17 of the best beaches in Scotland
Wild, rugged and bracing even on a sunny day, Scottish beaches are for the hardy. But for those willing to brave the elements, there are turquoise waters and brilliantly white sands to rival any you'll find in the Caribbean — albeit 20 or 30 degrees cooler. Family-friendly options are plenty, but even more abundant are places that make you feel like you're at the edge of the world. Where there's nothing but you, the views and the wildlife. Pack a picnic, bring a dram or two, and wrap up warm. Here are some of the best beaches in Scotland.
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This is a journey as much as a destination. Even after you've driven to Keoldale, in north Scotland, allow half a day to cross the Kyle of Durness on a wee tin ferry, catch a minibus to Cape Wrath then hike for 30 minutes. The reward is a fabled beach at the end of the world, its white sand cupped within the highest cliffs in Britain. Camp overnight in Kearvaig Bothy if you can. You brought food and firewood, right? Or alternatively head to Cape Wrath Lighthouse where you'll find dorm-room accommodation and vegetarian and vegan fare at Ozone Cafe next door.
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2. Sanna, Ardnamurchan
Sanna beach, Ardnamurchan
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It's a long drive on single-track roads to reach the most westerly point of the British mainland. Geologists love Sanna because you walk in over the crater of an ancient volcano. Terrific, but just wait until you see the beach beyond, a ridiculously beautiful expanse of silver sand and rock that peters gradually into turquoise sea. It's a place to elevate the spirit, especially at sunset. Better still, there's usually a breeze — no midges. Stay at Ocean View, a three-bedroom cottage just off the dunes of Sanna beach.
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3. Luskentyre Sands, Isle of Harris
Luskentyre beach on the Isle of Harris
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Bone-white sands wrapped around dunes, from an estuary (that shifts through an endless spectrum of colours) to northernmost Traigh Rosamol beach, this is a real beauty. Here the turquoise sea is as crisp as chilled champagne, the air heady with ozone, the only sign of human life the few white crofts along the shore. Come at mid-tide (it's a narrow ribbon when it's high) and it'll stir the soul however leaden the sky. It's so beautiful it should be mobbed, but fortunately it's in the Outer Hebrides. The accommodation options include Taigh Mo Sheanair, a rental cottage which has doubles with en suite bathrooms.
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4. Sands of Forvie, Aberdeenshire
Forvie, Aberdeenshire
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Forvie National Nature Reserve is nearly four miles of shifting sand dunes and wildflower dune heath around the Ythan estuary, 18 miles north of Aberdeen. It's a place of stark beauty and abundant life: thousands of terns, eider ducks nesting among the heather in spring, seals hauled out by river-mouth mudflats. A wetland hide is a grandstand to watch waders. Or take the 3.5-mile Dune Walk circuit to walk along the beach — sidetracking at its far end to a viewpoint at Hackley Bay. Newburgh is the nearest town and where you'll find Newburgh Inn, a comfy pub with rooms.
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5. St Ninian's Bay, Shetland
St Ninian's Bay
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Meaning 'sandy isthmus', the word tombolo isn't just a delight to say, it produces beaches like this shapely corridor of sand, extending offshore for a third of a mile to St Ninian's Isle. Hidden as you approach from Bigton, it appears suddenly; a moment of theatre as delightful as a magic trick. Walk across to St Ninian's for a blustery stroll to see chapel ruins and puffins on cliffs. A schoolboy did it in 1958 and found a trove of Pictish silver. Keep your eyes peeled. The Coach House at Stewart Hall is a smart two-bedroom cottage set in gorgeous gardens.
6. Traigh Mhor, Barra
A Twin Otter plane at Traigh Mhor, Barra
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Clear the beach if an orange windsock flies at low tide — a Twin Otter plane from Glasgow will shortly be arriving for the world's only scheduled beach landing, while a bank of photographers wait upwind like aeronautical paparazzi. At other times it's simply a gorgeous spot to shoot; a broad expanse of white among machair and wild primroses that glows gold in raking light. A wee red-roof house provides foreground interest. Your accommodation options are rather more limited here but Barra Sands Campsite offers tent and caravan space.
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7. Seacliff, East Lothian
Seacliff beach in East Lothian
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Bring the kids for a fairytale adventure near Edinburgh. The ochre sands at the end of a private road (fee for entry) take the starring role, but what a supporting cast. There's St Baldred's Cave to explore, gannets wheeling on Bass Rock, ruined Auldhame Castle in woods plus spooky Tantallon Castle, smashed by Cromwell's artillery, on a bluff. Like all good adventures there's a surprise too — pipsqueak harbour the Gegan, hewn from ruddy sandstone. Accommodation-wise your best bet is to head to nearby North Berwick where many of the rooms at the Nether Abbey Hotel offer sea views.
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8. Achmelvich Bay, Sutherland
Achmelvich Bay, Sutherland
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Welcome to one of the most beautiful beaches in Scotland, a half-moon of silver sand and turquoise waters in a granite foreshore, with a splendidly bonkers 'Hermit's Castle' folly to discover behind the western end. The catch is fame: this is on the North Coast 500 route, with a car park behind, plus there's a campsite, caravan park and glamping pods. If it is crowded — that means anything over two dozen people in these parts — walk north at low tide to an unnamed sandy cove.
