My Favourite Beaches to Visit in Scotland

Family trips to the seaside are pretty commonplace. Here’s a list of my favourite beaches to visit in Scotland.

Hi guys,

A familiar McKinney family trip usually involves a trip to the seaside for a wander up and down the beach. This is one of Mum’s favourite past times, and something we all enjoy as a family, as the drives up and down are all done together in the one car where we can spend time together. It matters not to us hardy Scottish nutters whether it’s the warmest day of the year or freezing your arse off (which is every other day in Scotland), although of course a trip to the seaside is always more enjoyable when the sun’s out.

There are some favourites, of course, because who doesn’t have favourites, and then that list is narrowed down even further in my personal favourites.

I enjoy spending time by the sea. There’s always something so relaxing and invigorating about walks by the sea. I also enjoy paddling in the shallows, but I don’t really like swimming in the sea. The salt just burns my throat too much. Also, being the blind idiot that I am, I have to remove my contact lenses to swim, and obviously I can’t wear my glasses, so when I’m swimming I can’t see a damn thing, and there’s something very disconcerting about swimming in such a vast, open expanse and not being able to see a damn thing.

Anyway…

Note: All the photos of West Sands and the beaches of North Berwick are all courtesy of my fabulously talented Mother!

West Sands Beach, St Andrews

West Sands Beach St Andrews Scotland

West Sands Beach St Andrews Scotland

West Sands Beach St Andrews Scotland

West Sands Beach in St Andrews is a fabulous beach on the east coast of Scotland, and Mum and I take frequent trips there every year for a friend’s birthday, and spend the day enjoying the sun, sand and surf (okay, maybe we don’t get to enjoy the sun that often). One of my fondest memories of the beach is watching two girls galloping up the beach on horseback. It was an absolutely fantastic sight, and I’d love to do that one day with Missie.

Berwick Upon Tweed

Yellowcraigs Beach Sunset North Berwick Scotland

Milsey Bay North Berwick Scotland

Yellowcraigs Beach North Berwick Scotland

Now this is the standard McKinney family seaside day out – a trip to North Berwick for a wander up and down the beach and seafront. I love going to North Berwick, especially when the sun’s out, and it will always remind me of family. We’ve been here so often together, I’ve just grown up visiting Yellowcraigs and the other beaches,and I hope we never stop visiting.

Belhaven Bay, Dunbar

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We visited Belhaven Bay as a pit stop one day when we took a family trip to Berwick Upon Tweed, and I instantly fell in love with its beauty. It is an absolutely stunning beach, and is part of the John Muir Way. There’s a metal walkway across a lagoon where you can walk to a second part of the beach, but this is only possible when the tide is out, which it wasn’t when we visited, but I still tried, and got my feet wet. Doh!

Newton Beach, Millport

 

Millport is a McKinney family staple. We visit at least once a year, when Mum visits a friend who lives on the island and the rest of us hire bikes and cycle the island. It’s a pretty small island so it doesn’t take too long, and there’s a lovely cafe on the far side which provides a lovely pit stop for tired cyclists. I’m actually quite surprised I can’t find any family photos of us at Millport, but I’ll keep hunting and update the post when I do.

My Favourite Scottish Beaches

Where do you guys like to go when you trip to the seaside? Where else should I visit? Let me know.

Post inspired by: Beach