1. Red Point

And so it begins. Beach number one.

Actually, it wasn’t meant to be this way. I was looking for a new long-term walking project to get my teeth into, having spent ten years ‘collecting’ the 214 Wainwright fells in the Lake District. Mmm, Scotland I thought, that’d be nice. Maybe ten short trips over five years – some islands, lochs, mountains, castles, national parks – that sort of thing? So it started there. The first trip was, rather randomly, to Wester Ross. Somewhere remote with great walking. I wasn’t even thinking much about beaches at this point, although I added a few picturesque coastal walks to my weekend schedule.

From the moment I walked onto Red Point, everything changed.

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I fly from Manchester to Inverness, pick up a hire car and head west for Wester Ross. The drive is spectacularly scenic and I stop for a brief walk by Loch Maree. The remote landscape of Wester Ross becomes even more inviting and intriguing as I navigate the narrow deserted road towards Gairloch. Red Point sits at the end of a long single-track road off the main route into Gairloch, with enough parking for a handful of cars. The coastal drive is magnificent, requiring intense concentration to avoid being distracted by the jaw-dropping views (and the sheep). From the end of the road you can easily access one of the two Red Point beaches, but even more excitement can be found a mile or so south-east following a track past a farm. I zig-zag around a group of cows who stubbornly refuse to move off the path, past a quirky row of old enamel baths used as troughs and eventually thorough the dunes to a magical wide sandy beach with views across to Uig and Skye. I’ve never been anywhere like this. I spend a good hour or so wandering along the beach, enjoying the solitude, watched only by the inquisitive lambs among the dunes. It’s around now that I start thinking about Scottish beaches as a ‘thing’. Maybe a project. Are there more like this? How many? Where? From the beach, I walk around the headland to the smaller bay I’d spotted from the car park. It threatens rain, and a rainbow appears briefly, but it stays dry. I’m hooked.

Revisit: 21st September 2024

To mark the fifth anniversary of starting my project I decide to head back to Wester Ross to revisit some of the beaches that provided the original inspiration. With a weekend of clear blue sky forecast, I head back to Inverness, pick up a hire car and drive straight to Red Point, just as I did in 2019. The memories come flooding back. It’s a beautiful cloudless day and I take a nostalgic walk on this very special beach, this time beyond the ruined crofter’s hut at the far end, with views to die for. I am so pleased to be back.