Findhorn beach has been ranked top in Scotland by a travel writer who has spent eight weeks touring the UK to whittle down the best of the best.
The Times and Sunday Times publish what they call the only gazetteer of the coast. In this, the 15th edition, Findhorn takes the title for best beach in the country, following an inspection by journalist Chris Haslam.
The writer travelled more than 4000 miles visiting beaches around the coast, ranking them for positives such as cleanliness, car parking, accessibility, facilities, hygiene and toilets.
This year was the first time the gazetteer was driven by suggestions from the public.
Chris quotes one of the nominations from Findhorn local Robbie Davidson, who said: “This wild pointy bit of Moray has loads going for it. The seven miles of sand between Findhorn and Burghead provide great walks, plus the chance of spotting dolphins, porpoises and seals, osprey and, if you’re lucky, a sea eagle.”
Chris visited the beach, citing it as dog-friendly, with toilets, a cafe (Captain’s Table), ice cream parlour (Captain’s Parlour), and accessible with ‘excellent’ water quality.
He compared the beach to the seaside resort of Vila Nova de Milfontes in Portugal. He said: “Here,] the Mira River forms an estuarine lake with sheltered beaches on one side of the point, while the other faces the full force of the Atlantic. Under blue skies and warm June sunshine, Findhorn looked uncannily similar.
However, he does point out that the ‘sun-kissed southern European vibe vanishes the moment that you cross the dunes, where the fetch comes straight from the Arctic’ – that’s the dose of reality often missing from Insta brigade.
Cold wind or not, we love our local beach, and it’s nice to see it getting the recognition it deserves.