COMMISSIONED REPORT
Commissioned Report No. 109
The beaches of Scotland
For further information on this report please contact:
Alistair Rennie
Scottish Natural Heritage
INVERNESS
Telephone: 01463 706450
E-mail: [email protected]
This report should be quoted as:
Ritchie, W. and Mather, A.S. (1984). The beaches of Scotland. Commissioned by the
Countryside Commission for Scotland 1984. Reprinted 2005 by Scottish Natural Heritage as
Commissioned Report No. 109.
This report, or any part of it, should not be reproduced without the permission of Scottish Natural Heritage.
This permission will not be withheld unreasonably. The views expressed by the author(s) of this report should
not be taken as the views and policies of Scottish Natural Heritage. Please note that all statistics, lists of
Sites of Special Scientific Interest, etc are given in the appendix in the project report and some of them may
have changed.
© Scottish Natural Heritage. First published CCS 1984.
COMMISSIONED REPORT
Summary
The beaches of Scotland
Commissioned Report No. 109
Contractor: W. Ritchie and A.S. Mather
Reprint: 2005 (originally published 1984)
Background
Beginning in 1969 and ending in 1981, all the sand beaches of Scotland, along with their associated
dunes, links and machair areas (thereafter referred to as a beach unit or beach complex), were surveyed for
the Countryside Commission for Scotland. Eighteen regional reports were published, and their boundaries,
along with dates of completion, are shown in the accompanying outline map.
Each survey consisted of a physical inventory of the location, dimensions, morphology, materials, vegetation
and land use of the beach complex areas. Additional information was recorded on ownership and access.
Particular attention was paid to those aspects of the environment that related to recreation and amenity.
Wherever possible, some account was given of trends in physical stability as could be deduced during the
brief period of fieldwork. The effects of the current types and levels of use were also assessed. The minimum
size of beach unit was set arbitrarily at a coastal length of 100m. For some of the vast beach and dune
areas such as occur in parts of Scotland, subdivision into more manageable units was necessary. In total,
647 units were surveyed. With the completion of the surveys of the 466 beach units in the Highlands and
Islands, a comprehensive report (The Beaches of the Highlands and Islands) was published in 1977. From
1978–1981, the remaining beaches of Lowland Scotland were surveyed.
This report on the beach complexes of both the Highlands and Islands and Lowland beach units is divided
into two main sections which correspond to the remit of the sponsoring body, the Countryside Commission
for Scotland. These are the distribution and physical characteristics of the beach and associated blown sand
surfaces, as well as the background factors that have created the resource, and the utilisation of these areas,
with special emphasis on the discussion of environmental impacts, accessibility and value for recreation and
conservation. The purpose of the report is not to make detailed recommendations: rather it is a quantified
description of many aspects of one of Scotland’s most widespread and varied natural resources.
For further information on this project contact:
Alistair Rennie, Scottish Natural Heritage, Inverness. Tel: 01463 706450
For further information on the SNH Research & Technical Support Programme contact:
The Advisory Services Co-ordination Group, Scottish Natural Heritage, 2 Anderson Place, Edinburgh EH6 5NP.
Tel: 0131–446 2400 or [email protected]
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Area covered by Beach repor ts
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Acknowledgements
The fieldwork that preceded this report was made possible by the financial support of the Countryside
Commission for Scotland who also provided valuable guidelines for the direction and content of both the
regional survey work and the compilation of this report. Nevertheless, the authors alone are responsible for
the factual content and views contained in this publication.
The authors would like to record their gratitude to Professor R.E.H. Mellor and the late Professor K. Walton,
and for the general support of the Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen. Dr. J.S. Smith,
Mr. R.S. Crofts, Mr. N. Rose and Mr. R. Wright were co-authors of several of the regional reports, and their
assistance is gratefully acknowledged.
The facilities of the Computing Centre of the University of Aberdeen are also acknowledged, as is the
assistance of many members of the technical and secretarial staff of the Department of Geography.
Special thanks are due to Mrs. J. Calder and Miss A. Croucher for typing difficult manuscripts.
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Contents
Summar y
Acknowledgements
Summar y Map
1
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
1
2
THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
2.1
The development of beaches, dunes and related surfaces
2.2
The dimensions of beach and dune systems
2.3
Machair and links relief patterns
2.4
Bare sand areas – erosional and depositional
2.5
Beach materials
2.6
Vegetation and habitats
9
9
15
23
27
35
41
3
CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
3.1
Accessibility
3.2
Ownership and tenure
3.3
Scenic quality
3.4
Nature conservation
3.5
Land use
3.6
Recreation
50
50
52
55
57
59
63
REFERENCES
69
Appendix 1 – Calculation of wind roses
Appendix 2 – Beach names – Key for figure 1.1
70
73
List of figures
Figure 1.1 Distribution of beaches
Figure 1.2 Boundaries of local authorities
Figure 2.1 Model of beach/dune system
Figure 2.2 Beach system flow diagram
Figure 2.3 Wind roses for selected meteorological stations
Figure 2.4 Mean Spring tidal ranges in metres
Figure 2.5 Sketch block diagram near pipeline landfalls
Figure 2.6 Histogram of median sand diameters
Figure 2.7 Histogram of sand calcium carbonate content
Figure 2.8 Typical vegetation profile
2–5
6
9
10
12
14
26
37
37
47
List of plates
Plate 1
Aberdeen
Plate 2
Traigh Cille Ionnaig, Coll
Plate 3
Balmedie, near Aberdeen
Plate 4
View from Ben Hough, Tiree
48
48
49
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1
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
Sandy beaches are distributed unevenly around the shores of Scotland. They are completely absent from
long stretches of coastline, while elsewhere most of the coastline is composed of beaches and dunes. The
distribution of beach units, as defined in this study, is illustrated in Figure 1.11. Perhaps the main feature of
Figure 1.1 is the large number of beaches on the islands off the west and north coasts. Over half of the
beach units are on islands, which account for under 40% of the coastline. Another striking feature is the
contrast in distribution between the east and west coasts of the mainland; the majority of beach units are on
the east and southwest coasts and there are relatively few units on the north and northwest coasts. The inner
firths and estuaries are poorly endowed, while the outer firths and parts of the northeast shoulder of Scotland
are characterised by large numbers of beaches.
Table 1.1 indicates the overall size (in terms of length) of the beach resource and shows clear disparities
between the major administrative areas whose boundaries are shown on Figure 1.2. In total, beach length
extends to around 760km. This figure compares with a total length of coastline of just under 12,000km if
measured to the tidal limit, or around 9,500km if measured to the points where estuaries narrow to 1km.
Beaches therefore comprise just under 8% of the coastal length, excluding the inner estuaries.
1
Appendix 2 lists the names of beaches shown in Figure 1.1
Table 1.1
Distribution of the beach resource
Region or islands area
Coastal length
Beach length1 km
(a)2
(b)3
Beach length as
percentage of coastal
length of each
region or island area
(a)
km
(b)
%
Borders
2.8
33
33
8.5
8.5
Central
0.0
30
98
0.0
0.0
35.4
390
447
9.1
7.9
Dumfries and Galloway
Fife
43.2
165
201
26.2
21.5
Grampian
107.4
309
369
34.8
29.1
Highland
111.8
2378
3290
4.7
3.4
37.3
121
121
30.8
30.8
Lothian
Strathclyde
181.4
2453
2578
7.4
7.0
Tayside
23.6
102
130
23.1
18.2
Orkney
59.8
836
890
7.2
6.7
Shetland
Western Isles
1
2
3
14.6
1150
1513
1.3
1.0
145.2
1428
2039
10.2
7.1
762.5
9395
11709
8.1
6.5
Sum of beach units as defined in this study.
Excluding estuaries less than 1km wide.
To tidal limit.
In terms of relative length of sand beach, three distinct groups of regions and islands areas may be
recognised. The first of these is the east coast group of Grampian, Tayside, Fife and Lothian, where the
beach length is over 20% of coastal length. This percentage is nearly three times the Scottish average.
1
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Figure 1.1.1
Distribution of beaches
2
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Figure 1.1.2
Distribution of beaches
3
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Figure 1.1.3
Distribution of beaches
4
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Figure 1.1.4
Distribution of beaches
5
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Figure 1.2 Boundaries of local authorities
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On the other hand, Central and Highland Regions and Shetland have less than 4% of their coastlines in the
form of sand beaches (less than half of the national average). The remaining group – Strathclyde, Dumfries
and Galloway, Borders, Orkney and Western Isles – approximate to the national average, with percentages
of between 6 and 9.
Within each region, an uneven pattern of distribution occurs. In the Western Isles from Harris
southwards, the beaches and machairs of the west coast contrast strongly with the rocky east coast. In Fife
and Lothian, most of the beaches are concentrated in the districts of North east Fife and East Lothian. In
Strathclyde, Kyle and Carrick District contains 18% of the region’s beach length, but only 3% of the region’s
coastline. Another example of the irregularity of distribution is the contrast between the inner parts of firths
such as the Firth of Clyde, Forth, Solway and Tay and their outer stretches. Beaches are almost completely
absent in the inner sections, but are numerous in the outer. Uneven distribution also extends to the local
scale. On islands such as Mull or Islay, for example, clusters of beaches on some parts of the coastline
contrast with rocky shores on other parts. In Grampian Region, sand beaches extend continuously for over
20km between Peterhead and Fraserburgh and also between Aberdeen and a point north of Ythan Estuary,
while the coastline between these segments and to the west and south is composed almost exclusively of
bold cliffs.
Distribution depends on a number of factors, of which one of the most important is the availability of a suitable
supply of sediment. Glacial deposits on the seabed have probably been a major source of supply in many
areas, but it is also noticeable that beaches are scarce (and usually poorly developed) where certain rock types
occur. For example, there are few sand beaches on the basalt areas of Skye and Mull. Another factor which
influences beach distribution is exposure. On some parts of the coastline, such as the inner firths and sea lochs,
wave energy may be inadequate to transport sand for beach development, while on the most exposed coasts,
such as part of the west mainland of Orkney, the energy level is so high that most of the beaches are composed
of boulders and cobbles. Local topography is also important. On some parts of the coastline, such as east
Caithness and Kincardineshire, the coastal slope is so steep that there are almost no sites where sand may
accumulate, even if other conditions were favourable for beach development.
The distribution of beach types is almost as varied as the distribution of beach units. This topic is discussed
more fully in Section 2.2, but as a broad generalisation two main types may be recognised. In much of the
lowland area, the typical beach is long and straight, with a prominent dune ridge and an area of links which
may rest on a raised beach whose inner margin is defined by an abandoned sea cliff. This type of extensive
beach unit is also found in the Eastern Highlands (especially in Sutherland) and, without the raised beach
and abandoned cliffline, in Orkney, the Western Isles, and Coll and Tiree. Whereas the typical lowland
beach occupies an open coast, the upland type is more usually found in a bayhead. Typical examples occur
in northwest Sutherland and Wester Ross, in parts of Argyll and to some extent in Galloway and the eastern
part of Lothian and Borders Regions. These upland beaches are typically enclosed between bold rocky
headlands, and in many instances their associated areas of blown sand are small and more strongly
influenced by the sub-sand topography than their lowland counterparts, which frequently contain extensive
areas of links or machair.
Uneven distribution therefore characterises almost all aspects of the beach resource; beach locations, beach
lengths, beach types, and forms and extents of blown-sand deposits are distributed very irregularly around
the country. Some parts of the coastline are composed almost solely of sand, while other parts are almost
devoid of beaches.
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2
THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
2.1
The development of beaches, dunes and related sur faces
Beaches, dunes, links and machair1 may be regarded as a unified system whereby sand is transferred by
wave action from nearshore sediment banks to the beach. Under certain conditions the wind carries sand
landwards and, if conditions are suitable, dunes may form and, in time, become stabilised by vegetation
(Figure 2.1). Sand may also spread further inland to form links or machair surfaces. For any form of coastal
management it is necessary to appreciate the main factors that influence the development of dunes, machairs
and links from the sand supply that is provided by suitable beach accumulations.
Figure 2.1 Model of beach/dune system
Many factors may alter the rate at which the system operates. Sand supply, wave energy and tidal levels
are crucial to the physiographic development of the beach; wind energy and other climatic factors
(especially in their control of the development of vegetation) largely determine how and where dunes and
related landforms are formed. Like most natural systems, the linkages between different elements may be
direct or indirect (Figure 2.2).
These natural coastal processes can be easily disrupted, particularly by external factors such as land-use
changes or removal of sand from the system. Since the beach is normally part of a wider coastal environment,
changes occurring beyond the boundaries of the beach system can produce considerable modifications to
beach and dune systems, especially if the supply of sand to the nearshore sediment bank or beach is altered.
In the ideal model, sometime after their initial formation, dunes should reach and remain in a state of
balance, in that sand added to the beach zone just replaces the quantities that are lost by the wind carrying
sand beyond the links and onto the surrounding landforms. This balance cannot be achieved quickly as it
takes considerable time, perhaps centuries, for sand to pass through all the stages of nearshore sand banks,
beaches, dunes, links and, finally, marginal surfaces. During this long period, short term fluctuations inevitably
1
Machair is a term used in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to describe the short grass pasture to the landwards of the
coastal dune ridges. In other parts of Scotland the term links is more common. In general, machair and links can be regarded
as more or less synonymous. (For a fuller discussion, see Ritchie, 1976.)
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
occur, especially in the crucial zone at the junction of the upper beach or nourishment zone and the face of
the frontal dune or coastal edge. This sensitive zone is normally the best indicator of contemporary dune
forming processes. If there is abundant sand on the upper beach, the frontal dune is usually vegetated; the
dunes show signs of recent growth in height and are possibly advancing seawards. Dune vegetation is
vigorous and may contain pioneer species. Erosion forms are rare and slope angles tend to be low. In contrast,
if sand supply is deficient or there is a change in the nature of wind or wave attack, the coastal edge becomes
a steep dune-cliff. The coastal edge is usually bare of vegetation and erosion forms are evident. There is
normally a sharp break of slope between the unvegetated upper beach and the frontal dune slope.
Figure 2.2 Beach system flow diagram
With small short term natural fluctuations in, for example, wave energy or tidal water levels, the upper beachcoastal edge may alternate between retreat and advance. To illustrate this point, the effect of storm waves
attacking the face of the dune may be considered. Wave backwash pulls sand from the dune onto the
beach. This sand is added to the beach and reduces its gradient, thereby increasing its resistance to wave
attack and reducing the frequency of direct wave erosion of the dune face. In contrast, if these changes are
not short-term and fluctuating, but relate to longer, more persistent or permanent changes in sand supply, in
wave energy or in water levels, then the dunes respond by either retreating by a series of erosional events,
or, in contrast, if sand supply continues to be available (or wave conditions are more constructive or sea
levels are lower) by advancing seawards; a process described as progradation. Normally, such progradation is characterised by a series of parallel dune ridges advancing seawards.
Vegetation is the best single index of stability and contemporary processes. The density, vigour and relative
dominance of the tall dune grasses – Marram, Sea Lyme and Sea Couch Grass – are excellent indicators of
sand deposition and redeposition and, to some extent, soil and drainage conditions. In the extreme case, the
absence of vegetation inevitably means that the surface is unstable and liable to rapid morphological change.
Although pioneer species on the upper beach – eg Sea Rocket – usually indicate backshore accretion and an
absence of short term erosional processes, such occurrences should be confirmed over the wider beach zone
as it is not uncommon to find areas of local accretion in a beach that is suffering net retreat. Further inland,
the general appearance and species composition of the links and machair areas reveal something of seasonal
changes, especially winter flooding and, to the experienced eye, some idea of stability and soil conditions.
In addition to vegetation the study of slope angles, combined with a careful evaluation of the various types
of break of slope can provide valuable information about the relative activity of beach and dune processes.
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Mature, stable dune and links surfaces tend to be level or low angle features. Steep slopes are signs of
youthful development and, if coupled with areas of bare sand, indicate recent or continuing movement of
sand by the wind. The most important slope is the front of the foredune where undercutting by the sea, and
wind erosion on the one hand are easily contrasted with stability, progradation and growth on the other.
There are other diagnostic landforms further inland such as ridges with distinctive escarpment features which
normally indicate the edge of some kind of deflation surface. Low vegetated sand hillocks or hummocks may
usually be interpreted as recent depositional forms. Flat areas at or near the water table are almost invariably
old deflation plains where wind erosion has been halted naturally by the dampness of the sand. Some of the
best examples of such surfaces are found in the Outer Hebridean machair plains. Corridor and V-shaped
depressions in dune ridges indicate concentrated wind erosion to which the general term blowouts is applied.
Blowout forms vary in height, depth and penetration, but reach their optimum development in the main coastal
dune ridge. Large scale erosion forms are widespread but spectacular examples are found at Machrihanish
(Kintyre), Eoligarry (Barra), Dunnet Bay (Caithness) and Rattray Head (Buchan). Blowouts may be active or
completely stabilised. In the lee or landward side of most blowouts are hillocks, ridges and secondary dune
forms formed by deposition of the eroded sand. Again, these may be active or fossil features. Blowouts often
give a good indication of the direction and possible severity of wind erosion. The amount of blowout activity
along with other geomorphological evidence is a good indicator of the general stability of the area. Closer
study of such erosion forms can also reveal the possible causes, natural or induced, of such instability.
Many of these natural features are modified by the direct and indirect activities of man. Drainage, sand
removal and overgrazing tend to be the main disruptive factors but, in places of heavy recreational use, there
is often direct impact by trampling and the movement of vehicles. In contrast areas of afforestation have been
major stabilising influence on some dune systems eg Culbin (Moray), part of Morrich More (Easter Ross). Other
areas of stability are the semi-natural dune and links areas that are carefully managed golf courses or coastal
parks and amenity areas for nearby urban areas. A special form of modification is the construction of beach
defences such as sea walls, piers, groynes and other forms of beach stabilisation measures. Coastal defences,
dating from the early 1940s, especially anti-tank blocks (ie concrete cubes one or two metres high and up to
one metre in width) are still present on parts of the lowland coastlines of the east of Scotland – eg Burghead
Bay (Moray), Tentsmuir (Fife), Largo Bay (Fife). The effects of these and other beach/dune constructions are
discussed in Chapter 2.7, but it is worthwhile to note here that as well as their visual impact they can also
affect such processes as wave and wind action and thereby modify part of the beach-dune-links system.
