Sandwood Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

Rob Davies from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

Remote Sandwood Bay has some of the beast coastal scenery in the British Isles. It's a huge beach with tall cliffs at either end, a few granite outcrops and big shallow lake behind that gets warm for a swim on long summer days. The rock climbing in these parts is an excellent alternative to surfing if there is no swell. Pristine water and white sands make for very similar scenery to the Outer Hebrides.

It's a long walk across the moor, and the sandflies can be hellish, so it pays to check the surf where you park at Oldshoremore before setting out. This is your last chance to pick up supplies.

If there is small (say knee to waist high) and clean surf here, Sandwood Bay will be pumping but if Oldshoremore looks like it is already your kind of size, stay here and surf it instead because Sandwood will be much too big and you'll waste a lot of time and effort getting there.

I've only been to Sandwood 3 times but each time I camped over for 2 or 3 days. For most of the time it was small and it turns out that even the most exposed beach on the Scottish mainland can get flat in summer.

When the swell did arrive, I found the best shoulders were to be had right down at the southern end where the beach becomes rocky. A very consistent left here on a boulder bottom. The rest of the beach seemed to be mostly closing out but with a steep sand profile, rock outcrops and a rivermouth, I could imagine that this little snapshot might not be representative.

Camping out in the open, or even on the beach, can seem like a good idea if you arrive in fine weather but bear in mind that such conditions don't generally last long. If the weather comes in, you'd be much better off camping amongst the big rock outcrops that you will see to your left as you first approach the beach. Some overhangs here can provide a lot of shelter from SW wind and rain.

2010-03-10