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.

Sinclair’s Bay

Season: winter

Like Dunnet Bay, Sinclair’s Bay in Caithness features two beaches, Keiss and Reiss, with different natures. At the northern end of the bay is the wild and desolate Keiss beach, with its remote harbour. Here the beach is rocky, with some sand at low tide. Reiss beach on the south side of the bay is sheltered and sandy. It attracts more visitors, with breathtaking scenery and dunes to explore. This is a favourite location to see the Northern Lights and the sun doesn’t seem to set in late June.

A multi-faceted appreciation of the beach from Ken.

Looking out from Reiss beach at Sinclair’s Bay.

Dunnet Bay

Season: summer

Dunnet Bay has an enormous beach, stretching right round from the Castlehill end to Dunnet Head. On this occasion I enjoyed the isolated middle section, which offers views out to sea and to both of these landmarks. The burn here is also home to the rare Great Yellow bumble bee and this is a wonderful way to access the beach itself. On arrival at the beach, you’re struck by the space in both directions and by the scale of the bay. This is a wonderful stretch of sand for a morning, afternoon or evening constitutional.

Sam and Ali arrive in Scotland.

The middle stretch of beach at Dunnet Bay.

Season: winter

Dunnet Bay sits between Thurso and John O’ Groats in Caithness. It is sheltered and features two beaches, Castlehill and Murkle Bay. At the western end, Castlehill is made up of sand and shingle, with grassy dunes behind. Popular with surfers, this is also a fine spot for a peaceful walk, as well as for birdwatching. Facilities are available in nearby Castletown. To the east is Murkle Bay beach, in the lea of Dunnet Head, which is the most northerly point in mainland Britain. Here you can see Eider ducks, ringed plover and oystercatchers, as well as seals and dolphins. The whole bay is a wildlife haven.

Karen, at Dunnet Bay in Caithness.

Low tide at Dunnet Bay.

Thurso

Season: summer

The beach here sit right in front of the town of Thurso. As a result, locals predominate, as you would expect and it was refreshing to interview a visitor on this occasion. There is excellent access to the beach and of course the adjacent town has all that you’d expect to find. It must be a wonderful pleasure to live in a town where you can wander easily and quickly to an expanse of sand like this, a daily tonic in the form of the sea air and the sound of the waves, ideal.

What the beach means to Tracy.

The beach in Thurso.

Season: winter

The River Thurso, which runs down to the beach, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the beach is popular with fossil hunters. This is Caithness’ main town beach, so facilities, access and parking are all excellent. The beach itself is a mixture of sand and rocks. The offshore reefs make this a popular surfing location too. Thurso town museum is well worth a visit, from a historical point of view. Scrabster Harbour is a mile to the north, one way to get across to Orkney.

What the beach means to Aileen and Shane.

Low tide at Thurso beach.