Beach and dune evolution is ultimately controlled by weather conditions. Wind strength and direction not only
control the general drift of sand from beach to dune, but also from dune to links and machair surface. Winds
also shape the size and orientation of dune and other forms of sand deposition. Figure 2.3 shows wind roses
for a selection of coastal meteorological stations, and indicates the dominant and subsidiary directions of wind
attack. This information must be used with caution since local effects might create wind vectors that are quite
different from those provided by the nearest meteorological station. In many beach areas, particularly in the
Highlands of Scotland, mountains and plateaux may run close to the coast and offer considerable shelter from
specific directions. On a smaller scale, dune systems have their own local climates whereby frontal dunes
modify the wind flow that impinges on more landward features, and blowouts and other erosional hollows
often have wind speeds considerably above that produced by regional and local winds.
Wind is also responsible for determining the angle and amount of wave energy crossing the nearshore zone
and beach, and occasionally attacking the coastal edge directly. Again, there are complex regional and local
factors to consider. A few coastlines, such as the west side of the Outer Hebrides, Shetland, the Orkneys and
a few sectors of mainland coastline, receive both long period, high energy swell which has developed across
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Figure 2.3 Wind roses for selected meteorological stations
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the open Atlantic and locally generated wind waves. Other coasts, eg within the inner firths or sheltered by
islands or peninsulas receive short-period waves of low height and energy. The North Sea coastlines tend to
occupy an intermediate position with regard to incoming marine energy. At the local level, however, these
broad patterns are modified greatly by offshore gradients, bathymetry and the size and texture of sea bed
materials, to an extent where only the most generalised statements have any degree of validity.
Tides, which only rarely affect beaches directly as forces producing sediment movements, nevertheless by
their rise and fall alter the vertical distribution of wave energy between extreme low and high water.
Exceptionally, as along the North Sea littoral, storm surges can produce catastrophic effects on beaches and
dunes, even to the extent of producing the direct overwash of dune barriers. Recent examples of overwash
have been noted on the Nairn Bar at Culbin (Moray) and at St. Cyrus (Kincardine). The general pattern of
tidal ranges around Scotland is shown in Figure 2.4. These tidal ranges are also important in that they
determine the length of time for which specific beach widths are exposed for drying and therefore become
potential source areas for aeolian transport further onshore.
Insolation, temperature and precipitation patterns obviously exert some control on the growth of vegetation
which, in turn, affects dune building processes. The incidence of precipitation is also of direct importance
to the movement of sand from the upper beach to the dunes, and in blowouts and other bare sand surfaces
in the transport of sand onto adjacent surfaces, as wet or damp sand requires much higher wind velocities
to initiate sand movement. Although this is related to the amount of rainfall and the average number of rain
days it is far from a simple relationship and it would therefore be a major task to produce a comprehensive
analysis of this moisture factor since so many other factors would have to be considered.
Another factor, relating to beach and dune development, is sand supply. Like weather and wave conditions
regional generalisations must be qualified by local conditions and circumstances. If one considers that there
are four possible sources of beach sand ie shells, river sediment, cliff erosion and nearshore or onshore
glacial/fluvioglacial deposits, and that these sources may be active or fossil then the complexity of this
fundamental factor is readily apparent. There are dune sands in Scotland which lie beneath archaeological
remains that are more than 5,000 years old and within this timespan sea level has probably risen or fallen
at different regional rates thereby covering or exposing potential sediment sources.
From the foregoing it is apparent that to try and produce a comprehensive analysis of the range of natural
processes that create and affect the beaches and dunes around the Scottish coastline cannot be attempted
due to the variability of settings and the large number of possible combinations of relevant factors.
Nevertheless, it is possible to produce a basic checklist which can be used as a first step in the explanation
of the existence and evolution of the basic characteristics of most beach and dune areas as follows:
Natural background conditions which permit or constrain natural processes
(Some of these have reciprocal relationships with each other)
1. Sediment budget, source, type and rate of supply.
2. Wider topographic surroundings.
3. Local topographic setting, including nature of sub-sand surfaces.
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Figure 2.4 Mean Spring tidal range in metres
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Processes
(a) Marine
1. Tidal range distribution of energy and variability of beach exposure.
2. Possibility of exceptional rise in level of sea surface eg surge tides, to produce the possibility of direct
wave attack on the dunes.
3. Pattern and amount of wave energy.
4. Possibility of salt spray affecting vegetation and stability.
(b) Climatic
1. General weather conditions as a control of physical and biological activity, especially the type and
vigour of vegetation.
2. Wind directions, strengths and seasonal changes at both regional and local level.
3. Precipitation as a control on the movement of sand.
(c) Other local processes
1. Direct slumping and slope failure of dune and sand hill slopes.
2. Local stream action as a direct factor of erosion and/or deposition.
In the final analysis, and omitting the range of modifications that are introduced by the presence of Man,
most of the factors and conditions that are listed above interact with each other; a process moulds a form,
but the form subsequently modifies the process. This concept applies to all types of landform evolution, but
the unconsolidated and fragile nature of coastal dunes systems at the interface of three environments the sea,
the atmosphere and, to a lesser extent, the land gives this concept added significance and makes the beach
and dune environment particularly vulnerable to relatively rapid and extensive change.
2.2
The dimensions of beach and dune systems
Areas and other dimensions
This section of the report attempts to set out quantitative information relating to areal and linear dimensions
of the beach and dune systems in Scotland. Inevitably a number of problems arose in the collection of this
data. For example many of the more extensive physiographic units such as Aberdeen to Collieston
(Grampian), the west coast of South Uist, Irvine Bay (Firth of Clyde), Tentsmuir (East Fife) and many others
were studied in the field as a series of subdivisions many of which correspond to topographic, land use or
distinctive functional elements. For example the beach and dunes between Aberdeen and Collieston is a
single physiographic system, subdivided by the outlets of the River Don and the River Ythan. This area also
contains, in the south, the beach of Aberdeen City and, in the north the National Nature Reserve of Forvie.
As a consequence of this need to subdivide some of the statistical information contained in subsequent
tabulations should not be regarded as having great precision but rather as a general indices from which
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
valid generalisations can be made. This introductory qualification is applicable to the statistics for average
beach length where the longest beaches are found in the Outer Hebrides, especially the Uists, and on the
Moray and North Sea coastlines north of Aberdeen. The shortest beach lengths are in Shetland and the
Orkneys with the west mainland of the Highlands also having many relatively small beach units.
The general average emerges as being around 1km in length with the lowland beaches of both the Firth of
Clyde and the North Sea littoral being substantially longer, In general, the use of a mean value is deceptive
in that in most regions there are a few very large units and a great number of small units. A closer
examination of the actual values of beach lengths reveals that the great majority of the beach lengths (like
the areas of beaches, dunes, machair and links) are small, a fact that is illustrated on the distribution map
(Figure 1) where the great number and wide scatter of beaches that are less than 1km long are clearly
identified
Another problem in collating data, again a difference between Lowland and Highland and Island beaches,
is the difficulty of delimiting the transitional areas where the blown sand of links and machair gives way to
other landform surfaces. Several reasons account for this difficulty. Most of the lowland links rest upon some
form of raised beach terrace or surface and, although this was not uncommon in parts of the Highlands and
Islands, this difference between the two regions is nonetheless quite striking. Further, the raised beaches tend
to be composed of sand, and it is on the evidence of surface appearance almost impossible to distinguish
the landward limit of wind blown sand. Another reason for the lack of confidence in defining the landward
limit of blown sand areas in lowland Scotland is the encroachment of houses, recreational areas and other
man-made features onto the landward part of the links.
An equally common problem in defining the blown sand boundary is the spread of improved and relatively
intensively modified agricultural fields beside and on blown sand areas. In many Highland areas the limit
of cultivation is a particular fence or dyke that is normally a sensitive indicator of the nature of the soil and
underlying landform, but this is not possible in the extensive lowland plains along the Moray coast,
Aberdeenshire, Fife and Ayrshire where high quality farmland often extends onto old links type surfaces. An
additional problem in particular areas in the lowland series of beaches is afforestation. About 5.6% of the
beach units are classified as having some form of afforestation, and these tend to be big units, such as
Culbin or Tentsmuir. The significance of forestry as a land use in dune areas is described later (Section 3.5),
but it poses problems for the definition and description of the underlying landform patterns.
Notwithstanding these difficulties of definition and measurement an attempt is made to provide mean values
of the average size of all the dune and beach areas in Scotland. Although there is a measure of doubt
relating to specific absolute values there is greater confidence in the percentage ratios that reveal substantial
differences between regions and in relation to national average values. This information is presented in Table
2.1. For the three basic landform units the total percentage ratios for all Scottish beaches are BEACH;
DUNE; LINKS or MACHAIR, 36.4; 7.0; 56.6 or rounded to 5:1:8. The value of 7% for dunes is a
remarkably small figure and reveals how the most dynamic and fragile zone of the total system is normally
only a small part of the whole. Thus as a proportion of the land surface, coastal dunes are relatively rare
landforms. At the regional level only in those parts of Strathclyde in the Highlands and Islands, in Highland
Region and in the Western Isles do they constitute approximately 10% of the total beach complex area. In
absolute size the smallest dune areas are in Shetlands, Orkneys, Strathclyde (Lowlands), Dumfries and
Galloway, and Lothians and Borders. Combining absolute and relative provision, although having fine
15
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
beaches Dumfries and Galloway Region is poorly endowed with coastal dune forms, a fact which gives
importance to the only large, complete system at Luce Bay. The need to look at both absolute and
percentage figures is well illustrated by Tayside and Fife where the presence of single, relatively narrow
coastal dunes at the coastal edge of very large blown sand areas eg Barry Links, Tentsmuir, Largo Bay, is
worthy of note.
Table 2.1
Areas
Mean values in hectares
No.of
Units
Strathclyde in H. & I.
Beach
Dunes
%
%
Machair or Links
%
Total
136
23.7
37.9
7.0
11.2
31.8
50.9
62.5
40
23.6
42.4
4.0
7.2
28.0
50.4
55.6
110
29.6
50.9
5.2
8.9
23.4
40.2
58.2
Western Isles
98
36.4
34.1
9.1
8.5
61.3
57.3
106.8
Orkney
84
9.0
31.1
2.2
7.6
17.7
61.2
28.9
Shetland
41
2.4
32.9
0.5
6.8
4.4
60.3
7.3
Grampian
36
62.9
27.4
16.8
7.3
150.0
65.3
229.7
Tayside and Fife
37
51.7
28.9
8.4
4.7
118.7
66.4
178.8
Lothian and Borders
33
32.8
43.3
4.6
6.1
38.4
50.6
75.8
Dumfries and Galloway
32
47.9
36.4
2.9
3.9
23.2
31.4
74.0
647
32.0
36.4
6.1
7.0
49.7
56.6
87.8
Strathclyde in Lowlands
Highland
TOTAL
Total area of Sand (Beach + Dunes + Links/Machair) in each Region
Total Area (Hectares)
% Scottish Total
Strathclyde (Highlands and Islands)
8,500
17.0
Strathclyde (Lowland)
2,224
4.4
Highland
6,402
12.8
10,466
21.0
2,428
4.8
299
0.6
Grampian
8,269
16.5
Tayside and Fife
6,616
13.2
Lothian and Borders
2,501
5.0
Dumfries and Galloway
2,368
4.7
50,073
100.0
Western Isles
Orkney
Shetland
TOTAL
NOTE: These figures do not include transitional areas of blown sand which can be extensive, especially in Highlands and Islands.
In summary, taking the total areas of sand embodied in beach, dune and machair/links, but excluding
transitional surfaces, the Western Isles Region contains about one fifth of all the sand of the Scottish coastline.
Shetland has very few areas of sandy coastline. The east coast from Inverness to the north side of the Firth
of Forth contains about 30% of all the beach and blown sand areas, a fact that could be related to the
extensive lowland nature of the general coastal hinterland, sedimentary bedrock and an abundant sand
supply from glacial and perhaps more important fluvio-glacial sources.
16
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Dune types
Although coastal dunes form only 7% of the total beach complex area ie beach plus dunes plus links or
machair they tend to be the focus of interest of most user and management groups. In response to this interest
a closer analysis of the statistics for beach, dune and links or machair areas for all 647 beach units was
made. The results of this analysis is made in Table 2.2. During fieldwork a distinction was made between
coastal dunes with tall dune grasses and recent or active evolution, and other types of coastal sand ridges
which are similar to dunes but on the basis of form and vegetation are actually extensions of a links or
machair surface to the coastal edge. Very mature, stable and inactive coastal dunes would also come into
this category. Thus, four situations are used to describe the nature of the coastal ridge as follows – no dunes
of any type, normal dunes, machair or links dunes, and a few areas where buildings or coastal works have
altered the natural environment to a substantial degree.
Table 2.2
Tyes of dunes
No Dunes
Region
Normal Dunes
%
%
Machair/Links
“Dunes”
%
Dune covered
or removed
%
Strathclyde
70
39.8
87
49.4
18
10.2
1
0.6
Highland
45
40.9
55
50.0
10
9.1
0
0
Western Isles
24
24.5
58
59.2
16
16.3
0
0
Orkneys
40
47.6
39
46.4
4
4.8
1
1.2
Shetland
28
68.3
10
24.4
3
7.3
0
0
Grampian
1
2.8
33
91.7
1
2.8
1
2.8
Tayside and Fife
2
5.4
23
62.2
0
0
12
32.4
Lothian and Borders
2
6.1
26
78.8
5
15.1
0
0
14
43.8
7
21.9
11
34.4
0
0
226
35.0
338
52.2
68
10.5
15
2.3
Dumfries and Galloway
NATIONAL FIGURES
District
Caithness
%
%
%
%
5
23.6
13
76.4
0
0
0
0
Sutherland
10
33.3
17
56.7
3
10.0
0
0
Argyll and Bute
53
42.1
59
46.8
14
11.1
0
0
Cunninghame
6
27.2
14
63.6
1
4.5
1
4.5
Banff and Buchan
1
5.6
17
94.4
0
0
0
0
Gordon
1
16.7
5
83.3
0
0
0
0
Angus
0
0
4
50.0
0
0
4
50.0
N.E. Fife
1
5.0
15
75.0
0
0
4
20.0
East Lothian
1
4.2
19
79.2
4
16.7
0
0
Kyle and Carrick
11
39.3
14
50.0
3
10.7
0
0
Wigtown
11
50.0
5
22.7
6
27.3
0
0
NATIONAL FIGURES
35.0
52.2
17
10.5
2.3
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
The Western Isles, Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside and Fife and Grampian Regions have values that are
significantly different from the national pattern, whereas Strathclyde and Highland Region approximate close
to the national values. A further subdivision by District for selected areas is given in Table 2.2 to highlight
differences at another regional scale.
These figures reinforce the great variety of dune formations in Scotland and the difficulty involved in making
broad general statements, particularly with regard to regional patterns. Further, these initial tentative studies
provoke some basic questions, such as what should be understood by the term dune system and what are
its essential components?
The setting of the beach complexes
The Beach complexes of Scotland have a wide variety of physiographic settings. Tabulation 2.3 shows the
figure for the Highlands and Islands along with the equivalent percentages for all the beach complexes. When
the same circulation is repeated for all beaches by Region, a different series of values is obtained (Table 2.4).
Table 2.4 requires some further explanation on the method of construction. The “bayhead” category (the
largest and most widely distributed group throughout Scotland) describes a curved beach set between
headlands. Such beaches are usually deeply set and as a result of their shape are not subject to substantial
lateral or alongshore changes in beach morphology. If the headlands are spread more widely, or if the
curvature lessens, or if it is less set-back, then the beach is placed in the “open coast” category. The other
categories are self explanatory except for “intersecting minor bays”. This type is common along many parts
of the West Coast and Inner Hebrides and describes small beaches that link together at low water, but are
otherwise separated by rock outcrops, minor headlands and ridges. The “other” category is largely used for
small islands, such as the Monach Islands off North Uist, where the entire area was studied as a unit. The
distinction between “spit” and “isthmus” is one of scale and origin, the former being smaller eg mouth of
River Don in Aberdeen is a spit, but Balnakeil in Northwest Sutherland is an isthmus.
Table 2.3
Setting: Percentage of all beach complexes
Highlands and Islands
All Scotland
Bayhead
48
45
Intersecting Minor Bays
13
12
Open Coast
12
16
Marginal Strip
9
10
Island Grouping/Other
5
5
Isthmus or Peninsula
4
3
Foreland
4
5
Loch Head
3
2
Spit
2
2
The distribution of types shows an above average number of bayhead units in parts of Strathclyde (including
the larger Inner Hebridean islands), Orkney and Shetland, and Dumfries and Galloway. Lowest values are along
the east coast of the mainland where open coast situations are most common. This reflects the lack of indentation
and the lowland nature of the coastal hinterland. It also correlates with the prevalence of raised beaches (see
end column of Table 2.4). Above average totals of intersecting minor bays are found in the Highland Region,
in some of the Inner Hebrides and in Argyll and Bute District. Beaches formed on peninsulas are most common
in the Outer Hebrides and Shetland, and those on spits are most common in Wigtown District.
18
19
9 56.3
NATIONAL TOTAL
290 44.8
9 50.0
18 51.4
Coll and Tiree
Islay
4 10.0
Uists/Benbecula
20 50.0
Orkney Mainland
Lewis/Harris
9 69.2
Westray
Shetland Mainland
11 57.9
10 45.5
Wigtown
Islands
17 60.7
6 25.0
East Lothian
Kyle and Carrick
5 20.8
69 46.6
Banff, Buchan, Gordon
Argyll, Bute, Cunninghame
Districts
15 46.9
6 16.7
Grampian
Dumfries and Galloway
27 65.9
Shetland
13 35.1
45 53.6
Orkney
10 30.3
38 38.8
Western Isles
Lothian and Borders
50 45.5
Highland
Tayside and Fife
86 48.9
%
Bayhead
0
0
0
0
6.1
0
0
0
0
9.3
0
1.0
1.8
5.1
16
1
2
0
1
0
0
2.5
5.6
5.7
0
2.5
0
0
3 15.8
0
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
4
0
1
2
9
%
Lochhead
3.1
6.4
5.6
7.3
6.3
6.1
9.1
3.6
8.3
8.3
0
63
1
0
1
1
9.7
5.6
0
2.5
2.5
3 18.8
0
2 10.5
2
1
2
2
21 14.2
2
2
9 24.3
2
3
13 15.5
3
7
22 12.5
%
Marginal
Strip
5.1
%
2.4
1.4
0
0
5.7
102 15.8
0
2
15 37.5
6 15.0
3 18.8
3 23.1
0
5 22.7
7 25.0
11 45.8
10 41.7
2
5 15.6
13 39.4
6 16.2
16 44.4
1
17 20.2
22 22.4
13 11.8
9
Open
Coast
5.6
0
1.2
5.1
7.3
2.8
4.2
3.4
6.3
9.1
0
2.5
5.0
0
0
0
4.5
0
30
4.6
2 11.1
0
1
2
0
0
0
1
0
3 12.5
1
5
2
3
4 10.8
2
0
1
5
8
5
%
Foreland
Settings of beach complexes and distribution of raised beaches
Strathclyde
Region
Table 2.4
2.4
1.2
2.7
3.0
0
7.5
0
0
0
4.5
79 12.2
5 27.8
11 31.4
5 12.5
3
0
0
0
1
3 10.7
0
3 12.5
33 22.3
5 15.6
1
1
5 13.9
1
1
11 11.2
18 16.4
36 20.5
%
Intersecting
Minor Bay
0
0
0
4.2
2.7
0
0
0
2.8
7.3
4.8
8.2
0.9
2.3
6.3
0
21
0
1
0
3.2
0
2.9
0
4 10.0
1
0
2 10.5
0
0
0
1
4
0
0
0
1
3
4
8
1
4
%
Isthmus
Peninsula
0
4.2
4.2
1.4
9.4
3.0
0
5.6
0
1.2
3.1
1.8
1.1
%
14
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
2.2
0
0
2.5
5.0
0
0
0
3 13.6
0
1
1
2
3
1
0
2
0
1
3
2
2
Spit
5.6
4.9
2.4
7.1
8.2
1.7
%
32
0
1
3
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
3
0
3
4.9
0
2.9
7.5
2.5
0
7.7
5.3
0
0
4.2
4.2
2.0
0
9.1
4 10.8
2
2
2
7
9
3
Other
47.0
78.1
84.8
70.3
94.4
0
0
0
39.1
84.1
%
With
Raised
Beach
nr. Coast
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Beach areas
Several quantified variables about beaches were obtained during field surveys. These include beach width,
length and area, with the last item being subdivided into inter and supra tidal areas. This is an important
distinction as it is the upper beach, above high water mark, that provides the main source for sand movement
onto adjacent dunes. It is also the area that protects the coastal edge from direct wave attack. The beach
gradient and type of sediment were also recorded during fieldwork.
