08 July 2023 , 07:00
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The UK is filled with beautiful beaches, but there's one hidden gem which isn't easy to reach, but well worth the hike.
Sandaig close to Glenelg in the Scottish Highlands is the kind of beach you'd never stumble across by accident.
For years the easiest way to get down to this hidden cove was either to park up on the side of a windy road and then scramble three miles down a slippery, densely packed stretch of woodland, or rent a holiday home from Lord Dulverton who could lend you a key to the dirt track.
Even if you're lucky enough to drive a little closer, a dicey scramble down the hill is still required, as is a quick shimmy over a very basic bridge in the form of two perpendicular ropes suspended over a shallow but rapidly flowing river.
If you manage to make it down and over, then you'll be treated to one of the most beautiful and secluded beaches I've ever been to.
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The headland viewed from the walk down through the woods (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Several crescent shaped sandy bays stretch away from the base of the woods out into the sea, forming a spit of land that grows and shrinks as the tide comes in and out.
Many a sunworshipper - idlily lounging on the far beach in a rare patch of Scottish sunshine before the clouds inevitably race back over head - have found themselves marooned by the very changeable tide.
When the water is low a small sea river splitting the headland completely recedes, leaving behind an array of beautiful shells and hag-stones. When it is high, a tall member of your party may be required to sacrifice their dry trousers and ferry people back to the mainland.
Another option is to wait it out on one of the mini-bays for the tide to fall again. Not only is the chance of being interrupted by a rare fellow-beach goer almost zero, sometimes live clams rest in the shallows there, creating streams of little bubbles as they open and close.
Sandaig is a perfect beach for those who love to spend time by the coast being active.
Not only is the water sparkling and very tempting for those who can handle the intense chill of a Scottish sea loch, winding paths lined by little bushes and tree run between craggy rock towers, creating the perfect arena for a game of Flags or 40:40.
If the weather does close in a little, then there's plenty of driftwood lying around that can be used to warm a chilled party huddled in one of Sandaig's natural rock alcoves.
Sandaig can look positively tropical when the sun is shining (Alamy Stock Photo)As difficult to get to as the beach can feel - located a two hour drive north from Fort William on the corner of Loch Hourn and Kyle Rhea - it is quite famous.
The peaceful spot was immortalised as Camusfearna in 'Ring of Bright Water', a book written by Gavin Maxwell about his life living alongside pet otters.
The book describes how, in 1956, he brought a smooth-coated otter back from Iraq and raised it in Sandaig. Its dreamy descriptions of the place and the charming animal would shoot Maxwell to a fame he struggled with for the rest of his life.
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After his death in 1969 the author's ashes were placed beneath a boulder at the former site of his house in Sandaig, which was burned down in a fire that claimed the life of one otter the year before.
Today a boulder marks the position of his writing desk - a place of pilgrimage for those who consider it the better of Britain's two great otter books, ahead of Henry Williamson's Tarka.