Category Archives: Highlands & Islands

Glenelg

Season: summer

The stunning setting for the hamlet of Glenelg includes a wide variety of attractions, despite its isolated location. The hamlet is usually approached via a single track road which joins the main A87 at the foot of Glen Shiel and the head of Loch Duich. Alternatively, you can cross Kyle Rhea from Skye via the Glenelg ferry to the north of Glenelg, a historical reference to the original main route “over the sea to Skye”. Celebrated journeyman Samuel Johnson and his faithful friend James Boswell popularised the village, but the area is steeped in history for other reasons. Two examples are the tradition of the Highland cattle swimming ashore for market from Skye, guided by a rowing boat and the ruined yet imposing Bernera Barracks, one of the four main English forts established following the Jacobite uprising. Other historical attractions are the well preserved Glenelg Brochs, located by Gleann Beag, a short distance south of Glenelg. This is a wonderful place to visit, steeped in history and natural beauty. Highly recommended.

What the beach means to David.

The scene at Glenelg beach, looking across to Skye.

A view of the beach at Glenelg.

Tiree

Season: autumn

Tiree is credited with the highest levels of sunshine in the UK. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has the appearance of a raised beach. Access is straightforward, by air or by ferry and the welcome is warm. Spectacular beaches abound, all within walking distance of the airport and there are varied choices of accommoodation to suit any pocket. Tiree is a haven for maritime and migratory wildlife, including cormorants, various gulls, barnacle geese, Golden Plover and Godwits, to name but a few. Early summer is an excellent time to visit, when the machair behind the beaches explodes with colour, as the wildflowers bloom. Exquisite and highly recommended.

Spring visit photo gallery – to follow.

Spring season interview – to follow.

Spring season scene setting film – to follow.

Clachtoll beach

Season: summer

There’s a discreet, family-friendly campsite and holiday cottage nestled behind the dunes at Clachtoll beach, enabling longer stays than a day visit. On this occasion, my arrival coincided with the Scottish schools’ summer holidays and a piper played in the dunes at the end of the day. It was a moving experience, which you can hear on both films below. The beach is unspoilt and spectacular, with fine, powdery sand and a turquoise sea, which you can enjoy from the rock pools where I did my interview.

Summer visit photo gallery

What the beach means to Guy.

A Highland beach in summer.

Season: summer

Clachtoll beach is located north west of Lochinver like Achmelvich, but further out on the Assynt peninsula towards Point of Stoer. This is a white sand and shell beach in a rocky and rugged setting, with a feature called the Split Rock. Although it feels unspoilt and natural, there is a convenient static caravan park nearby. The whole Assynt peninsula is a tonic for any traveller, giving a wonderful sense of space and detachment away from the hurly burly of modern life.

Summer visit photo gallery

Jim’s times on this beach.

A view from the dunes at Clachtoll.

Beside the sea.

Huisinis beach

Season: summer

The spectacular approach to Huisinis beach whets the appetite for the pleasure to come. You drive along a scenic, twisting fourteen miles long lane. Spectacular Amhuinnsuidhe Castle guards the approach, with canons pointing seaward. The beach itself is no disappointment, featuring white sand and backed by cropped grass. If you stroll over the back of the hill, more visual splendours await, which on this occasion included a view to St Kilda on the horizon.

Summer visit photo gallery

What the beach means to Dave.

A view towards Huisins beach from the headland approach.

The scene behind the beach at Huisinis.

A German perspective on the beach from Isa.

Season: spring

If you want stunning beauty in an isolated setting, this could be the place for you. Huisinis beach sits at the end of a long single track road in the southwest of North Harris. It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty, with excellent sea trout and salmon fishing. On the way to the beach, you pass Amhuinnsuidhe Castle and there are just a few houses by the beach itself. Across the isthmus is the island of Scarp, the site of an experimental rocket postal service.

Spring visit photo gallery

What the beach means to Katrina, Stuart (and Findlay).

A view from beside the beach at Huisinis.

A view from above both beaches at Huisinis.

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.

Spring visit photo gallery

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.

Summer season photo gallery

An American perspective on the beach.

A view from the dunes at Horgabost.

Clashnessie beach

Season: summer

Clashnessie Falls were in spate after recent heavy rainfall, but conditions were benign for this early morning return visit to the Assynt peninsula. Also known as Red Beach, there is indeed an ochre tinge to the sands, particularly on the main strand, more so than around the corner at low tide. If you drive past the beach and look back, the turquoise sea and the ancient setting here are spectacular. It’s well worth walking along to enjoy the falls, located above the burn which leads over the beach to the sea.