The ratios of backshore to intertidal beach by Region are given in Table 2.5, along with average beach
gradient in degrees and average distance from high water mark to the 5-fathom isobath. All the variables
in Table 2.5 show wide but relatively predictable differences. There is clearly a relationship with tidal range
(see Figure 2.4 and Table 2.5) in that wider beaches should be exposed with greater tidal range as long
as beach gradients are similar, and Table 2.5 shows little variation in average beach gradient, being least
in Strathclyde Region and highest in Grampian Region. The second part of Table 2.5 shows the frequency
of different gradients by Regions and further reinforces the pattern as described above. Shetland has narrow
beaches and, as indicated by the distance to the 5-fathom isobath, the steepest offshore gradient.
Strathclyde and Orkney also have relatively steep offshore gradients. The long distance to the 5-fathom
depth contour for the Western Isles might appear surprising in that all these beaches are open to the Atlantic
Ocean, but the sea bed that extends westwards from the Outer Hebrides is essentially an ancient rock
platform surface of low gradient and shallow depth.
Referring to Table 2.5, the Regions with the widest average areas above high water mark are Lowland
Strathclyde, Highland, Western Isles and Lothian and the Borders Regions. In these areas there appear to
be many beach areas with wide nourishment zones of dry sand on the upper beach available for transport
onto the coastal dune ridge. Conversely those upper beach zones appear to be severely restricted in
Dumfries and Galloway and Orkneys Regions. In addition to their importance for dune development, narrow
backshore areas do not provide the same protection to the toe of the dune ridge against exceptionally high
sea elevations.
If there are shingle ridges at the upper limit of beaches, then the important exchange process whereby
sand may be transferred to the beach from the base of the dune to the beach cannot take place and, as
discussed in Section 2.4, about 6% of all beaches have substantial shingle ridges above high water mark
and about 4% have some form of artificial construction on the upper beach. Regions having above
average percentages of either shingle or artificial constructions are parts of Strathclyde, especially around
Ayr Bay, and in the Inner Hebrides, Tayside and Fife, and in Lothian District. Orkney has a high number of
shingle ridges. This supplementary information modifies the generalisations that are made about the
significance of backshore widths to the natural processes associated with the transfer of beach sand to
coastal dune ridges.
A special type of coastal edge which is of considerable ecological importance is saltmarsh, and where these
areas occur in association with beach, dunes, machair or links they have been noted. Usually this form of
saltmarsh has a high sand content in the soil profile and has therefore been described as sandy saltmarsh.
Table 2.6 shows the distribution of sandy saltmarsh by Region and clearly reveals the relatively frequent
occurrence of this ecologically important zone. The high value for Grampian is partly explained by several
small saltmarsh areas that are associated with the lower courses of minor streams and drainage channels
20
21
2.6
4.0
3.6
2.9
1.8
3.4
4.6
5.0
5.4
Strathclyde (H. & I.)
Highland
Western Isles
Orkney
Shetland
Grampian
Tayside and Fife
Lothian and Borders
Dumfries and Galloway
NATIONAL AVERAGE
2.7
Average
Spring Tide
Range (m)
2600
1600
1817
1230
439
840
1785
1140
1058
833
Distance
to 5 fathom
line (m)
Beach widths, gradients and distances
Strathclyde (Lowland)
Region
Table 2.5
1.28
3.51
3.44
2.56
2.29
2.48
2.06
2.00
2.57
Average
Beach
Gradient°
21
9
0
0
1
3
0
6
2
0°
13
7
17
32
32
37
83
6
14
9
17
29
12
31
127
6
237
16
119
1
Values not available
9
0
4
18
20
38
32
74
0
1
10
10
11
13
11
18
Distribution of
Beach Gradients
No.of Cases
1°
2°
3°
4°
22
0
2
4
0
3
4
5
5
5°
14
0
6
1
0
0
0
1
6
>6°
4.5
24.7
16.2
12.1
10.0
4.0
30.8
18.8
12.6
21.1
Backshore
Width (m)
Mean
–
262.5
233.4
130.8
48.2
125.2
160.3
187.2
149.6
146.9
Intertidal
width (m)
Mean
–
4.2
6.9
7.8
20.7
3.2
19.2
10.0
8.4
14.4
% Backshore
width to mean
intertidal width
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
that cross the dunes and links areas. In Orkney saltmarshes tend to be associated with impounded
areas behind linear coastal constructions; in Dumfries and Galloway, they are associated with the general
saltflat character of part of the Solway Estuary. Elsewhere, there are various reasons for their occurrence,
including tidal inundation of low links and machair areas. A few areas might be remnants of earlier more
extensive systems.
Table 2.6
Sandy saltmarsh occurrences
No.of
Cases
% of total
beaches
within Region
Strathclyde
24
13.7
Killinallan (Islay)
Highland
11
10.0
Morrich More
Western Isles
20
20.4
Vallaquie Strand
Orkneys
7
8.3
Waulkmill Bay
Shetland
1
2.4
Pool of Virkie
11
30.6
Strathbeg
Tayside and Fife
6
16.2
St. Cyrus
Lothian and Borders
4
12.1
Belhaven Bay
Dumfries and Galloway
8
25.0
Mersehead Sands
Region
Grampian
2.3
Examples
Machair and links relief patterns
The non-dune areas of the beach complexes consist of machair or links areas. There is no geomorphological
difference between machair and links and the terminology is simply a reflection of regional language, with
machair
being
a
Gaelic
word
meaning
a
plain
or
level
surface.
Within
these
often extensive areas of blown sand, there are considerable regional and local differences in
morphological patterns. In the regional beach reports, this information is conveyed on morphological
maps with supplementary photographs and text description. Since it is not possible to reproduce here
this type of detailed information in cartographic form, an alternative but inferior approach is to
tabulate the percentage areas of links and machair that are plain, hilly (including hillside
deposition), hillocky, undulating or have other varied relief features (see Table 2.7 for a definition of these
terms) and use these ratios as an indication of variation in relief. These percentages, are as shown on
Table 2.7, with beach complexes without significant areas of machair or links being excluded. The national
average figures show that plain and undulating surfaces are, as expected, dominant, totalling 70% of the
surface areas of all links and machair areas. Hillocky forms are rare with only the Western
Isles and Lothians and Borders having slightly above average values. Areas with higher than average areas
of plains are in Strathclyde and in Orkney. Hilly and hillside forms of blown sand accumulations
account for about one-fifth of the total areas in Scotland, with the Shetland Islands having a particularly high
incidence of such forms. Hilly forms are most unusual in Lothian. The relatively high values for
some areas in the “other” category have various explanations, including marshy areas, rock or other
non-sand outcrops or severely modified surfaces due to agriculture, recreational use, quarrying, military use
and buildings. In a few cases, allocation to the ”other” category was due to afforestation making
classification difficult.
22
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Dune height and maximum vertical extent of blown sand
The maximum height of the coastal dune ridge was recorded for all beach areas and is given in Table 2.8.
The national figures for all 647 beach units are 5.7m for the average maximum height of coastal dunes and
15.6m for the average maximum height of blown sand.
The highest average dune elevations are in the Western Isles and in Grampian Region, with the lowest
average heights occurring in the Orkneys and Shetland. Other areas are close to the national average. With
respect to maximum blown sand heights, it is useful to look at maximum heights as given in Table 2.8 since
the altitude to which blown sand can reach is a complex interaction of high wind speeds, shelter and the
slope and position of marginal landforms. It is rare for the maximum altitude of blown sand to be the same
as the maximum dune altitude. Nevertheless, in Grampian and lowland Strathclyde Regions this appears to
be the situation and there is little difference in the two maxima in Tayside and Fife. In these four regions this
undoubtedly reflects the low lying nature of the coastal plains upon which most dunes and links have
developed and where relatively few high surfaces, such as abandoned clifflines, approach close to the
zones of active sand movement. A few such exception are along sections of the Banff coastline, St. Cyrus
(Kincardine) and some beaches south of North Berwick.
Table 2. 7 Relative morphology by percentage area of machair/links areas
Region
Plain
%
Hilly
%
Hillocky
%
Undulating
%
Other
%
Strathclyde
47.4
10.4
4.9
32.6
4.6
Highland
26.3
19.4
4.5
46.1
3.4
Western Isles
31.1
28.1
5.4
31.2
4.4
Orkneys
57.4
18.3
1.3
22.0
0.5
Shetlands
22.6
43.0
4.8
13.8
15.0
Grampian
44.1
8.8
3.8
34.8
8.4
Tayside and Fife
38.0
8.6
2.8
38.1
12.5
Lothians and Borders
40.4
1.3
6.1
37.3
15.0
Dumfries and Galloway
44.6
19.8
5.0
29.8
0.2
NATIONAL AVERAGE
39.2
17.5
4.3
31.8
7.1
Definitions
Hilly:
usually larger, variable features with considerable relief variation. Hillside machair or link is
included in this category.
Hillocky:
distinctive, uniform pattern of small dune features. They are usually less than 3m high and 10m
in length
Undulating: an uneven surface which lacks the regularity of pattern and size that are diagnostic for the
hillocky category.
23
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Table 2.8
Mean maximum dune height and mean maximum blown sand height (all units)
Max. Dune Height (m)
Max. Blown Sand Height (m)
Region
Average
Maximum
Strathclyde (Highlands and Islands)
5.3
35.0
13.1
60.0
Strathclyde (Lowland)
4.8
20.0
6.4
20.0
Highland
5.7
35.0
20.2
> 100.0
Western Isles
8.0
35.0
28.5
> 100.0
Orkneys
3.7
20.0
10.3
61.0
Shetlands
2.1
12.0
13.2
45.0
Grampian
11.4
45.0
19.1
45.0
Tayside and Fife
5.6
29.0
10.2
31.0
Lothian and Borders
6.2
15.0
8.8
40.0
Dumfries and Galloway
5.0
16.0
7.6
25.0
NATIONAL AVERAGE
5.7
Table 2.9
Average
Maximum
15.6
Drainage of dune and machair/links areas
Dry
Region
Marshy
>10% Area*
Dry with
Stream
%
%
Marshy
>10% Area
with stream
%
Little or
no blown
sand
%
Strathclyde
44
25.0
4
2.3
101
57.4
14
8.0
13
7.4
Highland
21
19.1
5
4.5
53
48.2
18
16.4
13
11.8
Western Isles
46
46.9
3
3.1
36
36.7
10
10.2
3
3.1
Orkneys
25
29.8
5
6.0
21
25.0
24
28.6
9
10.7
Shetlands
6
14.6
5
12.2
14
34.1
8
19.5
8
19.5
Grampian
14
38.9
1
2.8
18
50.0
3
8.3
0
0
Tayside and Fife
24
64.9
0
0
13
35.1
0
0
0
0
Lothian and Borders
15
45.5
1
3.0
15
45.5
1
3.0
1
3.0
8
25.0
2
6.3
7
21.9
5
15.6
10
31.3
203
31.4
26
4.0
278
43.0
83
12.8
57
8.9
Dumfries and Galloway
NATIONAL AVERAGE
* Area refers to Blown Sand Area.
Invariably, the highest levels to which blown sand reaches depend on the proximity of rising land close to
the dune, machair and links areas, such as are found in the Inner Hebrides, Shetland and parts of the
Highland mainland, especially in the extreme north and west mainland. In these areas there is a high
incidence of shell sand and the admixture of lime-rich particles to the acid soils of these areas is of
considerable benefit to grazing. In addition, the blown sand may produce significant changes in vegetation
and associated wildlife around the margins of the beach and blown sand complexes.
24
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 2.5 Sketch block diagram near pipeline landfalls
25
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Flooded and marshy areas
Many machair and links areas contain marshy or flooded areas. Frequently such flooding is seasonal and low
lying slacks or hollows may be up to a metre deep in fresh water for the winter part of the year. Such seasonal
flooding was not studied in detail during the surveys, but information is available for the dune areas north of
Peterhead (Ritchie,1981) where complete flooding to create a “winter loch” is recorded from about mid
October to early May (Figure 2.5). This flooding is important to the type of vegetation and wildlife in the area,
including roosting and feeding of migratory birds and, in a few places, for access and use. Since fieldwork
for the beach survey programme was normally done in summer, it was necessary to interpret such flooding
indirectly from morphological and vegetation patterns, since most of the areas that flood in winter become quite
dry in summer. Nevertheless, as shown on Table 2.9, an attempt was made to estimate the degree of flooding
and marshiness along with a record of the presence of stream drainage within the blown sand area.
As expected, the overwhelming majority of dune and machair areas are dry and the greater proportion of
such areas have some form of stream. About one in six of all dune and machair areas are classified as
having greater than 10% of their areas as marshy (with or without streams). The areas with greater
proportions of marshiness are in Orkney, in Shetland, and in Dumfries and Galloway. In the Northern and
Western Isles, many of these marshy areas include areas of ground that are adjacent to fresh water lochs
that have been impounded by blown sand or by such constructive forms as bars and spits. There is evidence
to suggest that many marshy areas in dunes, links and machair areas would be more extensive were it not
for substantial drainage works arising from agricultural improvements. In a few areas artificial drainage has
also been introduced to improve surface conditions for building use. A special case of such artificial
drainage occurs on golf courses.
2.4
Bare sand areas – erosional and depositional
Most sand dune systems contain areas of bare sand. These surfaces may be extensive as at Forvie and
Foveran (Grampian) where they are major landform elements. Bare sand surfaces within the dune and
machair/links area are potentially unstable and are normally zones of sediment transport. Around the
Scottish coast these surfaces are mainly produced by erosion and as such can be regarded as unstable
landforms, particularly where instability has been produced or aggravated by some external factor such as
vehicle tracking, excessive rabbit populations, sand quarrying, overgrazing or some form of uncontrolled
recreational use. Nevertheless, deposition can produce equally unstable surfaces. Sand accretion is the
process by which dunes are created and, in time, these sand accumulations are fixed by vegetation. The
redeposition of sand that has been excavated from erosion features, such as blowouts, creates similar
features of accretion. Thus bare sand areas are produced by apparently opposing processes, erosion and
deposition, but the surface has the common attribute that it is potentially mobile; sand can encroach onto
adjacent vegetated surfaces and, as such, are unstable.
Arguably, by the main process of their evolution, sand dune systems require a number of bare sand areas,
especially near the coastal edge, so that the essential process of transferring sand from the upper beach and
foredunes inland can be accomplished. Further, in a young accreting system the proportion of bare sand
will be high whereas in an old mature system there should be little or no mobile bare sand areas. For any
individual beach/dune system it is comparatively easy in the field to distinguish between erosional and
depositional sand surfaces. It is also possible to distinguish between natural erosion and erosion that has
been triggered or aggravated by some external factor. To aggregate these different types of bare sand
surfaces for all the dune systems of Scotland it is necessary to avoid terms like eroding area or redepositional
area and simply produce a measure of the average size and relative percentage of the blown sand area
26
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
that is bare of vegetation. This produces a figure of 2.5% (ie total bare sand area as a percentage of the
total area of dunes plus links/machair). However, 321 of the 647 beach units in Scotland have little or no
bare sand areas, and if these areas are removed from the calculation then the mean percentage area of
bare sand in the remainder is approximately 3%. Some of the larger dune and machair areas in Scotland
that have particularly large percentages of bare sand are Balephetrish1 in Tiree (24%), Sanaigmore in Islay
(23%), Invernaver (21%) and Clachtoll (27%) (Sutherland) and Achnahaird Bay (22%) in Wester Ross, Brekin
in Shetland (29%) and Allasdale (24%) in Barra. Opinan (Wester Ross) has an exceptionally high area of
bare sand but most of this is in the extensive transitional area inland from the machair. Sandwick in Uist is
also a small beach unit with a very large percentage of bare sand surfaces.
Table 2.10 Localities with large bare sand areas
Name
1
Bare sand area (ha.)
Bare sand area %
Eoropie (Lewis)
11
13
Barvas (Lewis)
13
9
Traigh Bagh (Tiree)
14
10
Sorobaidh (Tiree)
12
9
Machrihanish (Kintyre)
16
5
Dunnet Bay (Caithness)
11
1
West Coast Berneray
14
3
Balranald (N. Uist)
11
3
Kirk (N. Uist)
13
9
Baleshare (N. Uist)
13
3
Eochar/Dremisdale (Uist)
15
2
Eoligarry (Barra)
19
16
Allasdale (Barra)
11
24
Varlish (Barra)
13
60
Culbin (Moray)
15
1
Strathbeg (Grampian)
21
10
Rattray Head (Grampian)
12
16
Rattray Bay (Grampian)
23
13
Sands of Forvie (Grampian
35
Foveran and Drums (Grampian)
26
15
Menie and Petens (Grampian)
20
7
Balmedie (Grampian)
25
11
Montrose (Tayside)
15
8
Barry Sands (North) (Tayside)
26
8
5
Balephetrish is the best example to illustrate an aspect of the measurement (by electronic planimeter) of the bare sand area
which is explained in detail on p. 25 of the Beaches of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (Mather and Ritchie, 1977).
