Beaches on the West Coast of Scotland

The beaches on the west coast of Scotland are arguably some of the best in the world. Whether you prefer white sand, pebbles or a craggy coastline, the Scottish Highlands have something for you.

Camusdarach Beach

Gairlochy Lighthouse

Traigh Beach

Camusdarach Beach

With its white sand, perfectly blue sea and impressive sand dunes behind, Camusdarach is by far one of the best beaches on the west coast of Scotland. It has lovely views over to the Small Isles, Eigg, Muck and Rum, as well as views over to the Isle of Skye. It’s such a special place that we saw a couple getting married on the beach recently!

Top Tip: Best visited at low tide! Also, the car park only holds approximately 20 cars so it pays to get there early in the day.

Distance from Burnbank Lodges: 47 miles. Pair this with a trip to neighbouring Traigh Beach on the same day.

Gairlochy Lighthouse

Not all beaches have to be sandy and at Gairlochy lighthouse you will find a small pebble beach on the shores of Loch Lochy. It is a great place to just sit and take in the views of the loch and the mountains which surround it.

The beach here is very popular with open water swimmers.

Distance from Burnbank Lodges: 5 miles

Sanna Bay Beach

On the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the most westerly point of mainland Britain, you will find Sanna Bay, a beautiful white sandy beach. The journey to get here is spectacularly windy on a single track road, but it is well worth it as you will be rewarded with a view of the Small Isles. If you are very lucky it is possible to spot whales and dolphins too.

Distance from Burnbank Lodges: 80 miles. Pair this beach with a visit to The Singing Sands also on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula.

Traigh Beach

Traigh beach is an explorers paradise. It is the perfect beach for looking for shells and you may even find small pieces of coral. At low tide the beach becomes an amazing spot for rock pooling and beachcombing with hundreds of little pools uncovered.

What looks like a wonderful white, sandy beach is actually made up of 1000s of tiny crushed shells.

Distance from Burnbank Lodges: 44 miles. We recommend pairing it with a trip to Camusdarach Beach which is just a little further along the same coastline.

The Singing Sands

The Singing Sands is a lovely sandy beach. Due to the size and shape of the grains of sand, when the weather conditions are right it ‘sings’ as the wind blows over the surface or feet shuffle through it. The beach is accessed via a 4km walk from the village of Arivegaig.

Please stick to the designated paths as the surrounding area and beach were World War 2 commando training areas so there may be unexploded munitions.

Distance from Burnbank Lodges: 50 miles. You can visit Sanna Bay and Singing Sands on the same day taking in the sites on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula.