Author Archives: manonabeach

About manonabeach

On a beach…welcome to manonabeach.com, where I’ll regularly add video of my beach visits, so you can enjoy a flavour of the beach, even when you’re not there.

Cullykhan beach

Season: summer

Approached by steep steps, this stunning beach has sheer cliffs to either side. On one side you can walk through a rock tunnel to the next cove, its entrance framing a bright sky on this occasion. Bright sunshine towards the late afternoon cast a soporific air on proceedings and it was a pleasure on the receding tide to explore the surface rocks and their rock pools.

What the beach means to Gordon.

A study in materials and their value.

Looking back at Cullykhan beach.

Season: spring

The sandy cove at Cullykhan Bay shelters the beach from the prevailing south westerly winds, making this an idyllic visitor location. It’s overlooked by Castle Point, the site of the ancient Fort Fiddes. From the beach, there’s an excellent aspect towards Pennan and Hell’s Lum, the remains of a collapsed sea cave. The Moray Firth is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds, including puffins, fulmars, shags, kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills, many of which can be enjoyed here.

The natural beauty of Cullykhan beach in the late afternoon.

Tentsmuir Sands

Season: winter

On arrival in the area by road from Leuchars, the beach itself is approached on foot via a pine forest, presenting three miles of uninterrupted sand to enjoy. All manner of wildlife visit these shores, birds, marine life and shellfish. Nearby Tentsmuir Point is one of Scotland’s seventy three Nature Reserves, in this case a place where seals haul themselves out of the sea. Archaeological evidence from the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods suggests that this has always been a strategically significant area.

Marion’s two points about the beach.

What the beach means to John.

A view from the dunes at Tentsmuir Sands.

The scene by the water.

Kessingland beach

Season: summer

A beautiful, bright morning greeted me on this seasonal visit. Trekking across the vegetation and shingle to the upper beach, where a scattering of inshore fishing boats lay safely, the sea air filled my lungs and created an anticipation of what was to be seen over the shingle bank. On the lower sandy beach, foamy, aerated waves fell onto the sand, just short of the shingle. My interviewee exuded a familiarity with and love for this beach in equal measure. It was a real pleasure to be at Kessingland.

Local girl Joy’s love for this beach and for the sea.

By the boats on the upper beach.

Season: autumn

If it’s archaeology or history that you’re after, along with a fine beach, Kessingland is the place for you. This has long been an area of intense interest to archaeologists, as the remains of an ancient forest lie buried on the seabed off its coast. Palaeolithic and Neolithic tools and implements have also been found in the area. You’ll find Yellow Horned Poppy and Sea Holly here; nature is all around you, as you take in the sea air.

Tight lines for Michael on Kessingland beach.

The scene on the beach at Kessingland.