Nearby Beaches to Explore

Wild shores. Quiet horizons. Timeless escape.

Sunset July Durness Balnakeil beach golden and dramatic across water and sand

One of the great gifts of staying with us at Eddrachilles is how many extraordinary beaches lie within easy reach – each with its own character, stories and ever-changing moods. Some are well-known, others are tucked away behind crofts and dunes. All are worth exploring.

Whether you’re seeking a gentle wander, a cold-water wild swim, a picnic spot, or simply a place to breathe in Highland coastal air and let life’s pressures recede, here are some of our well-being favourites:

Scourie Bay – 5 minutes drive

A gentle crescent of sand in the village a couple of miles  north of us. Ideal for a relaxed stroll, a bit of rockpooling, or simply watching the light change on the water.

Good for: gentle rambles, sunset colours, book-with-a-view moments.

Nearby food:

  • Crofter’s Kitchen – right by the beach. Winner of Best Street Food 2025 in the Scotsman’s Scran Awards. Seafood is their speciality, and an indoor seating space is planned for 2026. Seasonal opening.

  • Woodland Table at Scourie Lodge – a short walk from the bay, based in Scourie Lodge B&B, close to the harbour jetty. Cake and Coffee or bistro style, homely meals. Open all year round (check Facebook for latest information as like many family hospitality businesses it may close at short notice in the quieter months) .

Please respect: This beach is beside crofting land – please keep dogs under control, stay on paths and leave gates as you find them.

Oldshoremore – 40 minutes drive

Collage of three photos of summer at Oldshoremore top is full beach from path in, lower right is flowers blooming on the machsir and lower left is an incoming tide breaking on the rocks toward the west of the beach

A breath-taking sweep of pale sand framed by ancient Lewisian gneiss. Stunning in any weather, with turquoise water on calm days and drama when the winds roll in.
Good for: photography, picnics, wild swimming, big skies, wildflowers on the machair
Please respect: Parking fills early in summer. Dogs should be kept on leads during lambing.

Sandwood Bay - 50 minute drive to carpark

Note: plus 4.5 mile walk in (allow 1 hour 45 mins walk each way)

Remote, atmospheric and unforgettable. A 4.5 mile track leads to one of the most iconic beaches in Scotland, facing the sea stack Am Buachaille. The walk in is part of the experience – good footwear is essential.
Good for: a day of walking, photography, silence, something extraordinary, good basic fitness
Please respect: No facilities, no bins, no roads – leave absolutely no trace.

Walking through the dunes at Balnakeil beach

Balnakeil Beach By Durness –around 1 hour drive

A huge crescent of white sand at the very top of mainland Scotland. Dunes surround. Combine your visit with:

  • Balnakeil Craft Village – artisan studios, gallery, coffee and chocolate

  • Balnakeil  Golf Course – award winning, atmospheric views, welcoming

  • Walks on the dunes and Faraid Head – wild, beautiful and often quiet

  • Teenager tip: 10 mins away you’ll find the spectacular Golden Eagle Zip Line across the Ceann bean beach, as well as the huge Smoo Cave – always popular with older kids (and the young at heart).

Good for: photography, wide open space, walking, browsing craft and art studios, golf, a day out with teens.
Nearby food: Cocoa Mountain, craft village café, Smoo Cave Hotel bar meals, seasonal food truck.
Please respect: Dogs must be under control during lambing and ground-nesting bird season.

A quick note about Balnakeil & Cape Wrath
Parts of the headland beyond Balnakeil fall within an active Ministry of Defence training range. Access may occasionally be restricted during exercises (look for red flags or signs).

If you’re planning a longer walk toward Faraid Head or Cape Wrath, please check local notices and follow all safety guidance. It’s rarely an issue for beach visits — simply part of the living landscape up here, where wilderness, history and modern life overlap.

Achmelvich – 1 hr 10 mins

A brilliant white beach with clear aquatic blues, tucked into a maze of rocky headlands. One of the most striking beaches in the NW Highlands, and still amazingly peaceful early or late in the day.
Good for: sea swimming, coastal scrambles, families, sunset moments, elopements
Please respect: Camping or fires are not permitted on the machair or dunes. If the car park is full, please try a quieter beach nearby.

Other Quiet Favourites

Ask us about:

  • Clashnessie (with waterfall)

  • Polin (small, sheltered, often empty)

  • Drumbeg (tiny and a local favourite)

  • Achnahaird (wide, wild, extraordinary mountain backdrop)

Planning Your Beach Days

We’re always happy to share current advice on weather, tides (check the noticeboard or ask Richard), where to park and which beach best suits the day..

Little touches we offer to make things easier:

  • Free beach towels to borrow on request

  • Binoculars in each guest room to use during your stay

  • Free Out and About snack box and complimentary filled flasks

  • Packed lunches and full picnics (please pre-order, charges apply)

  • Warm water dog-wash (plus cold hose for the truly muddy!)

  • Doggie towels

  • Drying space for wet gear (human or dog related)

  • Suggestions for beaches that suit romantic couples, swimmers, walkers or teenagers. Reference books and maps available to borrow

Pssst… Travelling with teens?

There’s more to these beaches than sand and scenery.

From machsir with wild flowers looking down to Oldshoremore beach with man in foreground and a few people on the sand showing the scale of the beach

  • Oldshoremore beach was a Netflix filming location – ask us and we’ll tell you where to stand for the best “we were there” photo. Undertow, supposedly set on Skye was filmed iin NW Sutherland iin Spring 2024 and is due for release in 2026.

  • Golden Eagle Zip Line (Durness) – fly over Ceannabeinne beach at 40mph with the wind in your teeth and the Atlantic below your feet.

  • Smoo Cave – a caver’s dream: sea cavern + hidden waterfall + (weather permitting) a tiny boat trip deep inside.

  • Faraid Head dunes – huge, dramatic, perfect for long walks, photos, and a bit of “end-of-the-world” atmosphere.

  • John Lennon Garden - yes, that John Lennon of The Beatles used to spend his childhood holidays with his aunt in Durness. A team from BBC TV’s Beechgrove Garden brought this homage to life in 2002. Close to Durness Beach.

Please Help Protect These Places

Many local beaches are cared for by small crofting communities, so we ask guests to:

  • Leave gates as you find them and keep dogs close

  • Park with care and never block passing places

  • Avoid disposable BBQs or fires

  • Take all litter and food waste away

  • Stay on paths where possible to prevent erosion

  • If a beach is busy, choose another – there is never just one option here

Whether your day involves diving into blue water, watching the weather roll through, or simply walking barefoot on sand older than time itself, we hope you’ll return feeling revived.

And if you bring back a story or a photograph you love, we’d genuinely like to share.

Share your Photos

Whether your day involves diving into blue water, watching the weather roll through, or simply walking barefoot on sand older than time itself, we hope you’ll return feeling revived.

And if you bring back a story or a photograph you love, we’d genuinely like to share.

Eddrachilles Hotel & The Glebe Kitchen
Badcall Bay – where the land knows the sea, and the sea shapes the day.