A difficulty occurs where a section of the coastal edge has been eroded by the wind to an extent that it is a substantial
distance landwards of the highest tide level, thereby creating a bare sand surface on the seawards side of this section of
the dune front. These surfaces are a continuation of the beach zone but are not normally within the sweep zone of waves
even during storm conditions. Accordingly, they are included in the measurement of the landward bare-sand acreage.
A similar type of bare sand area on the seawards side of the coastal edge is found at Eoligarry in Barra where two or
three large blowouts have coalesced and produced a large bare sand area, contiguous with the upper beach zone.
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Table 2.11 Percentages of bare sand in dune systems by region
(Excludes all units with erosion coefficient equal to zero)
Region
Erosion
Coefficient*
Bare Sand
Area (ha.)
Links/Machair
Area (ha.)
Dune Area
(ha.)
No. of
Cases
Strathclyde
3.5
2.0
48.3
9.6
84
Highland
4.8
1.9
32.8
6.4
59
Western Isles
4.2
3.9
80.0
11.3
71
Orkney
2.3
0.8
29.9
5.2
22
20.0
1.0
4.6
0.4
11
Grampian
3.4
6.7
178.7
19.9
30
Tayside and Fife
1.7
3.5
189.7
12.9
22
Lothian and Borders
1.0
0.6
52.4
6.2
24
Shetland
Dumfries and Galloway
Bare sand areas are of negligible extent
*Ratio of mean bare sand area to mean area of dunes plus machair/links
Table 2.12 Bare sand ratios – selected islands and districts
Mean of Bare
Sand % ratios
Total Bare Sand
Area in Hectares
Localities with very
extensive bare sand ratios
23.5
57
Bosta, Mangersta, Mealasta
Coll and Tiree
4.2
68
Port and Saoir, Balephetrish
Islay
5.2
56
Sanaigmore
Mainland Shetland
4.1
2
Scousbugh
Mainland Orkney
3.4
3
Sandside Bay
Harris (inc. Sound of)
4.9
42
Mheilein
Uists and Benbecula
3.1
104
Rosinish
14.7
71
Varlish, Uidhe, Sandray, Allasdale
11.6
37
Melness, Coldbackie, Sannick
Cunninghame
0.8
4
Stevenston
Kyle and Carrick
0.1
2
–
Wigtown
0.0
0
–
Moray
0.7
22
Findhorn
Banff and Buchan
5.9
64
Banff Bay, Rattray Head
Gordon
7.0
87
Foveran and Drums
East Lothian
2.3
11
Canty Bay, Seton and Longniddry
10.0
76
Carnoustie, Broughty Ferry
Northeast Fife
0.2
2
Elie Woodhaven
Kirkcaldy
1.4
1
Pettycur
ALL CASES
SELECTED ISLANDS
Lewis
Barra Group
ALL CASES
SELECTED DISTRICTS
Caithness
Angus and Dundee
28
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
The fact that the calculation of the bare sand percentage is a ratio leads to some difficulties of interpretation
in that several areas with very large areas of bare sand have relatively small percentage ratios because of
the great extent of dunes and machair or links. These areas are listed in Table 2.10. The distribution shown
in Table 2.10 highlights two main areas, viz. Barra and the Uists where the areas tend to be produced by
the aggregation of several blowout, deflation and coastline retreat areas and the North Sea coast of
Grampian Region where there are not only several large blowout features eg at Rattray Head, but also
several great mobile sand sheets as at Balmedie, Foveran and Forvie.
In order to give a broad regional picture, Table 2.11 lists both percentage ratios and absolute areas of bare
sand for all beach units that have a measurable area of bare sand. These regional values may be set against
the national value which could also be used as a yardstick for either individual or specified groups of dune
systems. Table 2.12 gives more localised examples.
An alternative approach to the identification of bare sand areas that are considered to be equivalent to
areas of instability is to use qualitative field judgements. During fieldwork the amount of bare sand area that
was perceived as erosion damage on dunes, links and machair was assessed on a scale of high, medium,
low and negligible. Table 2.13 gives all the beach units having high perceived erosion damage. Listed on
Table 2.13, for comparison, are those areas that have bare sand areas that have a calculated ratio of more
than 20% of the total area of dunes, machair or links and transitional landforms. The figure of 20% is an
arbitrary cut off value and the table includes very small beach units where measurement errors are possibly
high. Transitional areas are also included since there are some areas where the erosion is taking place there
as well as in the dunes and machair/links areas. Although the amount of discrepancy between the two
tables (there are only 17 units common to both lists) can be partially explained by problems of definition
and calculation of the percentage ratios there is also the knowledge that in coming to a judgement about
erosion the observer is influenced by his viewing position. The location of the erosion features is also
important, particularly if they are concentrated in a specific zone eg the main coastal dune ridge. Further, if
erosion features are located near the usual point of access, or are visible from some recognised popular
viewing position then the subjective assessment of erosion tends to be influenced adversely. Conversely, if
the bare sand areas are produced by active sand quarrying then the surveyor consciously ignores this as
perceived erosion damage since the reason for the existence of a bare sand area is obviously not wind
erosion. Another difference is that a specialist field surveyor can also distinguish between bare sand areas
that are produced by accretion and deposition and therefore not deemed to be adverse. Another reason for
the difference between perceived erosion and measured bare sand areas is the knowledge that the
impression produced in the mind of the viewer by numerous small erosion features which do not in fact
aggregate to a significant total area, produces an image of greater erosional severity than actually exists.
However, in the subjective interpretation of the significance of bare ground in dunes and machair the key
word is “damage” and it is this factor that largely explains the differences between the two lists; it is a
difference of human value judgement set against impersonal quantitative techniques.
29
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Table 2.13 Perceived erosion damage
Beaches with high perceived erosion damage
Beaches with bare sand ratios greater than 20%
Dalmore
Cross
Mangersta
Dalmore
Garry
Bosta
Cul Na Croise
Mangersta
Morar
Mealasta Island
Port An T Saoir
Garry
Traigh Tuath
Achaidh Mhor
Claddich
Morar
Sanaigmore
Samhnan Insir
Tralee Bay
Port An T Saoir
Sango Bay
Basapoll
Kervaig Bay
Corpach Coast
Oldshoremore
Sanaigmore
Clachtoll
Carskey
Achmelvich
Macharioch
Achnahaird Bay
Sannox
Gruinard South
Machrie
Mellon Udrigle
Sannick
Opinan
Invernaver
Sand of Meal
Coldbackle
Kirk Sand
Melness
Sandwick Unst
Traigh Allt Chailgeag
Lundawick
Sheigra
Rosinish
Oldshoremore
Eoligarry
Clashnessie
Bagh A Dheas
Clachtoll
Findhorn
Achmelvich
Rattray Head
Traigh na Teampuill
Ugie/Lunderton
Achnahaird Bay
Foveran/Drums
Mungasdale
Balmedie
Gruinard North
Coldingham Bay
Gruinard South
Gullane
Mellon Udrigle
Gosford Bay
Mellanguan
Montrose
Opinan
Barry Sands (East)
Sand of Meal
Monifieth
Brekin
Balta Island
Sandwick Unst
Lundawick
Sandside Bay
Scrimpo
Rosinish
Allasdale
Sandray
Varlish
Banff Bay
30
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Erosion of the coastal edge
During the period of fieldwork careful note was made of the coastal edge in order to estimate whether the
coastline was prograding, neutral or eroding or having elements of each condition, and Table 2.14 lists the
results under nine headings.
At the national level, 39.5% of all the coastal edges of sand beach systems are “eroding” or “eroding and
neutral” compared with 22.4% that are wholly “neutral” and 11% that are “prograding” or “prograding and
neutral”. From Table 2.14 it can be seen that prograding coastlines are comparatively rare, and erosion is
found in some form in more than half of the blown sand coastlines of Scotland.
Regional differences are quite pronounced. Areas with an above average of prograding units are found in
Strathclyde, in Orkney and in Highland Regions, but the values do not exceed the national average greatly.
Progradation is rare in the Western Isles and negligible in Grampians, Lothian and Borders, and Dumfries
and Galloway Regions. Eroding coastlines are substantially above the national average in Highland and in
Shetland Regions. There are no wholly eroding units in Lothian and Borders. Strathclyde has more than twice
the national average number of beach coastlines that are classified as “neutral and prograding”, whereas
Highland, Orkney, Shetland and Dumfries and Galloway have very low or negligible beaches in this
category. One of the most striking departures from the national average is Dumfries and Galloway, where
43.8% are classified as “neutral and eroding” cf. national average of 16.2%. The Western Isles also has a
high value at 29.6%. Areas having a significantly higher occurrence of various forms of erosion are found
in Western Isles, in Shetland and in Dumfries and Galloway. For the other types of coastal edge, the amount
of manmodification is highest in Tayside and Fife, where 27% of the coastline is affected, followed by
Lothian and Borders (9.1%) and Grampian (5.6%).
Erosion: in general
The general impression that is gained from both the analysis of coastal erosion and dune and machair
erosion is that the stage of primary dune building and coastal progradation is generally absent from the
majority of the beach, dune and machair/links areas of Scotland. There are pronounced local and regional
variations, but the general pattern seems undeniable and from a geomorphological point of view the
implications of retreat and reworking are apparent. No simple explanation can be offered. Isostatic change
might be a factor but a more cogent reason could be the singular lack of sand supply to the majority of
Scottish beaches now that the legacy of glacial and fluvio-glacial sediments on the coastal and nearshore
margins has been reworked shorewards.
31
32
25.0
22.4
14
0
6
0
8
145
Shetland
Grampian
Tayside and Fife
Lothian and Borders
Dumfries and Galloway
0
16.2
0
34.1
35.7
30
12.2
32.7
Orkney
36
Highland
22.8
12
31
Strathclyde (H. & I.)
20.0
Western Isles
8
35
0
0
2
0
2
6
1
7
16
1
5.4
0
0
5.4
0
4.9
7.1
1.0
6.4
11.8
2.5
%
%
Strathclyde (Lowland)
Prograding
Neutral
Table 2.14 Type of coastal edge by region
151
7
0
2
6
20
18
26
35
25
12
25.3
21.9
0
5.4
16.7
48.8
21.4
26.5
31.8
18.4
30.0
%
Eroding
36
0
2
2
1
0
2
4
2
20
3
5.6
0
6.1
5.4
2.8
0
2.4
4.1
1.8
14.7
7.5
Neutral
and
Prograding
%
105
14
3
9
8
4
4
29
14
12
8
16.2
43.8
9.1
24.3
22.2
9.8
4.8
29.6
12.7
8.8
20.0
Neutral
and
Eroding
%
48
0
9
2
8
0
6
10
5
6
2
7.4
0
27.3
5.4
22.2
0
7.1
10.2
4.5
4.4
5.0
Prograding
and
Eroding
%
67
0
16
4
11
0
4
13
4
12
3
10.4
0
48.5
10.8
30.6
0
4.8
13.3
3.6
8.8
7.5
Neutral,
Prograding
and Eroding
%
37
1
0
0
0
1
14
3
4
14
0
5.7
3.1
0
0
0
2.4
16.7
3.1
3.6
10.3
0
%
Shingle
Ridge
23
2
3
10
2
0
0
0
3
0
3
3.6
6.3
9.1
27.0
5.6
0
0
0
2.7
0
7.5
Artificial
or
Modified
%
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
33
10
13
14
*Shetland
Grampian
Tayside and Fife
250
38.8
6.3
3.0
37.8
36.1
25.0
17.9
58.2
50.5
25.0
188
3
0
2
5
24
51
35
33
2
33
29.1
9.4
0
5.4
13.9
60.0
60.7
35.7
30.3
5.0
24.3
22
0
2
0
0
5
0
1
8
0
6
3.4
0
6.1
0
0
12.5
0
1.0
7.3
0
4.4
%
Gravelly
Sand
3
32
10
1
1
1
1
5
1
10
0
2
5.0
31.3
3.0
2.7
2.8
2.5
6.0
1.0
9.2
0
1.5
%
Mixed
Sandflat
4
59
1
3
10
3
0
13
2
3
16
8
9.1
3.1
9.1
27.0
8.3
0
15.5
2.0
2.8
40.0
5.9
Rock
Platform
with Sand
Patches
%
5
47
3
16
5
4
0
0
2
0
3
14
7.3
9.4
48.5
13.5
11.1
0
0
2.0
0
7.5
10.3
%
Combination
of three
Materials
6
21
0
7
1
8
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
3.3
0
21.2
2.7
22.2
0
0
0
0
12.5
%
Sand with
Rock
Outcrops
7
7
0
3
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.1
0
9.1
8.1
2.8
%
Sand with
areas of
Mud/Silt
8
19
13
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
4
0
2.9
40.6
0
2.7
2.8
0
0
0
0
10.0
0
Sand with
areas of
Stones/
Shingle
%
9
NOTE: Columns 7, 8 and 9 were not included in the survey of Highlands and Islands beaches where they were subsumed under one of the other categories. The regions so
affected are marked with an asterisk(*).
NATIONAL AVERAGE
2
15
*Orkney
Dumfries and Galloway
57
*Western Isles
1
55
*Highland
Lothian and Borders
10
Strathclyde (Lowland)
53.7
%
73
Sand only
*Strathclyde (H. & I.)
Sand with
Backshore
Shingle
%
2
1
Table 2.15 Occurrence of beach materials
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
2.5 Beach materials
Many beach areas with or without associated dunes have varying amounts of sand in both the intertidal and
supratidal positions. Many are little more than sand patches on extensive rock platforms. In contrast, some
beaches have large areas of gravel and shingle superimposed on the sand surface. It is also common to
have shingle storm beaches above high water mark. The general distribution of the various combinations of
beach surface sediments are listed in Table 2.15.
This table contains a particular problem of interpretation in that during the survey of the beaches of the
Highlands and Islands (Regions identified by an asterisk in Table 2.15), the data for columns 7, 8 and 9
(sand with rock outcrops, sand with mud/silt patches, sand with patches of surface stones and shingle) were
not recorded separately but subsumed under other headings, normally “sand only” or “sand with backshore
shingle”. Although this makes analysis difficult and means that the discussion of the table has to be done
under two broad regional headings – ie Highlands and Islands and Lowland – the absolute numbers
involved in the Lowland areas are not so large as to invalidate comment on the national distribution where
only about 40% of the beaches could be described as pure sand and perhaps as many as a third have
some form of shingle or cobble storm beach or deposit above high water mark. The geomorphological
implications of such a high frequency of active backshore shingle are considerable. For example, it is less
likely that an extensive backshore high sand platform which will act as a nourishment zone for dune building
can exist in such circumstances. At the most, the area of sand that is likely to dry out sufficiently for wind
transport will be a narrow zone between the toe of the shingle feature and high water mark. Another
consequence is the fact that the presence of a shingle ridge will protect the dune slope from direct contact
with all but the highest water levels as produced by high tides and high wave set-up. Many shingle ridges
are nevertheless a product of coastal erosion whereby raised beach materials are incorporated into the total
beach sediment budget. This is common in areas as far apart as Tiree and Findhorn.
Another general observation is the relatively high proportion of beaches which consist of sand and other
sediments on top of rock platforms. This is most common in the Lowland beaches, but also occurs in Orkney
and one is tempted to associate this with the outcrop of sedimentary rock formations giving rise to extensive
rock platform features along the coastline.
Within the Highlands and Islands there are wide variations in almost every category of beach sediments.
“Sand only” is most common in the Western Isles; “Sand with backshore shingle” is most common in the
Northern Isles; “Gravelly sand” is only significant in Shetland.
For the lowland beaches, Dumfries and Galloway Region is notable for the high proportion of beaches
with lag stones and shingle patches which might reflect mainly low energy conditions which are unable to
move and sort heavier calibre materials. Pure sand beaches are least common in the Lothian and Borders
Region where diverse combinations of materials are most characteristic. Tayside and Fife Regions have
a very high proportion of rock platform areas. For the east coast in general, about a third of all beaches
have either rock platforms or significant rock outcrops associated with the beach areas, but this figure is
exceeded by lowland Strathclyde which has more than half its beach units associated with rock features,
especially rock platforms.
34
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
In addition to the geomorphological implications, this table (ie Table 2.15) of differences in beach sediments
and other characteristics has ecological implications in that a beach with extensive rock platforms is
potentially a richer and more varied intertidal habitat than a pure sand beach. Similarly, a beach with
contrasting rock outcrops is often more scenic than a uniform sweep of sand.
Composition of sand
Sand samples were collected from almost every beach in Scotland during the course of fieldwork. The
sample was not less than 500gm and was removed from the approximate high tide level in the centre of
the beach area. Additional samples were taken from dunes, links and machair, as appropriate. The samples
were sieved by standard methods and a single statistic, the median diameter, was used to characterise each
sample.
Examining all the beach sands by size produces a histogram (Figure 2.6) that shows the relative absence
of sand in the coarser grades. The mean size of all beach sands is 370 microns.
In general, about three quarters of the beach sands of Scotland are in the fine–medium category
(ie 150–350 microns). The histogram (Figure 2.6) shows a secondary peak in distribution towards the upper
end of the medium grade (ie over 650 microns). These coarser sands come from widely scattered beaches
and there is no pattern in the distribution. In some cases the use of the statistic of the median causes problems
where the sand sample contains an admixture of fine gravel into the sand matrix. The effect of this is to shift
the median to a coarser level, and many of the samples in the 600–650 micron range are of this type. The
very coarse sands relate to particular areas with local sources as, for example, the Coral Beaches (Skye),
Ardnamurchan Point, Ardtoe (Moidart), Back of Keppoch, Elswick, Reawick, Carradale (Kintyre), Brodick
(Arran), Marwick (Orkney) and the Whilk (near Ballantrae). These are widely scattered localities, but there
is a tendency for the northwest Highland Mainland and the Northern Isles to have more examples of
beaches with a significant proportion of coarse-grained materials. The East Neuk of Fife also has
comparatively coarse sands. The beach sands of the Outer and Inner Hebrides and Lowland beaches are
almost invariably in the fine–medium size ranges (Table 2.16).
Sand sizes are a result of the combination of two factors – the original source and the history and mode of
transport to their site of collection. In Scotland the possible sources range from glacial and fluvio-glacial
deposits to local bedrock outcrops. The complexity of the patterns of glaciation and deglaciation need not
be emphasised here, but the net result is to produce a situation where it is almost impossible to suggest the
ultimate origin of beach materials. Indeed, those few areas where the beach sands can unambiguously be
related to a specific source, such as a local cliff or river outlet, are quite exceptional.
