1. Red Point

Red Point is where my journey started – my first Scottish beach.  I flew from Manchester to Inverness, picked up a hire car and set off for Wester Ross.  The drive itself was scenic enough (I stopped for a brief walk by Loch Maree) but the increasingly remote landscape of Wester Ross became more and more inviting as I navigated the almost deserted roads towards Gairloch. Red Point sits at the end of a spectacular minor road off the main route into Gairloch, with enough parking for a handful of cars. From the end of the road you can easily access one of the smaller Red Point beaches, but the real excitement comes by walking a mile or so past a farm, towards some dunes and onto the magical sandy beach with views across to Uig and Skye. I spent a good hour or so wandering around this beach, enjoying the solitude and anticipating the awe and wonder that lies ahead as I embark on this project. I knew I had made a good choice to start my journey here. From the beach, my walk followed the headland round to the same bay seen from the car park, about three miles in total.  Spectacular, and fortunately rain free despite the rainbow!  From here, I was hooked.

Revisit: 21st September 2024

To mark the fifth anniversary of starting my project I decided to head back to Wester Ross to revisit some of the beaches that provided the original inspiration. When I first visited this area, a project like this was the furthest thing from my mind, but I was so taken by the beach walks here I knew I wanted more … and the rest is history.  So with a weekend of clear blue sky forecast I headed to Inverness, picked up a hire car and drove straight to Red Point. It was a nostalgic walk on this very special beach and I was so pleased to be back (on both beaches).