Updated: 14 August 2025
admin posted: 6 August 2025
Alan from Ceol Mor Highland Lodges is back again to share with us some of the best beaches in Scotland.
Some of the best beaches in Scotland are in the northern Highlands on the North Coast 500 (NC500) route. Some are easy to get to, some not. Some are endless stretches of golden sands, others are on the stony side. Some have amazing features of geology and others have an abundance of wildlife. Some are great for watching the sun set and some are great for watching the sun rise. They are on the East, North and West coasts and here we’re going to show you some of them.
For us, at Ceol Mor Highland Lodges, being situated bang in the middle of the NC500 route makes us a perfect place to base your adventures from. Just check where the weather is best and head that direction!
We’re going to start west at Achmelvich and work our way around clockwise.
Reportedly one of the world’s top 50 beaches and certainly one of the best beaches in Scotland, Achmelvich is a stunning crescent of white sand backed by low grassy dunes. This is a regular spot for us. The turquoise waters are beautiful in the sunshine and facilities include public toilets and fish ‘n’ chips during peak months at the campsite. It can be fairly busy on a sunny summer’s day. Visit in winter to get the beach to yourself. You’ll need to pay for parking at Achmelvich.
This is a bit of a secret beach but only a stone’s throw from Achmelvich. Just walk over the headland to the north and a bit of a clamber over some rocks brings you to this beautiful little cove. Another great spot to watch the sun set and it’s never as busy as Achmelvich. Park in the same car park as Achmelvich beach.
Clachtoll beach is not far from Achmelvich on the B869 and is much quieter than Achmelvich. There’s also a campsite here, a lovely roadside café and public toilets. More white sand and turquoise waters with a little ruggedness. At low tide look for starfish and little crabs in the pools. If you’re interested in history, visit the broch along the coast too. You can park at Stoer cemetery just north of Clachtoll.
Drive a few minutes along the Drumbeg Loop road and you’ll come to Clashnessie beach. A lovely little beach with slightly pink sand. We love the view from just up the road (south of the beach) where you can take in the whole landscape.
Clashnessie Falls are just south of the beach are . A new path built in 2024 takes you right up to the base of the falls. No facilities here.
A little further up the ‘road’ is Oldshoremore beach. Quieter and bigger than the previous three, you can easily find a nice quiet spot to yourself. Backed by beautiful dunes that can protect you from an easterly wind this beach is definitely one of our favourites. The sea is shallow for a way out at low tide and the sand is fab for sandcastles. This is another beach with public toilets which is always helpful. There’s a decent size car park too.
Polin beach is a little gem. Can you see the mermaids? Surrounded by green hills and dunes this is a little known beach that you could well have to yourself.
We’ve enjoyed watching the sun set from here one late summer evening. Watch the tide though as it comes a long way up the beach! The carpark is quite small.
Sandwood bay is a stunner! Situated about 5 miles south of Cape Wrath in the north of Scotland, this beach takes a bit of effort to get to. A 5-mile hike from the car park takes you to this stunning mile-long stretch of golden sand. The path is mostly easy and stretches across the wilderness until you get to a small hill with an incredible view of the beach and surrounding landscape. This is our favourite beach in Scotland because the reward after the walk is top class. There is a sea stack at the southern end, a freshwater loch and dunes behind the beach and cliffs at the northern end. Take plenty of water as there are no facilities here. You’ll see why we featured this beach in our blog post about things to do in Sutherland.
Balnakeil beach is a huge beach right up in the north west corner. The tide goes out to reveal huge stretches of wet sand creating amazing mirror images. With Durness nearby there is a lot for you to see in this corner of the northern Highlands. We went here in the winter and the dramatic skies made for the most amazing vistas.
Sango Sands beach is a little cove with some fab rock formations. There’s also a really cool look out spot that juts out on a bit of headland between two sandy stretches. Situated right by Durness, there are decent facilities including fuel, EV charger (fast), a Co-op, toilets and a few places to eat. We like Cheese N Toasted in the beach car park. If you have time to explore, we recommend Balnakeil craft village and also Smoo Cave which is a favourite spot on the NC500.
Ceannabeinne beach is a pretty little beach flanked by cliffs just along from Durness. The cliffs and dunes behind the beach can provide excellent protection from any wind and this is a really great place to have a picnic. Flying over one corner of the beach is the Golden Eagle zipline – the most northerly zipline in the UK. A speedy ride can be had 100 feet over the beach which is amazing.
Torrisdale beach is one of the big beaches and stretches for a mile. The photos here just show the eastern end of the beach. There is a fab hike that covers the beach plus an ancient broch that has amazing views over the eastern end of the beach. This is a decent hike and could easily take a couple of hours or so. Where the river Naver enters the sea is a great spot for wildlife, especially birds. During the summer, you can buy cakes from the nearby Crumbs Cake Cupboard honesty stall.