The history of sediment movement is also complex since it involves not only wave action and long shore
currents, but also the possibility of wind transport. Where there is recent or past interchange between the
beach and the dune, then textural characteristics will be derived from both sedimentary environments.
35
Figure 2.6 Histogram of median sand size of beach sands
(Excludes cases with zero percent calcium carbonate)
Figure 2.7 Calcium carbonate levels in beach sand samples
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
36
37
0
0
0
0
Grampian
Tayside
and Fife
Lothian
and Borders
Dumfries and
Galloway
7
0
Shetland
1.3
1
Orkney
1.4
0
Western Isles
6
0
3.7
% No.
100–150
Highland
Strathclyde
Region
1.1
1.4
3.0
% No.
200–250
% No.
250–300
% No.
300–350
% No.
350–400
6.1
6.3
3.2
3.3
1 26.7
0 28.6
3 17.2
2 21.9
5
6.5
5.8
8 16.7
8 17.9
5 31.0
5 16.7
5 25.0
9 10.3
7 34.3 11 12.5
1 35.5 11 16.1
8
8.9
8.7
1.8
6.1
1.8
6.3
7.1
6.9
9.4
6.5
1.4
7.1
4.9
1.2
4
5.0 26
5 13.3
4
2
3
2
1
4
4
2
% No.
450–500
2 14.3
3
2
6.3 33
5 16.7
7
3 10.3
4
6
6
1
5
3
% No.
400–450
2 19.4
4
5
6 15.5 81 28.7 150 17.8 93 12.8 67
0
0
0 10.3
0
0
1 18.8 13 36.2 25 11.5
6 21.4 12
5 35.2 29 23.0 19 12.2 10
0 44.6 25 10.7
0
5 19.0 31 31.3 51 11.7 19 16.6 27
% No.
150–200
Table 2.16 Mean of median sizes of beach sand samples by region
1
1
2
0
1
6
2
3
4
3.8 20
3.3
3.6
6.9
3.2
8.7
3.6
3.6
2.4
% No.
500–550
0.8
3.6
3.4
1.2
0.6
4
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
% No.
550–600
1.5
3.4
3.1
2.9
1.8
1.8
8
0
0
1
1
0
2
1
0
3
% No.
600–650
1
0
0
2
3
2
0
8
5.2 27
3.3
6.3
9.7
2.9
9.7
6 7 11
% No.
Over 650
522
30
28
29
32
31
69
56
84
163
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
38
2
2
Lothian and Borders
Dumfries and Galloway
6.3
6.1
0
2.8
%
1.0
25 78.1
12 36.4
16 43.2
23 63.9
8 19.5
17 20.2
1
34 30.9
97 55.1
No.
Tr. –10
5.7
%
4.9
0
2.0
8.1
54
3
8.3
9.4
7 21.2
3
7 19.4
2
0
2
20 18.2
10
No.
10–20
6.0
4.1
8.2
1.7
%
8.1
8.3
39
2
6.0
6.3
5 15.2
3
3
5 12.2
5
4
9
3
No.
20–30
5.4
5.6
7.3
1.2
4.1
4.5
2.8
%
27
0
4.2
0
5 15.2
2
2
3
1
4
5
5
No.
30–40
* Relatively large number of unsampled beaches in remote islands and other locations.
97 15.0 233 36.0
0
Tayside and Fife
NATIONAL TOTAL
1
10 24.4
Shetland
Grampian
19 22.6
36* 36.7
Orkney
Western Isles
14 12.7
Highland
7.4
%
13
No.
O
Strathclyde
Region
29
0
1
0
0
1
7
9
6
5
No.
4.5
0
3.0
0
0
2.4
8.3
9.2
5.5
2.8
%
40–50
4.5
7.4
%
1.2
0
41
0
1
6.3
0
3.0
4 10.8
0
5 12.2
1
12 12.2
5
13
No.
50–60
Table 2.17 Percentage calcium carbonate in beach sands (Number of cases by Region – all cases)
3.6
4.0
%
0
2.4
3.6
35
0
0
5.5
0
0
4 10.8
0
1
3
16 16.6
4
7
No.
60–70
0
7.3
8.3
9.2
7.3
4.0
%
38
0
0
5.9
0
0
4 10.8
0
3
7
9
8
7
No.
70–80
5.1
2.7
4.0
%
32
0
0
0
0
2
4.9
0
0
0
0
4.9
15 17.9
5
3
7
No.
80–90
0
1.8
5.1
%
22
0
0
1
0
1
3.4
0
0
2.7
0
2.4
9 10.7
0
2
9
No.
90–100
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Where there is unimpeded movement of material, coarser material should be found in higher energy
locations assuming that a supply of coarse material was available in the original sediment source. Much of
the Scottish coastline consists of beaches that occur in zones of impeded sediment movement, such as in
bayheads, in estuary margins and in sea lochs (see Chapter 2.2), and the necessary conditions for
sediments to acquire textural characteristics that reflect fully the mode of transport are therefore not available.
Within individual beach units there are differences in sediments reflecting patterns of energy, but this was
not a topic that was examined in any detail during the course of beach survey work.
Throughout Scotland, but especially in the Western and Northern Islands, the main source of sand for
beaches is comminuted shells of many types and species of marine organisms. Attempts to correlate the
phenomenon of high shell sand content with other variables such as beach and offshore gradient, exposure,
bedrock geology and other factors have produced little of any value or consequence. There is a general
tendency for the abundance of shell-derived sands to be associated with extensive rock platforms. This is
especially true of the Outer Hebrides, Tiree and a few isolated examples elsewhere as, for example, the
East Neuk of Fife. It must also be remembered that a high percentage of shell sand may reflect not only a
richness of marine organisms within the catchment zone of the beach, but also a dearth of alternative sources
such as suitable rock outcrops (eg conglomerates, sandstones, grits), glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits or
stream outlets.
Statistics relating to lime content (which is equated with shell content) are given in Table 2.17 which gives
an indication of distribution by Region. Figure 2.7 shows the histogram for all beaches with a lime content
greater than zero.
Table 2.18 Shell sand content within Strathclyde Region
District
or
Island
Percentage calcium carbonate – number of cases
0 or
0–10
missing
10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–60 60–70 70–80 80–90 90–100
Coll
5
1
0
0
0
1
5
2
1
1
0
Tiree
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
1
2
4
9
Mull and Iona
3
5
0
1
1
1
1
2
2
0
0
Colonsay
0
2
0
2
1
0
0
1
1
2
0
Jura
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Islay
1
5
0
0
3
3
4
1
1
0
0
Bute, Arran
and Cumbraes
0
14
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Argyll and Bute
(mainland only)
13
47
10
3
5
5
13
7
7
7
9
Cunninghame
0
22
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Kyle and Carrick
0
28
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
The distribution shown on Figure 2.7 for the 550 samples with a calcium carbonate content greater than
zero is a good indication of the importance of shell addition to the sediment supply of Scottish beaches.
From an ecological point of view, even a few per cent of lime makes a significant difference to dune soils
and vegetation. As the percentage of lime increases, pH values rise quickly and in the Outer Hebrides values
higher than 8.5 are not unusual. The histogram (Figure 2.7) also shows that there are more than fifty beaches
39
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
which are almost entirely composed of shell sand. These beaches occur in Mull, Coll, Tiree, Sanday and
Stronsay (Orkney), in several parts of the Outer Hebrides and in isolated beaches as, for example, Sannick
in Caithness, Achmelvich in Sutherland, Balta Island, Saviskaill in Orkney, and Crail in Fife.
Table 2.17 clearly illustrates the dominance of shell sand in the Hebrides and Northern Isles, whereas the
North Sea coast (except the East Neuk of Fife) is characterised by low values. Since Strathclyde contains
islands, such as Tiree, with high values and Districts, such as Cunninghame, with low values, a further Table
(2.18) gives a more detailed analysis. On the basis of Tables 2.17 and 2.18, Dumfries and Galloway
along with the Districts of Kyle and Carrick and Cunninghame are seen to be areas with very low shell sand
content in the beach sediments. Combining this information with the values for the islands and east coast of
Kintyre, the greater Firth of Clyde littoral emerges as the main area of shell sand deficiency in Scotland.
2.6
Vegetation and habitats
Habitat diversity
The Nature Conservancy Council has compiled the following checklist as an appropriate, pragmatic way
of describing the habitats present in a coastal area:
Permanently flooded
1.
Creeks and drainage channels
2.
Lagoons
Intermittently flooded
3.
Foreshore mud
4.
Foreshore sand
5.
Foreshore shingle
6.
Foreshore rock
7.
Saltmarsh and brackish marsh
8.
Shingle beach lows
9.
Sand dunes slacks
Terrestrial
10. Earth and cliff embankment
11. Sand dune and sandy beach
12. Shingle beach
13. Rock cliff and sea wall
14. Coniferous plantation
15. Deciduous woodland/scrub
16. Cultivated land
17. Dry heather moor
18. Wet moor (including mire, blanket bog)
19. Grass heath (not sand)
20. Machair
21. Freshwater marsh or swamp
(Based on “Nature Conservation at the Coast”, Countryside Commission Special Study Report, Vol. 2, H.M.S.O.)
40
41
8 21.6
3.1
5.0
1
2
1
32
Grampian
Tayside and Fife
Lothian and Borders
Dumfries and Galloway
6.0
2.8
9.7
4
7.2
1.0
Shetland
1
Western Isles
6.3
6
7
Highland
1.1
%
Orkney
2
Strathclyde
Region
0–5
5.5
8.0
%
3.1
6.0
%
2
6.3
4 12.1
7 18.9
5 13.9
9 22.0
24 28.6
23 23.5
13 11.8
26 14.8
7
%
6.4
2.7
5 15.6
7 21.2
1
5 13.9
9 22.0
25 29.8
25 25.5
7
27 15.3
8
%
7.1
5.6
9.1
4 12.5
3
7 18.9
2
5 12.2
6
20 20.4
22 20.0
37 21.0
9
73 11.3 113 17.3 111 17.2 106 16.4
1
2
7 18.9
10 27.8
7 17.1
14 16.7
12 12.2
6
14
6
Table 2.19 Habitat diversity scores by region
%
7.1
5.4
72 11.1
7 21.9
5 15.2
2
6 16.7
5 12.2
6
11 11.2
12 10.9
18 10.2
10
%
5.6
2.4
1.2
5.1
64
9.9
5 15.6
5 15.2
5 13.5
2
1
1
5
18 16.4
22 12.5
11
8.0
%
6.1
0
2.8
0
2.4
1.0
36
5.6
5 15.6
2
0
1
0
2
1
11 10.0
14
12
17
1
2
0
2
0
0
0
6
6
13
2.6
3.1
6.1
0
5.6
0
0
0
5.5
3.4
%
12
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
6
5
14
1.9
0
0
0
0
2.4
0
0
5.5
2.8
%
11
1
1
0
2
0
0
0
2
5
1.8
3.1
3.0
0
5.6
0
0
0
1.8
2.8
15 and
over
%
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
By scoring for these categories on a simple presence or absence basis some index of diversity at beach
complexes can be gained in that the higher the number of categories present, the greater the probable
ecological richness of the area. The average value for all 647 units is 8.79 and for the Highlands and
Islands 8.84. The average for areas with the statutory designation of Site of Special Scientific Interest is 9.41.
Table 2.19 shows the distribution of habitat diversity scores by region. In general, Orkney, Shetland and
Grampian have below average habitat diversity scores. This suggests a relative monotony of terrain
conditions within and near the beach areas. Fife and Tayside Regions have the lowest scores, with more
than half the beach units having a score of less than 7, and there is no beach unit with a score greater than
11. These low scores indicate not only relative uniformity of terrain, but also reflect the comparatively large
number of areas that are built-up or modified as, for example, by afforestation or golf course construction.
Regions with higher than average scores are Highland and Dumfries and Galloway. Lothian and Borders
Regions also have slightly above average habitat diversity scores.
Individual beach units with scores greater than 15 are given in Table 2.20 and are therefore the areas in
Scotland with the greatest variety of habitats in or adjacent to the beach and blown sand areas.
Vegetation
The main vegetation types for the idealised beach unit are shown on Figure 2.8. Pioneer species are found
on the upper beach and their presence is the main criterion for assessing progradation of the coast. As
described in Chapter 2.4, coastline accretion is uncommon around the Scottish coast and extensive areas
of pioneer species, including the main dune grasses (which grow well on the upper beach if they are not
inundated by sea water) are not common. Many beach areas, including eroding coastlines, have patches
of pioneer vegetation colonising localised zones of exceptional sand accumulation. Such areas are usually
transient and are removed by the next period of elevated water levels during storm or surge tide conditions.
Table 2.20 Habitat diversity – highest scores
Area
Region
Score
Knockvoligan (Mull)
Strathclyde
15
Loch Buie (Mull)
Strathclyde
16
Killinallan (Islay)
Strathclyde
16
Bridgend (Islay)
Strathclyde
17
Tralee Bay (Argyll)
Strathclyde
18
Coul Links (E. Sutherland)
Highland
15
Applecross (W. Sutherland)
Highland
16
Luce Sands (Wigtown)
Dumfries and Galloway
15
Strathbeg (Banff and Buchan)
Grampian
15
Sands of Forvie (Gordon)
Grampian
16
Aberlady Bay (East Lothian)
Lothian and Borders
15
Considering the main dune ridges a record was made in the survey of the main vegetation categories.
A distinction made is between the two most characteristic dune building grasses, Marram (Ammophila
arenaria) and Sea Lyme (Elymus arenarius). As shown on Table 2.21, Sea Lyme tends to be more important
42
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
along the North Sea coast and in Orkney. It is rare in the Inner and Outer Hebrides and the northwest
Highland mainland. It is also found along the Firth of Clyde coastlines, especially as discontinuous but
vigorous patches along the backshore-foredune zone. There appears to be scope for further research into
the factors that control the distribution of these two species which are both of vital importance for the creation
and development of coastal dunes. As an example of the peculiarities of the occurrence of Sea Lyme grass,
consider the coastline between Aberdeen City and Strathbeg where geomorphological and pedological
conditions are broadly similar, but Sea Lyme is totally absent from some areas for example St. Fergus, yet it
is dominant in another – Ugie Beach, and it occurs as extensive patches elsewhere – for example Bridge of
Don. And why is it so overwhelmingly dominant in many Orcadian beaches? It has been suggested that
Sea Lyme is favoured by sulphur-dioxide pollution, and if this is true then its expansion in several localities –
eg Firth of Forth littoral, Aberdeen City beach, between Largs and Ayr – might be related to an above
average content of this gas in the local atmosphere. Coastal edge grazing might be another factor. In
Orkney its presence might be associated with the amount of seaweed on the upper beach. On the other
hand, similar masses of seaweed accumulate on Outer Hebridean beaches. Is its lack of growth there due
to an absence of seed sources?
Other aspects of Table 2.21 include the importance managed vegetation in formal play areas, gardens,
cultivated land parkland near the beaches of Strathclyde (but almost entirely along the Firth of Clyde), and
Tayside and Fife. The relatively high value in this category for Orkney is a reflection of a number of cases
where the coastal dune fringe gives way within a few metres landwards to cultivated land.
Areas where there is little by way of the normal long dune grasses in the coastal vegetation is indicated by
column 4 (Table 2.21) where 16.8% of all cases are so classified. Shetland, Western Isles and parts of the
northwest Highlands have above average numbers of these truncated systems.
Trees, in the form of plantations, or small groups of patches of scrub are found as a form of ground cover
in many dune, machair and links areas. Extensive tree cover, however, is uncommon in the Highlands and
Islands of Scotland. Where they exist, they are often experimental plantings – eg at Dunnet Bay – or natural
copses of birch and rowan on the margins of the blown sand area – eg Torrisdale Bay. Elsewhere, small
groups of trees may be found on the landward margin of the blown sand area or as a small copse in a
sheltered hollow, valley floor or, occasionally, as a shelter belt in the transitional area. Such occurrences are
recorded in Kintyre, Cowal and Arran. More unusual is the patch of willow-dominated vegetation such as
is found in dune slacks. Coul Links is one of the better examples of this type of natural scrub association.
In Lowland Scotland, extensive afforestation as well as the presence of relatively large stands of deciduous
and mixed woodland are more common. More than 40% of all lowland beach units have some areas of
trees in, or very close to, the dune and links areas. Some distinction has to be made between extensive
coniferous forests – such as Culbin, Burghead Bay, Spey Bay (all in Moray), Tentsmuir (Fife) and
Ravensheugh (East Lothian) – compared with small coniferous plantings as occur, for example, at Strathbeg
(Grampian) or Barry Links (Tayside). Another situation is found at Shell Bay in Fife where an extensive
coniferous plantation lies on blown sand more than one kilometre inland from the beach. Elsewhere there is
a range of situations that have been recorded as having trees of some description on the dunes or links
areas. Wooded hillsides adjacent to beaches occur in several parts of the coastline of the Solway Firth and
in East Lothian and deciduous woodland is found on the headland margins of some of the beaches of Fife.
Planted Sea Buckthorn scrub is found at Tentsmuir and Gullane (East Lothian) and other scrub species are
43
15 46.9
255 39.4
0
0
0
2
0
0
7
Orkney
Shetland
Grampian
Tayside and Fife
44
Lothian and Borders
Dumfries and Galloway
1.1
5.4
3.1
3
3
1
9.1
2.7
13 36.1
7 17.1
20 23.8
70 71.4
46 41.8
Western Isles
1.8
2
Highland
80 45.5
0
%
%
Strathclyde
Region
Marram
Links/
Machair
Unclassified
Table 2.21 Broad vegetation types by region
3.1
132 20.4
1
15 45.5
25 67.6
18 50.0
7 17.1
25 29.8
0
19 17.3
22 12.5
%
Sea Lyme
Marram
Links/
Machair
2.7
109 16.8
5 15.6
0
1
0
16 39.0
14 16.7
22 22.4
25 22.7
26 14.8
%
Machair/
Links
only
13
0
3
0
1
1
2
0
0
6
2.0
9.1
2.8
2.4
2.4
3.4
%
Marram
only
7.4
3.1
6.1
2.7
2.8
58
9.0
10 31.3
2
1
1
8 19.5
9 10.7
3
11 10.0
13
%
No blown
sand
4.9
8.3
5.5
47
1
2
7.3
3.1
6.1
5 13.5
0
2
7
0
6
24 13.6
%
Parks
Cultivated
Formal
modified
Gardens
5
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0.8
6.0
%
Sea Lyme
only
5
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
4
0.8
1.2
2.3
%
Sea Lyme
Links/
Machair
5.4
8.3
1.2
0.9
0.6
16
0
2.5
8 24.2
2
3
0
1
0
1
1
%
Sea Lyme
and
other
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
found associated with most of the beaches between Gullane and Longniddry. Mature deciduous woodland
is found at the beaches west of Edinburgh and in the coastal park at Silversands in Fife. For various reasons
different amounts and types of tree cover occur in many beach areas and give an added dimension to the
scenic appearance, to the ecological interest and, in some instances, provide shelter and protection to the
dune and links surfaces. Although all stages of the evolution of coastal dunes and adjacent blown sand
surfaces are intimately related to different types of vegetation cover which range from pioneer colonisers of
the backshore zone to scrub woodland and heath further inland, this survey, as summarised in Table 2.21,
has to be confined to broad generalisations.
