Season: winter
Powdery white sand greets you as you descend through the dunes to Oldshoremore beach in Sutherland. The west-facing beach leads north and beyond its limit is a further smaller beach, below Oldshorebeg and known as Polin Beach, which is equally exquisite. The setting is unspoilt, indeed quite isolated, with few facilities, but there is reasonable access and adjacent parking. Shops and restaurants are at nearby Kinlochbervie. The elemental beauty at Oldshoremore beach is intoxicating, with a reassuring sense of permanence. This is one of the most beautiful places in these islands.
Don’s testimony to the beach from an environmental perspective.
A view from above the beach.
By the water at Oldshoremore.
Oldshoremore is reached from a path rising up from the carpark. As the brow of the hill is crested, a stunning panorama is revealed in the form of a wild, unspoilt and majestic bay. This is Oldshoremore, the second most Northerly beach on the mainland, and with over half a mile of pure, unpolluted sand!
A treasure of nature, windswept and wild on a winter’s day, with huge waves surfing in from the Atlantic. A haven of peace and calm on a summer,s day. Memories as a child of lunch on the rocks, swimming in the far, sheltered cove. More recently, long walks with my partner and throwing a ball into the sea for Ronnie the chocolate labrador. Look out for sightings of the sea otter making his way right across the beach from the dunes to the sea!
You may find someone else on the beach, but probably you will be alone to contemplate nature, its power and presence. The visitor, after the long journey north, cannot feel
other than privileged to have found Oldshoremore. Their far north haven! Their secret!