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 turned out, my run of good luck was to continue. It was a perfect weekend, kicking off on the 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 parked 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 was 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 made the sight of the stunning beach, accessed through rolling dunes, even more special. It was magical to scan the deserted bay and watch the waves crash on the powder-white sand. We walked the full length, past the black volcanic rocks at the western edge of the beach and followed 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 were back on Torrisdale Bay, this time without the wall-to-wall blue sky. We took 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 was patchy, with plenty of showers, but we managed a few spells of sunshine too as we walked the length of this wild beach.
REVISIT: 14th October 2024
As part of our annual visit to Tongue, Mrs SBP and I once again took the broch route to visit this fantastic beach for a third time. This time the waves were rolling in like white horses and it was an exhilarating walk across the length of the beach. I’ve added some new images to the gallery below.