45
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 2.8 Generalised landforms and vegetation
Rich backshore vegetation at Sands of Evie,
Orkney.
Grazed machair grassland with higher ridges
and steeper slopes retaining a cover of
Marram grass.
Sea Lyme, Marram and Orache on the
foredune ridge in Stronsay. Note marshy area
inland of this narrow dune ridge.
46
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Plate 1. Aberdeen – an intensively used urban beach.
Beaches with high levels of use are relatively rare in Scotland, and are mostly concentrated around the Firth and Clyde coasts.
Plate 2. Traigh Cille Ionnaig, Coll.
Numerous beaches in the Scottish islands are almost unused for recreational purposes.
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Plate 3. Balmedie, near Aberdeen.
The complexity of the dune environment is well illustrated here. Almost all dune elements are represented, from embryo dunes to
various forms of erosion. The effects of small streams on dune topography are also apparent. The dune system merges with a low
raised beach surface.
Plate 4. View from Ben Hough, Tiree.
The rocky slopes of the hill lead down to level, enclosed croftland, with unenclosed grazed machair to the seaward of the crofts,
and the fringe of coastal beaches in the middle distance.
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
3
CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
3.1
Accessibility
Accessibility (at a variety of scales) is perhaps the major influence on existing recreational use and the main
constraint on potential use. If a beach is inaccessible, then its usefulness as a recreational resource is
severely restricted. It may be prized by the seeker of solitude who is able to overcome its remoteness or other
difficulties of access, but it will have little recreational value for the general public. Conversely, the accessible
beach is likely to be used intensively for recreation almost irrespective of its other attributes.
Although Scotland is well endowed with beaches, their distribution is quite different from that of population
and recreational demand. More than half of the Scottish beach resource lies on islands, and around 20%
of the beaches are on islands lacking regular car ferries (Table 3.1).
Table 3.1
Location of beaches
Number
Percentage
Mainland
304
47.0
Islands with car ferry
216
33.4
Islands with passenger ferry only
86
13.3
Islands with no regular ferry
14
2.2
Uninhabited islands
27
4.2
As a result of their distribution at the national scale, a very substantial proportion of the beach resource is
inaccessible from the viewpoint of recreational demand. However attractive the island beaches may be,
their inaccessibility in terms of cost and difficulty of travel is a major constraint on use. Most of the demand
for beach recreation is met by mainland beaches which number less than half of the total. Beaches are also
unevenly distributed within the mainland. Most of the beaches lie on moderately exposed outer coasts, while
the main centres of population are on or near estuaries. While the east coast cities are well located for
beach recreation, the main urban centres of west-central Scotland are up to 50km distant from extensive
beaches. The disparity between distribution of population and distribution of beaches is reflected in the
length of travel involved in beach trips. According to Duffield and Long (1977), the average return distance
travelled on a beach trip is 70km, and only 18% of beach trips are under 8km in length. Compared with
much of England and mainland Europe, however, Scotland’s population has easy access to beaches.
The major arteries of tourism, such as the A74, the A82 and the A9, are distant from coastal beaches along
most of their lengths, and of the other significant tourist routes, only the A1 and the A75 and the A92 follow
coastlines on which sand beaches are common. The distribution of holiday accommodation and its usage
also differs from that of beaches. Of the ten leading tourist locations (in terms of total bednights), only three
(Aberdeen, Ayr and St. Andrews) are strongly associated with beaches (Duffield and Long, 1976). Beaches
are major and indeed even prime tourism resources in some localities, but not in Scotland as a whole.
Only a small number of beaches are directly accessible by public transport, notably along the Clyde coast
and to the east of Edinburgh. Some beaches in Tayside and Fife can be reached by public transport, but
in the other regions the use of a private car is almost essential if beach recreation is to be enjoyed.
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
In Scotland as a whole, a survey in 1972 indicated that 62% of beach trips are made by private car. Buses
and trains account for a further 26% (Duffield and Long, 1977). The same survey revealed that, in
comparison, 59% of all (day) recreation trips are made by private car and 22% by public transport.
It seems, therefore, that beaches and recreational resources in general are approximately equally accessible
by public transport.
People usually do not walk long distances from their cars (or public transport) to recreation sites, and hence
the local aspects of access are important determinants of recreational use. lf the scale of examination is
switched from the national to the local, Scotland’s beaches are found to be surprisingly accessible. Although
many beaches are on small islands or in remote, sparsely populated parts of the country, around 40% are
within 100m of a public road, and over 50% are within 200m. Only 15% are more than 1km from such a
road. These proportions apply to island beaches and to mainland beaches alike. Physical accessibility is
even easier if motorable tracks are considered, irrespective of whether they are public or private.
Approximately two thirds of all beaches and over 70% of mainland beaches lie within 100m of motorable
tracks and less than 10% are more than 1km from potential vehicular access.
In a few cases the convenience of proximity of road and beach is offset by the vertical distance which
separates them, culminating in some cases in near-vertical cliffs. Such cases are comparatively few. More
than three-quarters of the beaches are within 10 vertical metres of the nearest road, and the vertical distance
exceeds 25m in under 10% of the beach units. The position of beaches in relation to roads and tracks is
therefore generally convenient from the viewpoint of the visitor, as long as he is able to reach the parts of
the coastline which contain beaches. For the tourist or casual visitor with no prior knowledge of the existence
or location of beaches, the distribution is less favourable. Almost 40% of the beach units are not visible from
a public road, and of the remainder approximately 10% are visible only across sea lochs or straits.
Furthermore, the nearest road is frequently a minor dead end carrying only very light traffic, with few tourists
or casual visitors. The nearest road type for approximately 40% of the country’s beaches is unclassified or
C-class dead-end roads, and A-class through roads are the nearest for only 20% of all beaches.
When the various limitations on accessibility are superimposed, few beaches are found to be well situated
for casual recreational use. For example, only 41 beaches out of the national total of 647 (6.4%) are 100m
or less from A-class through roads on the mainland. Without prior knowledge or information about the
distribution of beaches, the potential visitor is greatly restricted in his choice of recreational beaches. Many
units which are otherwise suitable for recreational use are little used except where their locations are
publicised by guidebooks or information services.
At the local scale, access to beaches is also influenced not only by location in relation to the road
network, but also by the presence and nature of any barriers to access. One potential barrier is a lack of
car parking space. Formal car parks are found in the vicinity of 10% of all beaches and 20% of mainland
units, but cars can be parked informally close to many other beaches. Less than one-quarter of the mainland
beaches lack car-parking facilities in any shape or form, and in general terms parking problems are found
only near a minority of beaches. Nevertheless, such problems may be acute in a few localities, especially
at peak periods when the capacities of formal car parks may be inadequate. Where formal car parks are
not provided, roadside parking may cause traffic congestion at times, and parking restrictions have had to
be applied near some rural beaches (such as Ardneil Bay on the Firth of Clyde) as well as at some town
beaches.
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Beaches where cars can be driven almost to the coastal edge are highly valued for informal family recreation,
especially where dunes or machair offer attractive settings for picnics. These ‘drive-on’ links or machairs are
associated with approximately 20% of the beaches. On beach car parking can in certain circumstances be
even more convenient than parking on links or machair, but is less practised in Scotland than in some
mainland European countries. Where practicable, it offers a convenient solution to some parking problems,
and avoids the problems of damage to vegetation which are often experienced as a result of parking on links
or machair. But it may be possible only during low tide, and major problems of safety (especially of children)
may arise unless the practice is strictly controlled. Beach parking is carried on at only a small number of
beaches, such as Culzean Bay south of Ayr and Mersehead Sands south of Dumfries.
Charges for parking are made only at some of the more popular beaches, especially at town beaches where
parking facilities are restricted. Some of the more popular rural beaches have charges during peak periods,
but these charges are almost invariably modest, especially in relation to petrol costs, and are unlikely to
function as a serious constraint on beach use.
Physical barriers to access are found only at a minority of beaches. Cultivated land separates road and beach
at less than 10% of beach units, and usually has fences, which are found at approximately one-quarter of the
beaches. Both these types of barriers are mainly to be found in the lowlands, and are rarely encountered near
Highland beaches. Real or perceived barriers, such as buildings and warning notices, exist on less than 10%
of the beach units. Whatever the legal position may be, de facto access is possible at all except a few
beaches. Physical and legal barriers to access are of much less importance in relation to beach recreation than
geographical distribution and location. On the other hand, warning notices and similar deterrents to access
are more prevalent at beaches where accessibility is relatively easy. They are found on only 7% of all beaches,
but on 14% of mainland units. Where recreational pressures increase, a few landowners do take steps to
discourage access by erecting notices or locking gates. Such landowners constitute a small minority and in
general terms beach access is easy.
3.2
Ownership and tenure
The use and management of beach areas are strongly influenced by the nature of ownership and tenure.
Ownership is especially important in relation to recreational use. At low intensities of use, recreation may
be a minor or subsidiary activity which interferes little with the dominant land use and requires little or no
management. As recreational intensity increases, the degree of interference with other uses may also
increase, and at the least there will almost inevitably be a need for a management commitment.
Detailed and reliable information on land ownership is difficult to collect. The ownership of many beach
complexes is divided between several individuals and organisations, and various types of formal and
informal letting or leasing arrangements apply. It is important to emphasise, therefore, that the ensuing
analysis of ownership and tenure is simplified and generalised.
Much of the foreshore (the beach below high water mark) is owned by the Crown, while most of the other
parts of beach complexes are under private ownership. The nature of ownership of the foreshore is of limited
significance for recreational purposes. Access is rarely prevented, and cleansing of the most visited beaches
is usually carried on by the local authority irrespective of ownership. The ownership of the foreshore,
however, may be of some significance in relation to the mooring of recreational craft and to sand extraction
51
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
or industrial development. In very general terms, there is an inverse relationship between the degree of
development of the coastline and the proportion of foreshore which is owned by the Crown. This relationship
is perhaps most clearly demonstrated in relation to southwest Scotland, where most of the foreshore in
Galloway remains in Crown ownership while most of the foreshore of the Clyde coast is in private hands.
The relationship, however, is by no means simple: pockets of privately owned foreshores occur on stretches
of coastline where Crown ownership is dominant, and vice versa.
The ownership and tenure of the supra-tidal parts of the beach complex are of greater practical significance
for land use and management. The distribution of ownership and tenure is indicated in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2
Ownership and tenure (percentage distribution)
All beaches
Mainland beaches
Island beaches
Private (owner-occupied)
47.0
53.5
41.4
Local Authority
12.3
22.3
3.5
State
6.0
6.0
2.6
Croft
7.6
3.3
12.4
16.3
4.7
28.5
Other tenanted
5.7
3.0
8.2
Other or not known
5.0
7.3
2.9
Common grazing
Private ownership is clearly dominant, in both mainfand and islands, and accounts for just under half of all
beaches. This category is defined as excluding privately owned fand under crofting tenure or leased to a
tenant, but it nevertheless encompasses a wide range of types of ownership. The most common type is that
involving a single owner, where the beach complex lies within a farm or estate. Around three-quarters of the
privately owned beaches are in the hands of individuals, and the remainder are owned by companies or
clubs. Two main types of company may be identified. One is concerned with industrial development or sand
extraction, while the other has interests in tourism or recreation, often in the form of caravan sites or holiday
villages. Both these forms of company ownership are unimportant in terms of national percentages, but at
the local level they may be of some considerable significance. This importance extends both to landscape
effects, which may be considerable, and to broader questions of access. Where industrial development or
the development of commercial tourist facilities occurs, then access for the general public may be restricted
or prevented. A few beaches, mainly in the lowlands, are affected in this way. Access problems are not
confined to company-owned beaches, but the proportion of company-owned beaches where access
problems have arisen is greater than in the case of individually owned areas.
Another sub-category of privately owned beaches is that involving golf clubs. As in the case of the wider
category of privately owned beaches, club ownership of a beach area is usually incidental to the ownership
of adjacent areas such as links. Club ownership achieves its greatest frequency near the outskirts of towns
and cities in the lowlands, especially on parts of the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde. De facto access to the
beach is usually possible along the margins of the golf course, but management is understandably geared
to the golf course itself rather than to informal recreation, and problems of trampling and litter have arisen
in a few cases.
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
A sizeable and growing proportion of Scotland’s beach areas is owned by local authorities (see Plate 1).
In a few cases, such as Ayr and Aberdeen, the area around the beach has been in municipal ownership
for centuries, but local-authority ownership began to emerge to a significant extent following the Public Parks
(Scotland) Act of 1878. From then until the early part of the twentieth century, the landward parts of several
beach complexes, especially around the Clyde and Forth, passed into public ownership, to be managed
for recreational purposes. Acquisition was frequently followed by the construction of promenades, gardens
and play areas, with low dunes sometimes being levelled off and sown with grass. The landward parts of
most urban beaches are now under the ownership of local authorities, usually the district councils.
In a few localities, district councils also control a number of rural beaches. Such control is usually related to
the energetic promotion of positive coastal policies on the part of the council (or its predecessor). The most
notable example is provided by East Lothian. In a few cases, the regional council, as highways and
harbours authority, is also involved in ownership, but in such cases the ownership of near-beach areas is
usually incidental to the ownership of other land or structures. In a few cases, regional councils own more
extensive areas of beach land, acquired primarily for purposes of recreation. Examples include Dunnet Bay
in Caithness, Balmedie in Grampian Region and also Achmelvich and Clachtoll in Northwest Sutherland,
where machair land previously under crofting tenure passed into public ownership so that the rehabilitation
of eroded machair might be facilitated. Public ownership involving local authorities usually occurs where
there are high levels of recreational use (see Section 3.6). It became established either during the growth of
coastal resorts a century ago, or more recently in response to growing recreational pressures during the late
1960s and 1970s.
State ownership is less frequent and less closely geared to recreation. A number of state agencies own land
around beaches, including the Forestry Commission, the Nature Conservancy Council and the Ministry of
Defence. State ownership does not always imply easy public access: footpaths and other attractive
recreational facilities are provided on Forestry Commission land at a number of localities, such as Burghead
Bay, Tentsmuir and Luce Sands, but ownership by the Ministry of Defence is usually associated with partial
or complete prohibitions on access. Such hindrances to access may be significant locally, as for example at
Barry-Buddon and the central part of Luce Sands, but are of little importance at the national scale because
of the very small number of beach units affected.
Just over one-fifth of Scotland’s beaches are under crofting tenure. By definition, such tenure is confined to the
Crofting Counties, and is a much more prominent feature in the islands than on the mainland. Crofting tenure
may be sub-divided into croft land and common grazings. The former is usually individually occupied land
which has been improved at some time and which may be enclosed, while common grazings are usually
unenclosed rough pasture. Croft land resembles other tenanted land in several respects in so far as recreational
use and management are concerned. Many crofters have been able to develop caravan sites on their holdings
as, for example, on the Arisaig-Morar coast. The growth of recreational pressures on common grazings, on
the other hand, has sometimes led to persistent and intractable problems. Communal tenure of the land may
not be conducive to initiative in response to changing conditions, and difficulties are usually encountered if
attempts are made to apportion the land to an individual or to resume it out of crofting tenure so that
recreational developments may proceed. This form of tenure is associated with some of the most fragile and
dynamic beach units, and effective management in some cases has been delayed until the areas in question
passed into public ownership. Again, problems of this type, although severe locally, are not of outstanding
significance at the national level. Only 8% of the mainland beaches are subject to crofting tenure, and they
tend to be located in more remote parts of the country where recreational use is generally light.
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Nationally, the patterns of ownership of beach areas change only slowly: the most significant trend over the
last century has been the slowly growing proportion of public ownership, and this trend may well continue
into the foreseeable future. Changes of ownership within the sectors listed in Table 3.2 may be of equal or
greater importance for beach use and management. A change from private ownership where the main
motive is related to agriculture to one where the main interest lies in tourist enterprises, for example, may be
at least as important as a cross-sectoral change of ownership. Over the last twenty years, a number of
transfers of ownership have occurred prior to the development of large caravan sites or holiday villages.
Another kind of change which is potentially significant is of the size of the unit of ownership. In some
countries on mainland Europe, the fragmentation of land holdings on the coast, which is often associated
with the development of holiday homes, has posed severe problems for coastal planning and management.
Fragmentation of this type is not at present a serious problem on the Scottish coast, and it may be that the
development-control policies of the local authorities are capable of controlling any problems which might
emerge as a result of tendencies towards fragmentation. But planning and management for the public interest
also inevitably become more difficult if ownership is fragmented into numerous tiny patches, and the
monitoring of land transactions in the coastal zone may be a useful adjunct to coastal planning.
An interesting trend in recent years has been the growing use of management agreements. These are
sometimes informal and involve little more than an agreement by the local authority to cleanse and
perhaps mow small areas of otherwise unused privately owned land between road and coast as, for
example, in Wigtown District. In other cases such agreements are more formalised, and involve both a
greater provision of recreational facilities and a greater intensity of management for recreational purposes.
Agreements of this type are mainly confined to lowland beaches and are most numerous in East Lothian. As
yet very few access agreements under the Countryside (Scotland) Act) have been negotiated for sand
beaches. While access per se is not a widespread problem, these agreements provide a basis for agreeing
arrangements for adequate management, and it seems possible that increased use may be made of them
in the future. It is also possible that formal management agreements may become more widely used tools of
coastal management. If management agreements (whether formal or informal) do become more widely
employed, the relative importance of landownership in coastal land use and planning may decrease, and
recreational use and management may be accommodated more easily on privately owned coastal land.
While public ownership will probably remain essential around the intensively used urban beaches,
management agreements may prove to be useful tools on the margins of towns and in the more intensively
used rural areas.
3.3
Scenic quality
Many of Scotland’s beaches are located in parts of the country where landscape quality is high. More than
half of the beach complexes are in the Highlands and Islands which are renowned for their scenery.
Although the setting of the lowland beaches may be less spectacular, the lowland coastline is usually
attractive in its own right, and at the local or regional scale it is a landscape component whose relative
value is enhanced by proximity to urban and industrial development.
