76. Torrisdale Beach

Mrs SBP and I had been looking forward to a weekend at Lundies House in Tongue for more than a year. To be fair, at the end of October we expected to be confined to the house by the renowned north coast weather, but as it turns out, my run of good luck is about to continue. I’m looking forward to a perfect weekend, kicking off on this Saturday morning with a long walk to remote Torrisdale Bay near to the popular north coast stopping point of Bettyhill. Access to Torrisdale is restricted by the presence of two rivers which run down either side of the bay, requiring a walk on either side from the road. We park up at a stopping point near the village of Torrisdale, just off the coast road. Normally, it would be a 800m walk to the beach, but on this occasion the tide is in, blocking the path and forcing us to climb over the hill past an iron-age broch and down the other side. The extra effort makes the sight of the stunning beach, accessed through rolling dunes, even more special. It is magical to scan the deserted bay and watch the waves crash on the powder-white sand, and I’m so glad that Mrs SBP is here to witness the splendour and isolation that I’ve been experiencing alone since beach 1 in 2019. We walk the full length, past the black volcanic rocks at the western edge of the beach and follow the river (now with the retreating tide allowing our route back) to the road. What a great start to the weekend, and perfect weather too.

REVISIT: 28th October 2023

Almost a year to the day after our first visit, Mrs SBP and I are back on Torrisdale Bay, this time without the wall-to-wall blue sky. We take the same ‘up and over’ route to visit the Iron Age broch on the edge of the hill overlooking the beach, before dropping down to approach the dunes from the Bettyhill side.  The weather today is patchy, with plenty of showers, but we manage a few spells of sunshine too as we walk the length of this wild beach.

REVISIT: 14th October 2024

As part of our annual visit to Tongue, Mrs SBP and I once again take the broch route to visit this fantastic beach for a third time. This time the white horses are rolling in and it was an exhilarating walk across the length of the beach. I’ve added some new images to the gallery below.