Scotland is famous for many things – lochs and glens, moody castles, whisky, and its proud and enigmatic people, to name just a few – but beaches probably aren’t the first thing that leaps to mind. That’s a major oversight. The deeply indented Scottish coastline shelters some of the UK’s most picturesque strips of sand, many visited by more seals than people.
Nothing clears a whisky hangover quite like a walk along a wind-whipped shoreline, and the northwest coast and the Scottish Islands are blessed with a profusion of wild beaches. The Western Isles in particular are renowned for their fine stretches of blinding-white sand and turquoise waters.
There are also a few decent city beaches too, set not far from major cities such as Aberdeen and Edinburgh and serving up the full seaside experience, complete with gift shops full of buckets and spades and fish and chip stands. From family-friendly seaside resorts to wild empty coves where you can feel the wind in your hair, here’s our pick of the best Scottish beaches.
Sanday, Orkney
Best beach for making sandcastles
Famed for ancient standing stones, prehistoric villages and spectacular coastal scenery, the scattered islands of Orkney tell of lives shared with a rugged climate and the blessings and rough moods of the sea. This is a destination where adventure seekers scuba dive amidst the melancholy wrecks of warships and walkers share coastal paths with the salty clamor of seabird colonies, but the islands are also dotted with sandy, grass-backed coves.
Sanday is widely accepted to have Orkney’s best beaches – dusted with the kind of dazzling white sand more commonly associated with the Caribbean. Start the search for beach perfection at Whitemill Bay in the north of Sanday – it’s peaceful, grass-edged and utterly serene.
Sandwood Bay, Kinlochbervie
Best beach for wild walks
South of Cape Wrath, Sandwood Bay boasts one of Scotland’s best and most isolated beaches, guarded at one end by the spectacular rock pinnacle known as Am Buachaille (“The Shepherd”). A 9-mile round-trip hike from Blairmore car park, northwest of Kinlochbervie, follows a former peat track across bleak moorland puddled with lochans (small pools) before arriving, almost unexpectedly, at this coastal jewel. Few people walk all the way to the beach’s northern end, so if you’ve packed a picnic, that’s the spot to head for total privacy.
Aberdeen Beach
Best city beach
Aberdeen has a spectacular 2-mile sweep of clean, golden sand stretching between the mouths of the Rivers Dee and Don. On a warm summer’s day, this is an excellent beach for watery thrill-seeking – when the waves are right, dedicated local surfers ride the breaks at the south end of the sand. For less active beachgoers, the beachfront Esplanade boasts several traditional seaside attractions, including Codona’s, an old-fashioned amusement park, complete with stomach-flipping waltzers, dodgems, a roller coaster, a log flume and a haunted house.
Bosta Beach, Great Bernera
Best beach for bracing coastal walks
The tiny, rocky island of Great Bernera is connected to Lewis by a bridge built by the local council in 1953, as an alternative to a plan by independent-minded islanders to blow up a small hill with explosives and use the material to build their own causeway. There are fine coastal walks to be had here – on a sunny day, make the long detour to Great Bernera’s northern tip for a picnic at the perfect little sandy beach of Bosta. A signposted 5-mile coastal track to this patch of paradise begins from Breacleit, the island’s only village.
Dunnet Bay, Dunnet Head
Best beach for uplifting views
Eight miles east of Thurso, a minor road leads to dramatic Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the British mainland. Here, majestic cliffs drop into the turbulent Pentland Firth, revealing inspiring views of Orkney to the north. Basking seals and nesting seabirds can be viewed below, and there’s a lighthouse built by Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandad. Just south, the excellent curving strand of Dunnet Bay is one of Scotland’s finest beaches, backed by high dunes and a campsite – it’s a reason to visit this stretch of coast all by itself.
Edinburgh’s city beaches
Best beaches for day-trippers
There are several appealing beaches in Edinburgh‘s suburbs. For a charmingly unhurried experience, traipse down to the sand in the picturesque village suburb of Cramond. Originally a mill village, Cramond has a historic 17th-century church and a 15th-century tower house, as well as some less impressive Roman remains, but most people come to enjoy walks along the river to ruined mills and stroll along the seafront. To the east is Portobello Beach, a popular Victorian seaside town, home to a kayaking and sailing club, as well as a popular sandy beach.
Kiloran Bay, Colonsay, South Argyll
Best beach for escaping the tourist trail
There are several pretty sandy beaches on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides, but Kiloran Bay in the northwest, a scimitar-shaped strand of dark golden sand, is outstanding. Facing west, it’s also the ideal vantage point for stunning sunsets. As well as natural attractions, there’s a gin distillery and a brewery to visit on the island, which is accessible by ferry from Oban on the mainland.
West Sands Beach, St Andrews
Best beach for movie buffs
St Andrews, the official home of the game of golf, is a lovely place to visit even if you’ve no interest in hitting little white balls. There are a couple of beautiful sandy beaches nearby, but the best is the magnificent West Sands beach, made famous by the film Chariots of Fire (1981), as the setting for an epic running race accompanied by the rousing music of Vangelis.
Luskentyre, Harris, Outer Hebrides
Best beach for fans of perfect sand
The blinding white sands and turquoise waters of Luskentyre and Traigh Scarista on the west coast of the island of Harris would be major holiday resorts if they were transported to somewhere with a warmer climate. As it is, they’re usually deserted, and all the better for it.
