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.

Pendower beach

Season: spring

A serene sea and warm sunshine greeted me at Pendower beach for this spring visit. The tide was half in, with lime green rocks still visible on the shoreline. A river runs down to join the sea here. This is an exquisite beach.

With Lesley, by the shore at Pendower beach.

Helen and Ben explain what the beach means to them.

Season: winter

As the rising tide claimed back Pendower beach, the river down to the beach was in spate, replete with recent storm water. Bright sunshine lit the back of the beach, casting long shadows from its low winter trajectory. Portscatho to the west and the Nare Head to the east were clearly visible and it was still just possible to walk along to Carne beach. This is a majestic, natural beach, spectacular and elemental.

An important reference point for Ali.

A bright winter morning on Pendower beach.

Season: summer

A dawn visit to Pendower beach two days before the summer solstice showcased the moody, atmospheric elements here. A lone dog walker accompanied me for this 5.15 a.m. sojourn. The sky tends to the apocalyptic at the mildest of times on Pendower. There was a wild, dark cloak of sky and sun over the beach at this time, yet the sea was placid and calm. It was a wonderful sight and a sensation that remained with me long after the visit.

What this beach means to Michaela.

A high summer dawn at Pendower beach.

Season: winter

A low tide, mixed with a breaking dawn, made this an atmospheric return to Pendower beach, its scale emphasised by the open sand that connects it to Carne beach on any low tide. Down by the water on a calm day, all eyes were drawn to the spectacular dawn colours around the Nare Head in the east. There was noticeably more erosion since my last visit, the storms having eaten away at the soft cliffs behind the beach.

The changes and variety that Debbie enjoys in the beach.

A fine vista at Pendower beach in the morning.

Season: summer

There’s an uncanny benevolence to this beach. Its varied topology is also interesting, with trees, dunes, a river, eroded rocks, sand and the ocean all in close proximity. Perhaps it’s this variety of sensory stimuli that evokes such a feeling of contentment.

Matt, Rosie and Sue explain what pulls them to the beach.

Pendower beach on half a tide in the spring sunshine.

Horgabost beach

Season: spring

You look straight out to Taransay from this exceptional beach and the sunsets here are a particular highlight, as the light hits the hills opposite. There’s a campsite with a shop within a stone’s throw of the beach. The environment is pristine, with clear green blue water and seals can be spotted from the beach. There’s another beautiful, isolated south-facing beach just across the headland. The interests of this beach and others are helped by the work of the West Harris Trust.

What this beach means to Roddy.

Season: summer

This is the most sheltered of the glamorous west-facing South Harris beaches. Moving forward from its historical cultural association to the previously inhabited Isle of Taransay, as the landfall for the outer islanders and the place to which their cattle swam ashore en route to market, the beach is now used as a safe landing point for pleasure boats. These now use a pontoon, which is made available during the summer months.

An American perspective on the beach.

A view from the dunes at Horgabost.

Talland Bay

Season: spring

This small, charming beach is always a pleasure to visit. On this occasion the tide had receded to highlight the arc of the bay. You approach the beach down a steep road, so there’s a sense of theatre about your arrival, as you turn a bend in the lane to see Talland Bay revealed.

Polly’s affinity for this beach over time.

Watching the tide recede at Talland Bay.