manonabeach® is proud to have financial support from the following businesses in Sutherland, Caithness and the Orkney Mainland, North and South Ronaldsay, Hoy, Westray and Sanday Island, listed by supported beach page. Please use the send your answers menu or email info@manonabeach.com to find out more. Click on each Supporter’s banner, below here, to learn about their business. Also, see what the beach means to them, above their banner.
Benefits to new and renewing Supporters now include the following:
- access to beach lovers in largely urban areas (24% London) who are looking forward to their return to your area and to enjoying your services and online products, with hundreds of thousands of hits to the site and being seen in 159 countries.
- access to over 2,500 films from the archive, including over 1,300 narrative interviews, to use in your social media for customer retention and in your blog, like this example. Why not use the manonabeach® question to engage with your customers?
- a complimentary manonabeach® Interview Highlights DVD, to use in your business at your discretion, either in-house or for your customers.
Oldshoremore, Balnakeil and Ceannabeinne:
“What does the beach mean to you..?”
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 summers 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 feelother than privileged to have found Oldshoremore. Their far north haven! Their secret!
Balnakeil is a timeless place, reassuringly expansive, wild and stunning. One of the longest and most peaceful bays in Scotland, with almost a mile of pure white sand.
Always the same splendour, but always changing according to the tide and the weather. The power of nature at its magnificent best. A brooding, atmospheric, yet beautiful place, under the spell of ancient Balnakeil House.
Crashing waves, wonderful sands and beautiful dunes.
Ceannabeinne beach holds many treasured memories for me. In 1963 we stayed locally with a crofter and visited the bay every day, walking down from the derelict cottage situated high above the beach. We swam, picnicked, and played on the perfect sand. Every year we returned and each time that we walked back to the car, my father looked lovingly at the old cottage, dreaming of perhaps one day owning it and renovating it. His dream came true when I bought the cottage in 1987!Ceannabeinne beach is undoubtedly one of the finest beaches in Britain. Historic, proud and magnificent, a testament to the power of nature, and with no land between her shores and the North Pole!A treasure for all to admire and enjoy, locals and tourists alike.
…Richard, at Norsehaven Cottages, below:
Brora and Dornoch:
“What does the beach mean to you..?”
You can see Helen’s and her friend Jane’s answers on the Brora beach page.
…Helen, at Estuary View, below:
Scourie:
Embo:
“What does the beach mean to you..?”
For me, Embo beach is the perfect antidote to all the trappings of modern life: tranquil and stress free. I love to walk north, away from the village, with the sea breeze in my face. No mobile phone, no chores or interruptions and very often absolutely no people! Although the beach is right next to the village, it’s not uncommon to walk a few hundred yards and be in complete isolation with only the sound of the waves and the seabirds for company. I never tire of the walk: a short way up the beach, there is an inlet where the water runs off the land into the sea – this inlet and the surrounding dunes are never quite the same each time you walk the beach – the shifting of the sands with the tide and the weather means the beach is always changing. I’m not a great naturalist, but from the beach I have seen dolphins, seals and even an otter playing in the deep current at the entrance to Loch Fleet. And of course, there is a constant company of a whole host of marine birds from oyster catchers to various gulls. The backdrop of the hills to the north, just complete the picture. It is a great escape. Great physical exercise whether you walk or run and so good for the mind: it is therapy – a mind healer for a busy head. I absolutely love it.
…Tereasa, at The Hideaway, below:
