Big Sand Beach

  • Big Sand Beach - Highland
    © Alan Reid and licensed for reuse under this Licence
  • Big Sand Beach - Highland
    © Ian Webster and licensed for reuse under this Licence
  • Big Sand Beach - Highland
    © Nigel Brown and licensed for reuse under this Licence
  • Big Sand Beach - Highland
    © Nigel Brown and licensed for reuse under this Licence
  • Big Sand Beach - Highland
    © Nigel Brown and licensed for reuse under this Licence
  • This sheltered sand and shingle beach is protected from the prevailing winds by Longa Island. Beyond this are the mountains of Skye and Torridon to which there are spectacular views.

    The beach is accessed via an extensive network of sand dunes. These offer some additional shelter from the Hebrides wind.

    Big Sands is actually a privately owned beach. While there are no facilities on the beach itself, anyone staying at the Sands Caravan and Camping site (right on the beach) will have access to toilets, showers, a small shop and cafe.

    Type of beach

    Sandy

    Lifeguard service

    No

    Dogs friendly beach?

    Dogs allowed

    No dog restrictions.

    Highland dog friendly beaches »

    Facilities

    • Toilets
    • Shower
    • Shop

    Nearest town

    Gairloch

    Postcode

    IV21 2DL

    OS grid ref.

    NG 7581 7823

    Parking

    Visitors can park for a small fee payable at the campsite reception.

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    Big Sand Beach Reviews

    1970 Caravan Tour

    Lou Townson
    Aug 07th 2020

    First stopping point from Kinloss Moray
    In those days not as developed as now. Caravan Site I believe was free!!
    Saw a WildCat
    Big Sand Beach was beautiful our children and Old English Sheepdog
    really enjoyed the stay back cloth scenery was staggering.
    One of the most favourite shots in our old 8mm cine films
    Carried on down West Coast to Dumfries then The English Lakes
    To Morecambe then back to Kinloss via Edinburgh and Perth.
    I wonder did they shoot the beach scenes for Billy Conolly film
    “What we did on our Holiday”

    Lives up to its name!

    Bobs
    Jun 29th 2023

    Beautiful big mostly sandy beach with stunning scenery. We parked next to the cafe, had a drink and wandered down to the beach from there. We were ok to do this as we were using the dog friendly cafe I checked! Our dogs loved the space.

    Vast beach but parking expensive

    Apr 20th 2022

    To visit this beach by car you need to park at the caravan site, there are signs on the road but we missed these first drive past and did a few u turns. We went to pay at the reception and it was £4 which is fine for a full day at the beach but given the wind we didn’t plan to stay that long. You still need to walk through the site and dunes with stuff. It’s a great beach for a full day on the beach but g do or a brief walk the one south of Gairloch is better to access

    Stunning views

    Craig simnett
    Mar 18th 2022

    Beautiful empty beach with spectacular scenery whether the sun is shining or not.