The attractiveness of a beach complex depends on a number of factors. One of these is the beach itself,
where an important attribute is sediment composition. Beaches composed of pure sand are often regarded
as more attractive than those where sand occurs alongside pebbles or other sediments. The extent of the
sand, however, may be relatively unimportant. Very long beaches may lack contrast and visual interest
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
compared with shorter stretches of sand interrupted or enclosed by rocks. Another important attribute of a
beach is the colour of the sand: pale or white sand is probably regarded more favourably than sand of a
greyish or indeterminate hue. Pure sand beaches, of a pale colour and enclosed by rocks or cliffs, are found
mainly in the Highlands and Islands, and especially on the west coast of Lewis and Harris, Tiree and other
Argyll islands, and northwest Sutherland. Many of these beaches are composed of shell sand and are
associated with machairs whose bright green summer colours contrast with the greys, browns and duns of
the surrounding terrain. Likewise these smooth, grassy swards contrast with the rougher textures of
neighbouring rock and bogs. The attractiveness of the contrasts in colour and texture between the beach
complex and its setting is further enhanced by hilly or mountainous backdrops. Where there is a pronounced
vertical element in the landscape, the scenic quality is often high.
Highly valued elements of beach form, beach materials and setting thus tend to coincide in parts of the
Highlands and Islands. The main concentrations of beaches of the highest scenic quality are in west Harris
and southwest Lewis, in northwest Sutherland, and in Islay and Colonsay. In addition, many of the beach
complexes in these areas are almost untouched by built development. Although they have not totally escaped
the hand of man, they seem to conform to the stereotype of the idyllic, unsullied beach, and their perceived
scenic quality is probably further enhanced by their untarnished atmosphere and remoteness.
But outstandingly attractive beach complexes are not confined to parts of the Highlands and Islands. Most
of the lowlands may lack the amplitude of relief which contributes so strongly to the quality of the setting of
many of the beaches in the Highlands and Islands, but a setting in a bold cliffline or wooded backdrop may
at least partly compensate. Most of the major sectors of mainland coastline contain highly attractive cliff-foot
beaches: in the northeast there are examples such as Aberdour Bay; in the southeast there is Seacliff, and
in the southwest Knock and Killantringan Bays. A backdrop of trees may contribute forcefully to atmosphere
and scenic quality as well as to shelter. Beaches in wooded settings are rare in Scotland and have a scenic
quality of their own. Burghead Bay, Culbin Sands and Littleferry on the east coast combine a backdrop of
coniferous forests with more distant Highland views. In the southwest, Cardoness Shore has an unique
combination of rock-interrupted sand, a frame of woodland and a backdrop of hills of granite moorland.
Elsewhere, it is noticeable that the Highland beaches where woodland constitutes a strong landscape
element as in the cases of Gairloch (Wester Ross), Sandaig (W. Inverness-shire) and Dorlin (Moidart) are
distinguished by their high scenic quality. Beaches composed of shell sand and associated with woodland
or mountains are amongst the most attractive visually, especially if these attributes coincide with intricacy of
coastline and seascapes involving loch, strait and island.
Association with woodland and intricacy of coastline are attributes which are not confined to Scotland:
similar settings are found in Scandinavia and Iberia, for example. On the other hand, beaches composed
of white shell sand and associated with rich green machair enclosed by hilly moorland are less widely
distributed in Europe, although they are more numerous in Scotland than the woodland type. Outwith
Scotland, their main concentration is on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. At the international level, therefore, the
most distinctive scenic attribute of Scotland’s beaches is that exemplified in the machair beaches of Harris,
west Lewis and northwest Sutherland.
Although beach complexes of the highest scenic quality are relatively few in number and are mainly but not
exclusively confined to the Highlands and Islands the overall quality is high when judged at a British or
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
European level. Beaches where industry or other man-made features seriously detract from scenic quality are
few in number and are mainly confined to small parts of the Clyde and Forth coasts. Many of the beaches
on open-coast settings at first seem rather bleak and monotonous, at least in poor weather, but on the other
hand their spaciousness may be for some visitors a positive feature. Many similar beaches on the other side
of the North Sea have given rise to popular resort developments: if located nearer large urban populations,
many of the lowland open-coast beaches would be valued much more highly for recreational purposes.
Fine beaches are well represented in National Scenic Areas, even although these designated areas
generally include the coast as an element of a more extensive tract of countryside. This correspondence is
most clearly defined in Harris and southwest Lewis and in northwest Sutherland, but is not confined to these
areas. The most attractive beaches on the Solway, such as Cardoness Shore, lie within an NSA, as do those
on the west coast of the south mainland of Shetland, Moidart and north Ardnamurchan, south Jura and much
of Wester Ross from Gairloch northwards. Around three-quarters of the beach complexes of top scenic
quality at the national scale are within land defined as National Scenic Areas. The only major exceptions
are Sandwood Bay and the Oldshoremore group near Cape Wrath, some of the beaches on Colonsay and
Islay, and isolated cases such as Garry in northeast Lewis and Port Carrick on the Clyde coast.
On the other hand, it does not follow that every beach within an NSA is of uniformly high scenic quality in
its own right. The beaches of Rhum, for example, are of modest quality even if their setting is outstanding.
This applies also to some of the Skye beaches and to a few in Wester Ross, where the beach materials are
other than white shell sand.
Just as there is a disparity between the distributions of population and beaches in Scotland, so also there is
a disparity between the most scenic beaches and population. The most attractive beaches are, in general
terms, in relatively remote, sparsely populated areas. It may be the case that remoteness has helped to
protect some of them from development pressures which would pose a threat to their scenic quality. On the
other hand, most of the top-ranking mainland beaches are relatively intensively used for recreation as, for
example, in the cases of northwest Sutherland and parts of the Solway. Compared with the most attractive
beaches in some of the remoter parts of Scotland, those in most parts of the lowlands are perhaps of only
modest scenic quality. Most of them, however, are attractive recreational environments. The average level of
scenic quality is high: there are few unattractive beaches and many of outstanding beauty on the
international scale as well as on the national.
3.4 Nature conser vation
The coast is a zone of prime interest for nature conservation. Many coastal vegetation communities are less
strongly modified than their counterparts inland where agriculture and other forms of land use have been
practised for centuries. The landforms (which form the foundations for biological habitats) are often dynamic,
and there is often physiographical and geological interest displayed on the coast. Nature conservation
interest is reflected in the various designations which have been made of parts of the coastline and, in
particular, by the relative frequency of these designations as compared with the country as a whole.
Nationally, just under 9% of the land area is in designated sites for nature conservation, but approximately
27% of Scotland’s beach complexes lie wholly or partly within designated areas.
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The most frequent form of expression of conservation interest is the notification (to the land owner and
planning authorities) of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Beaches so classed are widely distributed, but
are especially frequent along parts of the outer coast of the Firth of Clyde, the Solway east of Wigtown Bay,
East Lothian and east Fife, the Grampian coast between Buckie and Fraserburgh, and in Easter Ross and
east Sutherland. The main effects of this notification are in relation to planning applications, on which the
advice of the Nature Conservancy Council must be sought, and in the specification to the owner or occupier
of a range of management operations affecting the scientific interest of the site on which consultation is
required with the Council. Approximately 9% of beach complexes are in SSSIs classed by the Council as
Grade 1 or Grade 2. These key sites are widely distributed, but lie mainly outwith the central belt. Most of
the major sectors of the coastline have some key sites, but they are rather more numerous on the Solway and
Moray Firth coasts than elsewhere.
Beach areas designated as National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are even smaller in number and extent. Less
than 2% of Scotland’s beach complexes are in National Nature Reserves. The island of Rhum, which is
owned by the Nature Conservancy Council, accounts for three of these beaches. Others are widely
scattered from the Monach Isles and part of South Uist in the west to Tentsmuir and Forvie in the east. Where
the NNR is under the ownership of the Nature Conservancy Council, management may be solely or
primarily for purposes of nature conservation, but in the cases of NNRs in private ownership the sites are
usually subject to management and use for a number of purposes of which nature conservation is only one.
A number of nature reserves have been established by voluntary bodies, such as the Scottish Wildlife Trust
and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Examples involving beaches include part of the Loch Fleet
beaches and Handa in Sutherland, and Horse Island in the Firth of Clyde.
The safeguarding of key sites for biological conservation has been furthered in recent years by the
preparation of the Nature Conservation Review. Parallel work on the Geological Conservation Review,
which deals with sites of geological and geomorphological interest, is as yet incomplete. It is very probable,
however, that several Scottish beach complexes will rank amongst the key geomorphological sites. Beach
complexes are amongst the most dynamic of geomorphological systems, and for this quality their scientific
interest is often high. Such sites include outstanding examples of coastal landforms and also areas where
the physical processes involving beach, dune and machair are highly dynamic. These sites offer
opportunities for studying the forms and rates of development of beach complexes. As well as being of
intrinsic scientific interest, such research is also likely to be productive for the management and use of beach
complexes. Examples of beach complexes which are of outstanding geomorphological interest include the
Morrich More (Easter Ross), Invernaver (North Sutherland) and parts of the western seaboard of Uist in the
north and west of Scotland, as well as Strathbeg and Forvie (both in the vicinity of Peterhead), Tentsmuir
(near St Andrews) and Luce Sands (near Stranraer) in the east and south. These sites are distinguished by
their extent, complexity and dynamism. It is noticeable that many of them are also outstanding for the
biological interest. This coincidence is not the result of pure chance; the variety of component parts in the
geomorphological assemblages of the outstanding beach complexes supports a rich diversity of habitats.
Because beach complexes tend to be dynamic in nature, questions may arise as to the desirable level of
management for conservation; if a feature is undergoing rapid (natural) change, is the goal of managing
change a desirable one? But if change extends to a state of degradation, the end result may be a wide
extent of bare and sterile sand which may be of little value for any use. In many cases, therefore, long-term
interests in practical land use and nature conservation may coincide.
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3.5
Land use
Beach complexes are used for a wide variety of purposes. Some recreational use is made of almost every
beach in the country, as will be discussed more fully in Section 3.6. In some cases, the intensity of
recreational use is such that it is the primary or even the sole use as, for example, in the resort beaches of
the lowlands. It is more usual for recreation to co-exist with agriculture or other uses of beach complexes, at
least in their landward parts.
Grazing
Grazing is by far the most widespread of the non-recreational uses and occurs at almost every blown-sand
area in the Highlands and Islands and at over two-thirds of all the beach complexes in Scotland. The pattern,
form and impact of grazing vary from place to place. In general terms, the more remote or inaccessible
machairs are grazed by sheep only and are subject to little direct management. In many instances, the
machair grazings are not physically enclosed from the surrounding rough grazings and grazing pressures
on the sweet machair grasses may be high although overall the local grazing intensity is low. Many machairs
in the Highlands and Islands form parts of common grazings. Grazing usually occurs the whole year round,
but in some cases where the machair is close to the township it is confined to the winter half of the year.
Cattle grazing occurs in over half of all beach complexes and over 60% of those with dunes, links or
machairs. It tends to be associated with rather less remote areas than those subject only to sheep grazing
and it is relatively most important in areas such as Orkney, parts of the Argyll islands and the Clyde coast
as well as on some of the more rural beach complexes on the east coast. Cattle grazing is less strongly
associated with crofting tenure than sheep grazing, and it is usually found on links held as part of owner
occupied or tenanted farms. The areas so used are usually fenced and subject to greater management inputs
than in the cases where there is extensive sheep grazing.
Most machairs and many links have been subjected to grazing for many decades and probably for
centuries. The ubiquity of the practice is such that its significance is difficult to assess in light of the paucity
of ungrazed beaches which may be used for comparison. It is usually assumed that grazing is likely to
reduce the stability of vegetated blown sand by reducing vegetation cover. Its significance depends on the
setting and dynamism of the beach complex and on its intensity and duration. Light seasonal grazing has a
lesser effect than intensive year-round grazing. Secondary effects of treading, trampling and rubbing by
grazing animals may be as significant as the primary effect of grazing itself and, in particular, such effects
may help to perpetuate small blow outs or areas of bare sand by preventing or delaying revegetation.
In general terms, the magnitude of grazing effects is probably greatest on a number of heavily grazed
machairs lying within common grazings on parts of the northwest mainland and Western Isles. In these
cases, the machair sward is often closely trimmed and presents little barrier to sand blow. Rubbing and
burrowing by sheep on deflation faces on these machairs detract further from their stability. The main effects
of grazing by cattle, on the other hand, are probably found on the landward slopes of dunes to which they
have access. Combinations of grazing and trampling may tend to suppress marram and, depending on site
and intensity, may hasten the development of vegetation resembling that of links, or create bare sand
patches. Rabbits also have both physical and botanical effects. Patches of bare sand around their burrows
may be exploited by wind erosion and, on machairs where rabbit densities are high, there may be a shift
in the floristic composition such that Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), a species unpalatable to rabbits and
domestic stock, becomes locally dominant.
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Grazing is probably a major environmental factor and has probably been so throughout historical times. As
yet, little quantitative information is available about its effects on the blown-sand environment, and little
experimental work has been undertaken. Recently, some experimental work on grazing effects has been
carried out at machair sites as part of the Beach Management Project run by the Countryside Commission
for Scotland (CCS 1978), and it is hoped that this work can be continued and extended so that the
significance of grazing on blown-sand substrates may be more fully assessed. Conservation of grazings on
links and machairs is a desirable goal from a number of viewpoints, and especially from the agricultural
one. In the north and west, the lime-rich machairs are usually of much higher grazing value than the
surrounding acid moorlands, while in other parts of the country the free drainage and shelter associated with
many dunes and links are useful assets for the wintering of cattle. Grazing use will probably continue to be
the major use of beach complexes in the foreseeable future and, for this reason quite apart from any others,
there is a need for a fuller understanding of its effects on the dynamics of dunes and machairs and for more
experience of appropriate management regimes.
Cultivation
Although blown sand is not inherently fertile and may pose problems of drought and erosion on cultivation,
just over one-quarter of the country’s beach complexes are under cultivation in some form and to some extent.
In relative terms, the importance of cultivation is probably greatest in areas such as the Uists and Tiree, where
extensive machair plains have for long been cultivated for cereals and root crops. Cultivation in these areas
was formerly geared mainly towards the production of crops for human consumption, and for many centuries
machair soils were valued for their lightness and ease of cultivation as compared with neighbouring areas
of peaty moorland or rocky ground. Cultivation has contracted markedly even in the relatively short period
since the Second World War and is now geared largely towards the production of fodder crops, although
potatoes are still grown. Cultivation on Hebridean machairs is usually confined to small patches on the
machair plain, and the location of these patches may shift from year to year.
The form and characteristics of cultivation on most mainland beach complexes differ in several respects. The
typical site of cultivation is a raised beach where marine sediments are veneered with blown sand. The
raised beach usually takes the form of a gently sloping bench not exceeding a few hundred metres in width
between an old cliffline and the shore. Where the raised beach occupies a narrow bayhead or where it is
inaccessible to agricultural machinery, its use may be confined to grazing, but where it is more continuous
and more accessible, it is often given over to the production of barley or early potatoes. This kind of
cropping is characteristic of parts of the coastlands of southwest Scotland and is perhaps best developed
around Girvan. On the east coast, where depths of blown sand on the raised beach are sometimes greater
and the soils are excessively dry, cultivation is less extensive.
Cultivation usually precludes other land uses and is of some significance for recreation. Cultivated land is
usually enclosed by fences (at least outwith the Uists) and presents an obstacle to beach access. In particular,
it may tend to exclude the casual camping or caravanning which is often encountered on unenclosed links
or machairs.
Extraction
Extraction of sand or aggregate takes place on approximately one-fifth of Scotland’s beach complexes. The
site of extraction may be on the beach itself or on blown-sand deposits. In general terms, sand extraction is
more common on island beach complexes than on the mainland. Some of the more accessible units on the
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Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
major islands have been heavily exploited for sand which has been sought both for agricultural purposes
and as a building material. The level of use of shell sand in land reclamation and reseeding work has
fluctuated in recent decades, but the taking of sand for building material has increased in some localities in
accordance with demand from oil-related developments. Large scale sand extraction is principally
associated with some beach complexes in Orkney, Shetland and, to a lesser extent, Lewis. It is not confined
to the more distant islands, however, and some beaches on the Clyde coast (for example Brodick and
Girvan) and elsewhere have been seriously affected. If extraction rates from the beach exceed natural rates
of sand supply, the taking of sand is likely to lead to accelerated erosion of the coastal edge. Extraction
from pits in dunes or machair may avoid this problem, but this can result in unsightly and possibly dangerous
pits and perhaps in modifications to the water table. Extraction pits are sufficiently large or noticeable to be
regarded as adverse features on approximately 16% of all beach complexes, as Table 3.3 indicates.
Table 3.3
Extraction pits as adverse features
Beach complexes (percentages)
Absent
Present:
Severity
Low
Medium
High
All
Mainland
84
88
10
4
2
9
2
1
Although the number of beach complexes seriously affected by extraction may be relatively low, the effects
are usually of major significance. The taking of sand or aggregate may lead to irreversible changes in the
beach environment and, unless matched to natural rates of sand supply (which are seldom known with
precision), is a damaging use which inevitably leads to the consumption of the resource. In the long-term,
sand extraction from dunes and machair is incompatible with most other uses and it is of particular concern
since it is usually the most accessible beach units which are so affected.
Industry
Industrial land use is confined to around 4% of Scotland’s beach complexes. In the few cases where it
does occur, its practical importance in relation to landscape and other uses may be disproportionately large.
At a few localities, industrial plant dominates the beach unit visually to the detriment of the quality of
the recreational environment, and in others almost the whole of the landward part of the beach complex
is occupied by factories or similar buildings. The industrial use of beach complexes is strongly
concentrated along short stretches of coastline on the Clyde and Forth coasts and at Aberdeen. Recreational
demand in these areas is high because of the large local populations. A wide range of types of industry
is found on beach complexes, but chemical and fertiliser plants are prominent, often associated with
large structures which cannot readily be landscaped, and in some instances with smoke or other forms
of pollution.
Military use
Military use occurs in 3% of the country’s beach units. This type of use usually precludes recreation and other
forms of land use, but it is unusual for a whole beach complex to be reserved for military purposes. Beach
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complexes in military use tend to be larger than average and some of them are of outstanding scientific interest.
Examples include the Morrich More on the Dornoch Firth which is used as a bombing range, and Luce Sands
in Wigtown District which is used for bombing and weapons training. Other examples are Black Dog near
Aberdeen and Barry Buddon near Dundee, both of which are firing ranges. The degree of impact arising from
military use varies considerably. m e amount of earth moving and other changes effected on firing ranges is
usually fairly slight, but at Luce Sands large expanses of dune terrain have been levelled and grassed over in
order to facilitate the retrieval of weapons. Several other beach complexes, such as Irvine Bay at Dundonald,
were formerly used for military purposes and, although there is no longer a military presence, the signs of
military use, in the form of buildings and other structures, are still visible.
