Cul na Croise Bay, Ardnamurchan
About 40 miles west of Fort William in Scotland lies the tiny crofting community of Arivegaig, on the shores of Kentra Bay. The tarmacked single-track road ends at Arivegaig, but a good track continues westwards, firstly along the southern shore of the bay and then through pine woods, to the 'Singing Sands' at Gortenfern. The 'singing' refers to the unusual sound the sands make when you scuff them with your feet.
It's about an hour's walk from Arivegaig to the first beach, Camas an Lighe. That one is beautiful enough, but if you head north-eastwards for about twenty minutes, via two smaller beaches, you eventually arrive at what for me is the jewel in the crown, at Cul na Croise. It's a bit of a struggle from Camas an Lighe to Cul na Croise, especially at high tide, but the reward is a beautiful crescent of fine golden sand backed by enormous dunes. For me, this is about as close to paradise as beaches get - wild, remote and utterly beautiful.
According to Daniel Start's excellent book 'Wild Swimming - Hidden Beaches', it's also one of the best beaches in Britain for skinny-dipping, and I can't argue with that, as on all but a few of the dozen or more times I've been there I've had the entire beach to myself. Not this time though, as on this occasion I met a young Scottish mother with her 10-year-old son who were holidaying at Strontian. Seeing me in the water, swimming (with my trunks on, I hasten to add!), the little boy badgered his mum to let him go in as well. Once he realized how cold it was, he suddenly wasn't quite so keen, but with a bit of encouragement from his mum and me he eventually took the plunge, though I'm not sure that he enjoyed his swim as much as I enjoyed mine!
This photograph was published in the Scottish edition of The Mail on Sunday newspaper on 13th December 2015.
Cul na Croise Bay, Ardnamurchan
About 40 miles west of Fort William in Scotland lies the tiny crofting community of Arivegaig, on the shores of Kentra Bay. The tarmacked single-track road ends at Arivegaig, but a good track continues westwards, firstly along the southern shore of the bay and then through pine woods, to the 'Singing Sands' at Gortenfern. The 'singing' refers to the unusual sound the sands make when you scuff them with your feet.
It's about an hour's walk from Arivegaig to the first beach, Camas an Lighe. That one is beautiful enough, but if you head north-eastwards for about twenty minutes, via two smaller beaches, you eventually arrive at what for me is the jewel in the crown, at Cul na Croise. It's a bit of a struggle from Camas an Lighe to Cul na Croise, especially at high tide, but the reward is a beautiful crescent of fine golden sand backed by enormous dunes. For me, this is about as close to paradise as beaches get - wild, remote and utterly beautiful.
According to Daniel Start's excellent book 'Wild Swimming - Hidden Beaches', it's also one of the best beaches in Britain for skinny-dipping, and I can't argue with that, as on all but a few of the dozen or more times I've been there I've had the entire beach to myself. Not this time though, as on this occasion I met a young Scottish mother with her 10-year-old son who were holidaying at Strontian. Seeing me in the water, swimming (with my trunks on, I hasten to add!), the little boy badgered his mum to let him go in as well. Once he realized how cold it was, he suddenly wasn't quite so keen, but with a bit of encouragement from his mum and me he eventually took the plunge, though I'm not sure that he enjoyed his swim as much as I enjoyed mine!
This photograph was published in the Scottish edition of The Mail on Sunday newspaper on 13th December 2015.