185. Murkle Beach

Having left Thurso after a short walk on the town beach I headed off along the A836 coast road to Dunnet Head, but first I stopped by the side of the road at Murkle to wander down to beautiful Murkle beach. This beach is surely easily missed by most coastal travellers, with no signage or car parking and only accessible directly via an indistinct farm track. For some reason, as I walked down this half-mile track I was attacked by midges for the one and only time on the trip. By the time I reached the beach they held off, but re-started their attack when I returned along the farm track. The beach itself is lovely, a wide bay, backed by rolling hills and low dunes.