261. Lunan Bay

Lunan Bay is the jewel of the Angus coast and one of the most spectacular beaches on the east coast of Scotland. Its reputation preceded my visit and it was the beach I have been most looking forward to visiting today. I’ve been following the work of the Lunan Bay Communities Partnership, which has been set up to promote, preserve and improve the bay and the surrounding area. One of the missions of the Partnership is to make the stunning beach accessible to all, and they’ve done a fantastic job of recently building an all-abilities viewing platform, which provides fabulous views over the bay. Phase two of the project is to replace the dilapidated boardwalk which leads from the large car park, through the dunes and onto the beach. It’s a beautiful Sunday morning, and as I walk the length of the three-mile bay, I reflect on the magnetic attraction of beaches like Lunan Bay as personal, family and community healing spaces. Young couples walk hand in hand along the shore, multi-generational families gather to catch up on each other’s news, divorced dads bond with their kids, toddlers drag their frustrated parents into rock pools, and local dog walkers unleash their eager hounds. A family with three sausage dogs are approached by a black lab. The bravest sausage, red ball in mouth, runs to confront the enemy (five times its size) until he’s called back by Mum (“Malcolm, no!”). A scene is avoided. A young lad with a bucket and spade races his brother through the dunes to be the first on the beach and falls flat on his face. Tears ensue. I see maybe 30 people in all. Each has their own story and each will have their own way of benefitting from this wonderfully natural, unfiltered, healthy and healing environment. And its free.