📌 Dunvegan, Isle of Skye
★★★
It’s only a few hundred metres long, but this bay north of Claigan is one of only a handful of sandy beaches on the Isle of Skye – and the easiest to get to. This “coral beach”, which almost completely disappears at low tide, is actually composed mostly of crushed snail shells and fossilised, dried seaweed – so is neither coral nor conventional sand. With the tidal island of Lampay out in the bay, and a curious basalt-topped hillock as a backdrop, it makes a fine spot to sunbathe the day away. High season visitors beware: this is one of several Skye locations which has fallen victim to overtourism, and getting a spot in the inadequate car park during summer can be a bit like playing a game of real-life, vehicle-size Tetris. On the plus side, the lack of parking currently prevents the beach from becoming unbearably overcrowded – see our photos, which were taken at the height of the summer holidays.
🌍 Location
📌 Access from minor road 4 mi north of Dunvegan, Skye
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NG 223551
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.494666,-6.633943
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park (gets full) at 🧭 NG 232537 / 🛰️ 57.488844,-6.621309
💬 From the car park it’s a 30-min walk (each way) to the beach along a clear, scenic track (⬤ Easy). Informal, steep paths climb onto Cnoc Mòr a’ Ghrobain behind the beach for good views.