Summer visit photo gallery

With Alan and Fiona above Clashnessie beach on Assynt.

The scene at Clashnessie.

Season: summer

Clashnessie is one of three stunning beaches from the series on the Assynt peninsula. It is located beside Clashnessie Bay on the sheltered northern side of the peninsula. As a bathing proposition, it is safe for all the family and has clean sand. A nearby attraction is Clasnessie Falls, just over a mile upstream, accessed via a footpath from the bay, alongside the burn. There is a fifteen metres fall for the water at this point. Highly recommended.

Summer visit photo gallery

Behind the Red Beach at Clashnessie.

Another view of the beach.

Achmelvich beach

Season: summer

An elemental tranquility pervades Achmelvich beach. You notice it on your approach over the machair from the car park. As you reach the beach via the dunes, you are surrounded by evidence of its volcanic origins, including granite outcrops that appear to have cooled only yesterday. The sand is white and as fine as powder, on this occasion plentiful at low tide. The Scottish school holidays had brought children and kayakers to this part of the coast, so excited young voices mingled with the sounds of nature, a real pleasure.

Summer visit photo gallery

The generational appeal of the beach.

A beach in the Highlands.

Season: summer

Like the two other Assynt beaches in the series, Achmelvich is stunningly beautiful, with facilities including a beach side campsite. The quality of the bathing water here has been judged as first class, allowing this beach to display the prestigious yellow flag. The surface of the beach is made up of white sand and there are acres of space at low tide.

Summer visit photo gallery

What brings Tony to the beach.

A view from the back of the beach…

…and from closer to the sea.

Mellon Udrigle beach

Season: summer

I know from personal experience that Mellon Udrigle has remained unspoilt for over fifty years, but I imagine that it has looked this way for a lot longer. There’s a primeval feel here, with a granite backdrop and islands visible out to sea. A river runs to the sea, so it’s a fine beach for families with young children. The flat surface makes this a popular launch site for kayaking too. In short, there’s something for every lover of the natural world here at Mellon Udrigle.

Summer visit photo gallery

A personal perspective from Chris.

What the beach means to Ray.

Behind Mellon Udrigle’s beautiful beach.

Season: summer

Mild weather greeted me for this summer trip to Mellon Udrigle. The powdery white sand in front of the dunes carried the footprints of both children on holiday and water sports enthusiasts were kayaking in the bay. There’s a timeless backdrop here, with odd houses scattered behind the machair, resonating with the indigenous crofting tradition in these parts. Children slid down the dunes at the back of the beach, as they must have done for generations. A special place indeed.

Summer visit photo gallery

Neil, Kathleen, Calum and Duncan at the beach.

On the beach at Mellon Udrigle.

Season: summer

The beach at Mellon Udrigle is isolated, unspoilt and placed in an inspirational setting. It faces north west, in the lea of the prevailing winds and has steep dunes behind a white strand of beach. There are spectacular views via Gruinard Island and the Summer Isles across to the hills of Assynt and Sutherland. This is a special place, unchanged through time and highly recommended.

Summer visit photo gallery

A sense of well-being afforded by the beach.

A view from behind the beach on a stormy day.

By a river that runs to the sea across the beach at Mellon Udrigle.

Uisken beach

Season: summer

Uisken beach is located on the south coast of Mull towards the western end of the island and next to the hamlet of Ardchiavaig. The beach is stunning and has outstanding views across to Colonsay and the Paps of Jura. As a haven for wildlife, you can see hen harriers and merlins here, as well as oystercatchers and eider ducks. The white sand is fine and the location peaceful and isolated.

Summer visit photo gallery

A family through time by the beach.

The beautiful beach at Uisken.

Plockton beach

Season: summer

The village of Plockton is one of the tourist magnets in the Highlands, both attractive and a sheltered haven for passing yachts. Known as “The Jewel of the Highlands”, the village has an up-market feel during the summer season. Fishing and crofting has long since been displaced by Plockton’s popularity as a yachting anchorage and a highlight of the season is the two week sailing regatta. Other popular water sports include kayaking and rowing. The beach here is known as Coral Beach and can be found a mile or so outside the village, an oasis of tranquility in the summer. It’s well worth the walk to find such a peaceful strand, with its surface made of dried, calcified seaweed, known as maerl. The nature here is pristine and the beach has a soothing atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Summer visit photo gallery

The wonders on view at low tide for Sharon and Bella.

Above the beach at Plockton with Lisa.

A summer idyll at Plockton.