73. West Beach

I’m coming to the end of my three-day debut visit to the Outer Hebrides and I have been lucky enough to walk on many spectacular white beaches across the chain of islands. But having just completed a fabulous tour of the Udal peninsula, I am still conscious that the best is probably still to come. When planning my trip, I always knew this next beach was going to be special, and probably the highlight, but as I make my way over the causeway into Berneray, I am still nervous. I know that West Beach was voted No 3 in Lonely Planet’s Top 20 Beaches in Europe in 2021. I know that the Thai Tourist Board mistook a photo of West Beach for one of its own beaches in an advert. But I am still apprehensive in case it doesn’t live up to expectations. I’m also concerned about the encroaching heavy clouds. A single track leads from Borve, the main village on the island, to a small parking area behind the south end of the beach. Approaching the gap in the dunes, it’s time for a deep breath as I enter the beach for the first time. OMG. It’s hard to describe just how stunning West Beach really is. There are maybe a dozen people on the beach, which runs as far as the eye can see (about three miles) in more or less a straight line, with turquoise water to one side of the brilliant white sand, and high dunes on the other. It’s a classic Hebridean beach set-up, but there is something captivating about this place. And as the sun comes out to greet me, and the blue skies open up the vista, it is truly mesmerising – one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been. I walk along the sand for a good few miles, stopping frequently to, well, just stand in awe. And then I return barefoot along the water’s edge. I climb up onto the highest dune to take in the full extent of what really is the GOAT. It’s not hype. West Beach, Berneray is the one.