Luskentyre is one of the biggest and most beautiful beaches in Scotland, famed for its acres of white sands and cat-eye green waters at low tide. A minor road leads along the northern side of the bay to a parking area beside an ancient graveyard; from here you can walk west along the beach or through the grassy dunes, with gorgeous views across the sea to the island of Taransay.
Traigh Mor, Barra, Outer Hebrides
Best beach for plane-spotters
With its beautiful beaches, wildflower-clad dunes, rugged low hills and strong sense of community, diminutive Barra – just 14 miles in circumference – is the Outer Hebrides in microcosm. The vast expanse of golden sand at Traigh Mor (“Big Strand”) is not only a lovely stretch of beach, it also serves as Barra’s airport.
A mile across at low tide, this is the only beach airport in the world that receives scheduled flights, with three runways arranged in a triangle, allowing planes to land in any wind conditions. Watching tiny Twin Otter planes come and go is a popular spectator sport on the island, and in between flights, locals gather on the sand to harvest cockles, a local seafood specialty.
Arisaig and Morar, West Highlands
Best beach for seafront camping
The short stretch of coast between the tiny villages of Arisaig and Morar is full of rocky islets, inlets and gorgeous silver-sand beaches backed by dunes and machair (coastal grassland), with stunning sunset views across the sea to the silhouetted peaks of Eigg and Rum.
The Silver Sands of Morar, as they are known, draw crowds in July and August, when the many campsites scattered along the coast are filled to overflowing. Fans of the movie Local Hero still make pilgrimages to Camusdarach Beach, just south of Morar, which starred in the film as Ben’s beach.
Coldingham Bay, Borders
Best beach for clifftop walks to quiet coves
The picturesque coastline north of Berwick-Upon-Tweed is fantastic for those who love the great outdoors. Some of the UK’s best diving spots are here, as well as excellent cycling, walking, angling and birdwatching. In Coldingham, about 12 miles north of Berwick, a signposted turn-off leads down to secluded Coldingham Bay, which has a fine sandy beach and a clifftop walking trail to Eyemouth (3 miles). At St Vedas Surf Shop you can hire surfboards, sea kayaks and snorkeling gear; there’s also a cozy hotel here that serves cheap food.
The Coral Beaches, Dunvegan, Skye
Best beach for escaping the Skye crowds
Dunvegan, an unremarkable village on the western side of Skye, is famous for its historic namesake castle with historical links to both Sir Walter Scott and Bonnie Prince Charlie. From the end of the minor road beyond Dunvegan Castle, an easy mile-long walk leads to the Coral Beaches – a pair of blindingly white beaches composed of the bleached exoskeletons of coralline algae known as maerl. Both are fine places to hole up on a sunny day.
Scousburgh Sands, Shetland
Best beach for bird-watchers
The gloriously white sandy beach of Scousburgh Sands, on Shetland’s South Mainland, is backed by dunes and rolling countryside and it’s widely considered to be Shetland‘s finest strand. Near it, Spiggie Loch is an important bird reserve and also draws flyfishing folk. Best of all, you’ll rarely have to share this lovely spot with a crowd. To get here, head north from the airport at Sumburgh and turn left just past Boddam.
Calgary Beach, Mull
Best beach for calm contemplation
Mull’s best (and busiest) silver-sand beach, with views out to Coll and Tiree, is about 12 miles west of Tobermory, near the northwest tip of the island. This is the place from which Canada’s more famous Calgary takes its name, and it’s a neat curve of bone-white sand shelving into brilliant blue waters, bookended by grassy, craggy headlands.
Belhaven Bay, Dunbar
Best beach for photographers
Belhaven (“beautiful harbor”) is about right for this glorious sweep of sand, which arcs beside the open sea for nearly 2 miles on the fringes of John Muir Country Park west of Dunbar. Known for its surfing, it’s backed by the park’s romantic tableau of sand dunes, salt marsh and woodlands (where you’ll also find facilities such as a play park and barbecues for sunny day lunches). Crossing a stream at its eastern end is the “Bridge to Nowhere”, photogenically marooned at high tide.
Elie and Earlsferry, East Neuk
Best beaches for coasteering
These two attractive villages mark the southwestern end of the East Neuk, the most northerly part of the Firth of Forth. There are great sandy beaches, two golf courses and good walks along the coast – start with the Chain Walk, an adventurous scramble along the rocky shoreline at Kincraig Point, west of Earlsferry, using chains and steel rungs cemented into the rock (allow two hours, and ask local advice about tides before setting off). For a gentler day out, there’s nothing better than a lazy summer Sunday on the wide beach in the village of Elie, watching the local team play cricket on the sand.
Beaches of North Berwick
Best beaches for the whole Scottish experience
Gazing north across the Firth of Forth, North Berwick is an attractive Victorian seaside resort with long sandy beaches and a small harbor. Five miles west of town, the golden crescent of Gullane Bents has epic views over the Firth and its shaggy fringe of dunes and sea buckthorn bushes also shelter a wealth of wildlife, including seabirds and roe deer.
East of North Berwick, Seacliff Beach is a pristine sweep of sand with views of bird-thronged Bass Rock and majestic Tantallon Castle. The latter is visible at low tide from the western end of the beach, where there’s also a tiny rock-hewn harbor. Fringed by dunes, meadows and woodland, the broad sandy cove of Yellowcraig looks out to the island of Fidra and its Victorian lighthouse (one of several islands said to be the inspiration for RL Stevenson’s Treasure Island). Follow the short path to Yellow Craig, an ancient volcanic vent, for the best sea views.