Durness Beaches

Durness is blessed with some of the most beautiful beaches! Durness has two coastlines, north and west which provide a stunning coastal landscape of towering cliffs and golden beaches backed by rugged mountains and barren moorland. The sort of beaches that you expect to see in Holiday Brochure for Spain or Portugal! All of the beaches are very clean and safe for swimming. Beware of the soft sand at Ceann na Beinne at low tide though.

The Beaches are named:

  • Ceann na Beinne – this is the first beach that you come to when entering Durness area from Eriboll, it is on the bend and there is a parking area.
  • Sango Beag – beag means “small” this beach is the second beach that you come to from the Eriboll end.
  • Sango Mor – The beach just down from the Sango Sands Hotel and the Tourist Information Centre – mor means big.
  • Balnakeil Beach – Balnakeil Beach is the largest of the beaches in the Durness area. A Viking Warriors grave has been discovered and excavated on this beach. The other end of Durness from Eriboll, follow the signs for the Balnakeil Craft Village and carry on past it. You cannot miss the beach.

Balnakeil and Sangomore are the most accessible beaches. Sangobeg and Ceannabeinne which are further to the east, are a little more difficult to get to, but are well worth the effort. All the beaches are very clean and safe for swimming.

Durness Beaches

The peninsula that stretches out to sea beyond Balnakeil Beach and provides pleasant walks and stunning scenery is Faraid Head. It is a good observation point for watching puffins and other seabirds as well as sea creatures such as porpoises, seals, dolphins and whales.The Countryside Ranger provides guided walks to this area.

Durness Beaches

On rare occasions at spring tides the water at Sango is very low and it is possible to walk around the 3 inlets of Sango bay on the beach. The beach is sandy with large rock features well defined. The horizon is broken by Whitten Head and the point of Lerin Beg between is the mouth of Loch Eriboll. The Sango beach is popular with visitors being easily accessed and central to the village.

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