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9. Rackwick, Orkney
Rackwick, Isle of Hoy
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You'll drive to Rackwick car park to see the distinctive sea stack the Old Man of Hoy, but you'll linger for a location befitting a Norse epic tale. Its golden sand is bookended by muscular cliffs, seals bob beyond the breakers, and oystercatchers and curlews pipe in the marram grass. It's particularly magnificent when storms detonate; Burnmouth Cottage, a heather-thatch bothy from a now-vanished crofting village, is behind if you're keen. The poet George Mackay Brown called Rackwick 'Orkney's last enchantment'. If anything, that undersells the place. Accommodation-wise your only option in the vicinity is the Rackwick Hostel, which has two rooms with two bunk beds in each.
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10. Camusdarach, Arisaig
Camusdarach beach
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Camusdarach near Mallaig was the location for the 1983 film Local Hero, but its appeal isn't limited to movie buffs. As well as powder-white sand and rock pools, the Isle of Skye dominates the skyline. Smaller and quieter bays lie at its south end — keep your eyes peeled for otters scampering along the shoreline. There's superb kayaking in the skerries — local operators run trips — while behind is a good campsite. Put it together and you have all the ingredients for a perfect family holiday. There's a smattering of campsites and holiday homes nearby, including the Ceithir Raithean, which has a hot tub with views of the sea.
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11. Sandwood Bay, Sutherland
Sandwood Bay, Sutherland
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Although the waves are good enough for surfing, most arrivals here are roadtrippers on a half-day break from the North Coast 500. Use the car park at Blairmore to hike in on a good path across moorland. After four miles you'll descend over sand dunes to a magnificent beach among wild cliffs, a sea stack at one end. They say it's haunted by a sailor seeking lost riches — actually, the treasure is all around you. There's a bothy nearby at Sandwood Loch, but you're better off camping at the still rather wild Sheigra Beach Honour Campsite.
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12. West Sands, St Andrews, Fife
West Sands, St Andrews, Fife
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Fronting the famous golf course of posh St Andrews, Scotland's best town beach sweeps north over two glorious miles. Like many urban stretches of sand, it is all things to all people — students lark over summer barbecues near the town, kids hoof footballs, runners recreate the opening scene of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Numbers gradually thin until it's just you and the hardy dog walkers, strolling into a salt-hazed infinity. Alternatively, there's a car park at the far end of West Sands Road. For a snack try Dook, a handy beach café serving deli sandwiches, cakes and coffee. You could hardly go wrong with a stay at the Old Course Hotel, a stately pile overlooking West Sands Beach and the Links Golf Course.
13. West Beach, Berneray Island, North Uist
West Beach, Berneray Island, North Uist
If you saw a photograph of West Beach, with its three miles of silver sands and pale turquoise sea, you'd guess it was in Thailand. This Outer Hebridean beauty looks tropical and, while the temperature isn't, rare orchids and wildflowers blaze among the machair sand dunes in summer. Little visited, it also provides a good opportunity to spot corncrakes and otters. There are a handful of hostels on the island — try John's Bunkhouse, just off the causeway access to Berneray.
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14. Big Sand, Gairloch
Big Sand, Gairloch
Spoiler alert: the golden sand here is indeed expansive. At almost four miles long, it's fine enough for castles; broad enough for vigorous games of Frisbee or to give the dog a run; large enough to swallow beachgoers from a caravan site behind. A sea of sand dunes provides welcome shelter from the wind. What the name doesn't reveal is the jagged horizon of peaks, south to the Isle of Skye and Torridon. Base yourself at Sands Caravan & Camping, which has glamping pods and caravans for those who don't have their own, and the Barn Cafe, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
sandscaravanandcamping.co.uk
15. Traigh Ghael, Mull
Traigh Ghael, Mull
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Calgary is the most famous beach on the Isle of Mull, but the most heavenly is Traigh Ghael: 'white beach' in Gaelic. Like paradise, it requires effort to reach. You'll need stamina and tide tables before attempting two tough, boggy hours through the Tireragan Nature Reserve. Buy maps from an honour box at Knockvologan Farm at the trailhead. The reward is red deer, perhaps otters, a sidetrack to a ruined Clearances village, then white sand wild beaches which expand at low tide — all the highlights of the Highlands in one day. Relatively close by is Bunessan Inn, a small property with sea views.
16. Oldshoremore beach, Sutherland
Oldshoremore beach, Sutherland
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Known locally as Am Meallan, Oldshoremore beach pairs a mile of golden sand at low tide with turquoise waters that lap at its shallows on a sunny day. You could well just stop here — and there's a campsite close by — but the beach marks the start of a five-mile circular trail that takes you to even more wild and rugged corners, including Polin beach. The only downside is that it's remote — it's a short walk from the nearby car park but getting there in the first place isn't easy. Oldshoremore Croft Cabin is just a short walk down to the beach.
17. Grobust beach, Orkney
Grobust beach, Orkney
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Prepare to have a few cobwebs blown away at Grobust beach, a gorgeous stretch of coastline facing north on Westray, one of the northernmost Orkney Islands. There's little shelter here, which means you're exposed to the elements wherever you stand. Aim for a sunny day, therefore, when the light will bring out the sparkling blue of the sea, and turn the sandy beach a brilliant white. Nearby you'll also find the remains of a Stone Age settlement where the Orkney Venus was dug up. Set at the edge of the village of Pierowall, No 1 Broughton is a small family-run B&B facing the sea.
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Additional reporting by Qin Xie
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