Armadale beach is probably about the halfway point along the north coast of Scotland. A relatively small beach that goes big on beauty. Limited parking but right on the side of the A836 is a layby for a few cars. A very good track heads to a beautiful picnic spot overlooking the beach beside a burn that heads out to sea. This burn cuts the beach in half so you’ll need to get your feet wet to explore the whole beach. We just took our boots off and rolled up our trousers to wade through the shallow water and then wandered along the sand to find a sheltered spot for a picnic. No facilities here other than picnic benches and tables.
We really love Strathy Beach – definitely one of our top 3. The river Strathy runs through the beach on the far western end and there are cliffs on the eastern end. Visit the beach when the tide is going out and is at least half out. This is because the cliffs hide some amazing caves and rock formations at high tide. Landscape photographers will love this end of the beach as you can capture great window of scenery by looking out of the caves and invariably the skies add some great drama to your photos. There’s plenty of parking and also toilets.
Melvich beach is another north coast gem. Yet more golden sands! The dunes are particularly great here and the river Halladale goes down the eastern end of the beach. This is a lovely beach to take in the views and enjoy a picnic and little explore. We have seen plenty of birds here – even in the winter! There are some toilets back at the A836 and a little café – although we found the coffee expensive.
Dunnet beach is over 2 miles long! A great expanse of golden sand with surf rolling in and beautiful dunes providing a perfect back drop. While this is near the busy town of Thurso where there are plenty of amenities, this beach is so big, it’s easy to find a space for yourself. While you’re in the area check out Dunnet Head (the most northerly tip of the UK mainland), the Duncansby Stacks and John O’Groats. There are public toilets at the beach.
Brora beach has 2 parts to it…First of all, the main beach runs right next to the golf club. There’s a pretty walk opposite the harbour at the mouth of the river that then heads north on wonderful golden sand. Another option is to take the southern end of the beach and make it a hike. If you can partner up with some others, leave one car in Brora and the other in Golspie and do a beautiful walk along the beach from Brora to Goslpie where you undoubtably see lots of wildlife, come across a beautiful waterfall at the top of the beach (Sputie Burn), get to explore a broch near Dunrobin and then see the stunning castle for yourself before arriving in Golspie.
The things we like about Golspie beach is that it is a short walk across the beach with plenty of benches to sit on with local fish n chips. Also, it is just a short walk along to the back of Dunrobin Castle that looks majestically out across the North Sea. In the winter, you may even see the Northern Lights behind the beach which can be a magical sight.
Littleferry beach is in a really beautiful area. There is a lot to do around here and the wildlife is incredible. Visit nearby Loch Fleet Nature Reserve too. The beach itself right by the river has an abundance of wildlife including seals and birds. You might find various raptors in the skies and we have even found Crossbills in the forest nearby. This is a beach for nature lovers! A bonus here is that the beach offers great views to Dunrobin Castle. Make sure you have your binoculars here!
Dornoch beach covers miles of golden sands. There’s great sand for sand castles, a café near the beach, specially adapted wheelchairs are available during regular hours and there is an abundance of wildlife. You can really do a long walk or just a little stroll here – whatever you fancy. This beach is also great for watching the winter sun rise. Being only 25 minutes from us at Ceol Mor Highland Lodges, you don’t need to get up early in the winter to go and watch this spectacle.
We’re now at the penultimate beach that we’re covering in this blog. Balintore is one of 3 villages on the Tain peninsula known as the Seaboard Villages. There’s loads of wildlife in this area – we have seen dolphins out at sea as well as owls and buzzards back over land. There’s a few walks around here and lots of ancient history covered by the Highland Pictish Trail. One of the things we love here is The Mermaid of the North perched on a rock on the beach at Balintore.
Most people park near the lighthouse when visiting Chanonry Point to see the dolphins. But we suggest parking in the village of Rosemarkie where you can have a bite to eat (we enjoyed Crofters Café) before a stroll along the bay to Chanonry Point. Chanonry Point is one of the best places in the entire world to see dolphins from the shore. When you stay with us, we’ll help you get the times right as they are super dependent on the tide times.
We hope you have enjoyed this blog post about the best beaches in Scotland. There are many beaches that we have been to such as Embo, Firemore, Gruinard, Inverkirkaig for example that we have not written about and all have something to offer. I’m sure there’s a few we haven’t visited yet but we’ll get to them one day!
Scotland really does have some incredible beaches and there’s lots on this list that I’ve yet to visit.
Thanks once again to Alan and Yvonne who own Ceol Mor Highland Lodges which are in a great location if you want to visit some of the most stunning beaches in Scotland.
If you enjoyed this post, check out Alan’s ideas for things to do in Sutherland, unique things to do in the Scottish Highlands and the best waterfalls in Scotland.
So, do you agree with Alan’s recommendations for the best beaches in the Scottish Highlands? Tell us in the comments which are your favourite beaches.
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