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Jim Barton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsGuide · Scotland
Scotland's best beach walks
Ten walks to white sand, singing sand and dunes the size of hills, from Ardnamurchan to the Moray coast.
By the TRXO team · · 4 min read
- walks
- 10
- long
- 3.4–14.2 km
- biggest climb
- 250 m
- by public transport
- 3
- dog-friendly
- 10
Scotland doesn't have a beach climate and it has some of the best beaches in the world, which is a combination that keeps them empty. White shell sand, machair full of flowers, dunes thirty metres high, and water the colour of the Caribbean at about a third of the temperature.
A beach walk here is rarely just a beach: there's usually a headland to go round, a cleared village, a castle or a lighthouse. These ten are our favourites, from the far west of Ardnamurchan to the Moray Firth, and from a town beach in St Andrews to a bay in Cowal with no road to it. Most are easy. All of them are better in a wind.
Where they are
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Sanna
Sanna Bay and Portuairk
- 6.5 km distance
- 110 m ascent
- 1.5–2 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe most westerly beaches on the British mainland, at the tip of Ardnamurchan: a string of white shell-sand bays and dunes facing Rùm, Eigg and Muck, with the rim of an ancient volcano behind. The walk crosses the dunes from Sanna to Portuairk and back. The road to get there is the slowest in Scotland and worth every minute.
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2
Arivegaig
The Singing Sands, Kentra Bay
- 14.2 km distance
- 250 m ascent
- 3.5–5 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA beach you can only reach on foot, where the dry sand squeaks under your boots. From Arivegaig the track rounds Kentra Bay and climbs through the forest before dropping to Camas an Lighe, with the Small Isles on the horizon. Fourteen kilometres there and back; a day with a picnic in it.
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Calgary
Calgary Bay
- 4 km distance
- 80 m ascent
- 1–1.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXMull's best beach and the one the Canadian city was named after. White sand, a headland with the ruins of a cleared township, and a sculpture trail through the woods behind. Short, and good for a day when the island's hills are in cloud.
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Kilbride
Ostel Bay
- 4.3 km distance
- 200 m ascent
- 1.5–2 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA hidden crescent of sand at the bottom of Cowal, facing Arran, reached by a farm track across the fields from a road end near Kilbride. Nobody is ever there. Two hours from Glasgow, and the quietest beach on this list by some distance.
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St Andrews
St Andrews: cathedral, castle and the West Sands
- 6.7 km distance
- 30 m ascent
- 1.5–2 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe town beach, but what a town: the walk takes in the cathedral ruins, the castle on its rock and the Old Course before it reaches the two miles of West Sands where they filmed the opening of Chariots of Fire. Trains to Leuchars, bus to the town. Run along it if you must.
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Aberlady
Aberlady Bay and Gullane Point
- 6.7 km distance
- 50 m ascent
- 1.5–2 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA long wooden footbridge leads into Britain's first local nature reserve, then a path through the dunes to a rocky point and a wide beach with the wrecks of two midget submarines on it at low tide. Winter brings thousands of geese; summer brings the East Lothian light. Half an hour from Edinburgh by bus.
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Coldingham
Coldingham Bay to Eyemouth
- 4.4 km distance
- 120 m ascent
- 1–1.5 h time
- Moderate grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe Berwickshire coast is cliffs and coves rather than long sands, but Coldingham Bay is a proper beach with coloured huts and surfers, and the coast path from it to Eyemouth harbour is the best short walk in the Borders. Fish and chips by the boats at the end.
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Balmedie
Balmedie beach and dunes
- 3.4 km distance
- 10 m ascent
- 1 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXFourteen miles of beach run north from Aberdeen, and Balmedie is where you get onto it: sand to the horizon in both directions, dunes up to 30 m high, and the sea wind coming straight off the North Sea. The loop goes along the beach and back through the dunes on boardwalks. Twenty minutes from the city.
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Cullen
Cullen to Portknockie and Bow Fiddle Rock
- 5.9 km distance
- 80 m ascent
- 1.5–2 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA harbour town, an old railway line along the cliffs, and a quartzite arch standing in the sea at the end. Cullen's beach is below the viaduct; the walk follows the coast west past it to Portknockie and the Bow Fiddle Rock, with dolphins often offshore. Cullen skink for lunch is compulsory.
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Culbin
Culbin Forest and Hill 99
- 5.6 km distance
- 20 m ascent
- 1.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA beach walk with a forest in it. Culbin was a desert of blown sand that buried an estate in the 1690s; the Forestry Commission pinned it down with pines, and the loop from Wellhill climbs to a viewing tower on the highest dune before dropping to miles of empty shore on the Moray Firth. Strange and lovely.
Before you go
- Scottish beaches have tides, rips and cold water. Swim with care, and never near river mouths or on an ebbing tide.
- Dunes and machair are nesting ground from April to July: keep dogs on leads where signs ask, and stay off fenced areas.
- The west-coast beaches (Sanna, the Singing Sands, Calgary, Ostel Bay) have little or no public transport. St Andrews, Aberlady, Coldingham and Cullen have buses; Balmedie has a bus from Aberdeen.
- Midges don't like wind and beaches usually have it, which is one more reason to be here.
Questions people ask
Which is the best beach in Scotland?
Ask ten Scots and get ten answers. Sanna Bay is ours for the setting; the Singing Sands for the walk; St Andrews West Sands for a beach you can reach by train.
Where are the Singing Sands?
Camas an Lighe, on the north coast of Ardnamurchan, reached on foot from Arivegaig near Acharacle. The sand squeaks when it's dry. There's another Singing Sands on Eigg.
Can you swim at these beaches?
Yes, if you can cope with the temperature. Calgary, Coldingham and St Andrews are the most sheltered. Watch for rips at the river mouths at Balmedie and Aberlady.
Which beach walks are near Edinburgh and Glasgow?
Aberlady Bay is half an hour from Edinburgh by bus; Ostel Bay and Lunderston Bay are within two hours of Glasgow.
Read next
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GuideThe best coastal walks in Northern IrelandNine walks on the finest coast in Ireland, from the Causeway cliffs to the dunes under the Mournes. -
GuideWalks near Edinburgh you can do by busNine walks from the city centre by Lothian bus or a short train ride, from the Water of Leith to the top of the Pentlands. - Trail NotesAll postsEvery guide, article and blog post by the TRXO team.