaches by Daniel Start (wildthingspublishing.com £16.99). Buy from timesbookshop.co.uk. Discount for Times+ members
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