Table 3.4
Industrial and militar y installations as adverse features
Beach Complexes (percentages)
Absent
Present:
Severity
Low
Medium
High
All
Mainland
90
83
6
1
3
10
2
5
Table 3.4 indicates the proportion of beach complexes judged to be adversely affected by industrial or
military installations. The proportion is higher than the occurrence of present-day industrial and military use
would suggest and it is clear that the mainfand beaches, where accessibility is easiest and recreational value
greatest, are disproportionately affected.
Forestry
Commercial forestry is practised at only a few beach complexes, notably on the south shores of the
Moray Firth and at Tentsmuir (Fife). The extensive plantations at these localities date mostly from the interwar period and, at sites such as Culbin, afforestation was carried out in an effort to stabilise mobile sand
dunes. Most forests on beach complexes are under the ownership of the Forestry Commission, but a few,
such as at Shell Bay in Fife, are under private ownership. Like military use, forestry is usually associated
with large beach complexes where there are extensive dunefields. On the other hand, forestry rarely
excludes recreational use and, indeed, positive provision of picnic sites, car parks and other recreational
facilities has been made in state forests at the coast. In some instances, the attractiveness of the
beach environment has been enhanced by afforestation which has resulted in a type of beach setting which
is rare in Scotland compared with some other parts of Europe (see Section 3.3) and mobile dunes have
been stabilised. Care will be required when felling begins because dune grasses have generally been
excluded under the shade of dense forest canopies and unprotected sand surfaces will be susceptible to
wind erosion.
Other aspects of land use
Various other land uses, although usually confined to very small areas, may have significant effects on the
beach environment. The tipping of refuse or rubble is carried on in about 20% of all beach complexes.
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While the temptation to use open, uncultivated land for such purposes may be strong, the practice is usually
deplorable. Even if the waste material is partly buried, it may be exhumed by erosion of the coastal
edge or by blow outs, and so may give rise to unsightliness and possibly to danger. Material eroded from
tips may be transported longshore to affect localities at some distance from the site of tipping. This happens
on the Clyde coast north of Ayr, for example. There may be a case for controlled tipping of rubble or
similar materials at some beach units, but in general terms the practice disfigures the beach environment and
is best avoided.
Discharging effluent pipes are to be found on approximately 13% of all beaches and on 21% of mainland
units. Their impact on the beach environment varies greatly: in some cases they are inconspicuous and
inoffensive; in others several pipes scar the beach in close proximity to each other. ln some instances the
pipes discharge below low water mark, but in others they terminate at or above high water mark and
discharge offensive material across the beach. By their nature, the distribution of discharging pipes is
associated with settlements and they are most prominent in the vicinity of urban beaches. Obvious signs of
physical pollution by sewage or other materials were (during survey in the 1970s) clearly displayed on
about 11% of all beaches and 20% of mainland units, again with a strong correlation with the more
populated parts of the coastline. Problems of discharging pipes and of beach pollution have usually been
inherited from last century or the early part of this century. Local authorities and the agencies concerned are
usually keenly conscious of the problems which are usually extremely costly to overcome. Progress is being
made in some of the most severely affected areas, such as parts of the Clyde coast, but a complete solution
or elimination of the problem is unlikely to be achieved within the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the
problems arising from pollution usually attain their greatest severity on some of the most popular beach units,
but they are not confined to such units and a few rural and island beaches are also affected to some extent.
3.6
Recreation
The recreational use of beach complexes takes various forms, ranging from the traditional summer visit to the
beach itself to golf and camping and caravanning on the links or machair. Intensity of recreational use also
varies greatly with almost unvisited beaches in some parts of the country contrasting sharply with those which
may be visited by several thousand people on a single day. A minority of beach units offer facilities for
organised recreation, but a vast majority have some informal recreational use.
Patterns of informal recreational use of beach complexes are difficult to investigate in the absence of statistics
on visitor numbers. It is clearly impractical to attempt to monitor visitor numbers at each of the 647 beach
units throughout the year, and recourse has been made to the use of estimates based on occasional counts.
A simple five-class framework for summer visitor numbers was used, ranging from 0–4 visitors per day at
one end of the scale to over 500 at the other*. The distribution of recreational use, using this framework,
is indicated in Table 3.5.
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Table 3.5
Distribution of recreational use
Beach complexes (percentages)
No. of visitors/day
Under
Over
All beaches
Mainland beaches
5
29
10
5–25
22
16
26–100
28
33
101–500
15
28
500
6
12
*These figures exclude participants in activities such as golf: they relate to numbers taking part in informal recreation
on the beach or in its immediate vicinity. They also relate to good summer weather.
As might be expected, the patterns of recreational use for all beaches differ from those of the mainland
beaches only. Almost one third of Scotland’s beaches are estimated to have fewer than five visitors per day
in summer. Compared with England and much of mainland Europe, both the proportion and absolute number
of almost unused beaches are high. In this respect, Scotland may resemble lreland and Norway, but on the
European scale this pool of almost unused beaches, which in some cases may be regarded almost as
wilderness beaches, is a rare asset. The majority of almost unused beaches are on the islands, especially
on the smaller islands which lack car ferries and other means of easy access. Of the others, several are in
the more remote and inaccessible parts of the Highlands, but most other parts of the country have occasional
examples (see Plate 2). The main concentration is on the south shore of the Moray Firth, and the group there
includes both a few long beaches, such as Whiteness Head, and smaller cliff-girt units, such as Findlater
and Whyntie Head. Beaches in the lowest category of intensity of use are almost invariably some distance
from roads, and they are usually small and little publicised. In a few cases, access is prevented by military
use or for other reasons, but in most cases there are no barriers to access if the visitor is prepared to walk
some hundred metres from a public road. Those who do so will usually be rewarded by the privacy afforded
by the absence of other recreational parties and by a beach environment on which the hand of man has
fallen relatively lightly.
Most of the beach units estimated to have in excess of 500 visitors per day during peak season are close
to urban areas. The major concentration is on the east side of the Clyde coast and on parts of the Firth of
Forth and Solway, where they are associated with large caravan sites and holiday villages. The most used
beaches in the Highlands are near major resorts, such as Dornoch, Oban and Nairn, or close to busy
roadsides or large caravan sites in rural areas such as Wester Ross. The most used beaches are all on the
mainland, except for two cases on Bute and Cumbrae which closely resemble their counterparts on the
neighbouring mainland coast of the Firth of Clyde. At peak periods many of the most used class of beaches
have visitor numbers well in excess of the lower class limit of 500. Beach populations at localities such as
Ayr may reach three or four thousands, and the duration of high usage, on both the annual and diurnal
scales, is often much longer than on more lightly used units. Esplanades and promenades on the main urban
beaches attract recreational use far into the evening and there is also a much higher level of winter use than
in most rural beaches. Although no figures are available on daily totals at beaches, it may be speculated
that the most heavily used beaches have visitations that are at least four orders of magnitude higher than at
the least used class. In terms of annual numbers of visitors, figures range from over 100,000 at some town
beaches to a mere handful at some remote island units.
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Between one-quarter and one-third of the mainland beaches are estimated to fall in the next class of beaches
(101–500 visitors per day) compared with only one-seventh of all beaches. The majority of beaches in this
class are on the Clyde and Forth coasts, but there are also others in less populated parts of the Highlands
and in such cases there is usually a strong association with easy accessibility or with caravan sites. Forty
per cent of mainland beaches are estimated to receive over 100 visitors per day, as compared with 21%
of all units. Conversely, around one-quarter of mainland beaches are estimated to have fewer than 26
visitors per day, compared with approximately half of all units. The strength of the relationship between
accessibility and intensity of use is illustrated in Table 3.6 where estimated day recreation class is cross
tabulated against distance from public road. The table relates to all beaches, including those on islands.
Approximately 10% of all beaches have been provided with some forms of recreational facilities, such as
shelters, putting greens or play areas. These facilities are associated mainly with urban beaches and in most
cases such provision has existed in some form for several decades. There is a strong degree of correlation
of this kind of facility with the most heavily used beaches, but some of the beaches which have become
heavily used in the post-war period – for example, some of the intensively used Highland beaches – do not
have a typical set of urban beach facilities.
Table 3.6
Estimated day recreation (visitors per day)
No. of
Visitors
Under 100m
Distance from public road
100–1000m
Over 1000m
0–4
21
30
46
5–25
16
24
30
26–100
32
28
18
101–500
20
14
4
Over 500
11
3
1
(Figures are percentages of beaches in each class)
Almost all the more heavily used units have been provided with basic services, such as toilets and litter bins.
Approximately one-quarter of all units have the former facility and over one-third the latter. While these
facilities have been available in most urban beaches for many years, their provision outwith the main resorts
has been mainly during the 1960s and 1970s. Litter bins may be provided cheaply, but the construction
and maintenance of toilets are often the most costly items of expenditure in rural beach management.
Like informal day recreation, caravanning and camping are carried on in varying forms and at varying
intensities. Licensed sites for static or touring caravans have been developed on some beach complexes,
while caravanning at other beaches is on a casual basis with no provision of facilities. Some form of
caravanning takes place on approximately 20% of beach complexes. In just over half of these cases,
licensed sites have been developed. Static caravans account for the greater part of the capacity of these
licensed sites, but most of them also cater for touring vans. Approximately 30% of the licensed beach sites
have approved capacities of 30 or fewer units and almost two-thirds may accommodate up to 100
caravans. On the other hand, there are several large caravan sites with capacities of over 300 units, and
one can take up to 600. Most of the large sites are in the lowlands, especially on the Clyde coast where
static caravans offer a sizeable amount of self-catering accommodation close to beaches. Parts of the coasts
of the Moray and Solway Firths are also characterised by large licensed sites.
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Some unlicensed sites are still in operation, but most of the caravanning which takes place outside licensed
caravan parks is in the form of so-called wild caravanning, where few if any facilities are provided. Wild
caravanning is not a major problem in the beach and dune areas of Scotland. It can be a problem locally
(especially on some islands) where there is a degree of tourist pressure but an apparent lack of approved
caravan facilities. The main adverse impart of such use is vehicle tracks, which in a very few cases have
been exploited by wind erosion. It appears that most of the areas exploited for casual camping and
caravanning are either under-utilised by other forms of land use or lack close contact or supervision.
In recent years, a number of chalet developments have been located on beach complexes, although
development control policies have been generally restrictive, as with caravan sites. The number of beach
complexes that have been affected by chalet developments is small and siting is often confined to the
landward margins of the beach complex. On the other hand, some of the beaches on the Clyde and Forth
coasts and in parts of Galloway have holiday huts or shacks dating back to the 1930s. These are sometimes
located in conspicuous positions close to the coastal edge, and in some cases have fallen into serious
disrepair. In the majority of cases, these shacks predate planning controls and the problem which they
constitute in the beach landscape cannot easily be resolved.
Although the Scottish coastline has not been without problems arising from the development of caravan sites
and similar holiday accommodation, these problems have usually been on a relatively small scale and have
usually been localised along a few parts of the coastline. For the most part, Scotland has been free from the
pressures that have led to the development of extensive coastal caravan sites along parts of the coastline of
England and Wales. In a few parts of the country, most of the accessible beaches may have been
developed to some extent for caravanning, but these developments are rarely continuous and are
complemented by long stretches of undeveloped beaches along other parts of the coastline.
One of the most common elements of land use on beach complexes in the lowlands and in some parts of
the Highlands is the golf course. Golf courses exist at approximately 12% of beach complexes. Many miles
of coast are occupied by golf links whose typical setting is the lower part of the dune backslope and the
post-glacial raised beach. Golf links are especially frequent on the east side of the Firth of Clyde and on
the south side of the Firth of Forth, as well as in parts of Angus and on the coast north of Aberdeen. The
standard and levels of management are usually high, and potential threats to stability, such as rabbits and
incipient blow outs, are usually checked quickly. But the seaward part of the foredune ridge is usually outwith
the golf course and receives less management although it may be subject to considerable levels of
recreational use. The typical setting of a links golf course is on the outskirts of a resort or other town. The
town beach may be used intensively for recreation, but is also intensively managed for that purpose, usually
by the district council. Towards the outskirts of the town, intensity of management often decreases more
rapidly than intensity of recreational use, and symptoms of recreational pressures, such as litter and trampling
damage, become all too apparent. In localities where these pressures are high. it may be worth considering
whether access agreements or similar measures could be of value in ensuring both the protection and
continued use of the beach environment.
Like other land uses carried on in beach complexes, recreation has an impact on the beach environment.
The impact is usually stronger on the coastal edge and on the blown-sand deposits than on the inter-tidal
beach and backshore. Although recreational pressures may exert some effects on the beach fauna, and may
also be manifested in litter, these effects are usually either of a lesser intensity or, alternatively, are more easily
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remedied than those exerted on the landward part of the beach complex where damage resulting from
trampling is often a noticeable symptom of recreational pressure. The environmental impacts of recreation
are difficult to quantify, but an indication of their magnitude may be obtained by scoring their occurrence
on a presence/absence basic and, where present, by further scoring according to low, medium or high
severity. The results of this assessment are illustrated in Tables 3.7 and 3.8.
Table 3.7
Trampling damage
Beach complexes (percentages)
All beaches
Mainland beaches
48
25
30
16
7
35
26
15
Absent
Present:
Low
Medium
High
Table 3.8
Litter
Beach complexes (percentages)
All beaches
Mainland beaches
46
21
37
15
3
47
26
6
Absent
Present:
Low
Medium
High
From the tables, it is clear that the environmental effects of recreational use are widespresd and occur to
some extent on most of the mainland beach complexes. The effects become apparent when levels of
recreational use cross very modest thresholds, but intensity of recreational use is not the only variable which
influences them. A key factor is the standard and type of management and, in particular, the provision of
paved surfaces near the coastal edge. The construction of a seawall and access steps protects the most
vulnerable part of the beach complex which, in the absence of protection, may undergo severe deterioration
with moderate levels of recreational use. Many of the most intensively used beaches are equipped with
durable access points and benefit from efficient systems of cleansing and litter collection, but the condition
of the flanks of these beaches and of beaches where recreational use has increased sharply during the last
two decades may be less satisfactory. Suburban beaches and those in easily accessible rural areas much
visited by holiday makers may be identified as the main locations suffering from environmental problems
arising from visitation. In the case of the former, most of the trampling damage results from pedestrian use,
aggravated in a few instances by motor cycles, whilst in the latter cars and caravans may be at least partly
responsible. Burnt patches resulting from picnics or barbecues are frequently found in both settings, and are
often associated with cans and broken glass. While the control of incipient blow outs and the removal of
litter and debris is relatively easily achieved in the settings and management structures of urban beaches,
they are more difficult to organise for suburban and rural beaches. In some instances, a ranger service has
been provided (for example, at Yellowcraig and Balmedie), but all too often the heavy recreational use to
which many suburban and rural beaches are subjected takes place in partial managerial vacuum. Changes
in land ownership or control and land management have tended to lag behind changes in land use. These
lags occur both where informal recreational use has been superimposed on pre-existing land uses, such as
66
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
grazing, and where recreational use has been initiated on narrow coastal-edge strips fenced off from
improved farmland and previously unused for any purpose. This type is more common in the Lowlands than
in the Highlands and perhaps poses even greater problems than the former. In the absence of clearly defined
ownership, use and management, the coastal-edge strip may quickly deteriorate with the dumping of refuse
as well as the onset of recreational pressures. While it has been demonstrated that some of these strips can
become useful, cheaply managed recreational assets (for example, in Wigtown District), their potential
usefulness has not always been fully realised and reflected in positive management for recreational purposes.
67
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
REFERENCES
Countryside Commission for Scotland (1978). Highland Beach Management Project.
Duffield, B.S. and Long, J. (1976). Series No. 3. The holiday-maker in Scotland. T.R.R.U. Res. Rep. 19,
Univ. of Edinburgh.
Duffield, B.S. and Long, J. (1977). Series No. 5. Patterns of Outdoor Recreation in Scotland. T.R.R.U.
Res. Rep. 25, Univ. of Edinburgh.
Godfrey, P.J. and Godfrey, M. (1972). A comparison of ecological and geomorphological interactions
between an altered and unaltered barrier island system in North Carolina. in Coastal Geomorphology
D.R. Coates (Ed.) Binghampton. pp. 239–258.
Mather, A.S. and Ritchie, W. (1977). The beaches of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Countryside
Commission for Scotland.
Ritchie, W. (1976). The meaning and definition of machair. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh, 42, pp. 431–440.
Ritchie, W. (1981). Environmental aspects of oil and gas pipeline landfalls in northeast Scotland. Proc. 17th
Coastal Eng. Conf. (1980) Am. Soc. Civ. Eng. III, pp. 2938–56.
68
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
APPENDIX 1
Method of wind analysis as used to produce wind roses in Figure 2.4
The method of wind analysis used involves the computation of the direction and relative amount of regional
aeolian sand drift from surface wind data. The approach was suggested by Bagnold (1951) and developed
by Fryberger (1979). Winds are evaluated and defined in terms of potential for sand movement by applying
a weighting equation to routine percentage frequency of speed and direction data as provided by
Meteorological Office Summaries. The weighting equation has been derived from a modification of the
Lettau expression to calculate the rate of sand drift from known shear velocities.
q.g/c”p = V* (V*–V*t)
(1)
q = rate of sand drift
g = gravitational constant
c” = empirical constant based on grain diam.
p = rho/density of air
V* = shear velocity
V*t = impact threshold velocity, or minimum shear velocity required to keep sand in saltation.
Additionally C” = C’ (d/d*)n
C’ = universal constant for sand
d = mean diam. sand moved
d* = 0.25mm (standard size) and
n = empirical constant approx. equal to 0.5
Surface conditions, in addition to shear velocity, control the rate of sand drift. These include mean grain
diameter, degree of surface roughness, amount and kind of vegetation cover and amount of moisture in the
sand. Evolution of these parameters for a large number of localities would be impractical therefore wind
energy at various places can be calculated initially using relative quantities of potential sand drift.
q V2(V Vt)
Fryberger generalised the Lettau equation thus:
(2)
where V = wind velocity at 10m ht – standard ht.
Vt = impact threshold velocity at 10m ht.
A number of assumptions are made in applying this expression:
i)
surface of loose quartz sand 0.25–0.3mm diameter
ii) no vegetation
iii) no bedforms larger than ripples
iv) a presumed threshold wind velocity.
This has been determined from Belly’s experimental results for 0.3mm sand and expressed in terms of wind
speed at a 10m ht using Bagnold’s formula
Vt (10m) = 5.75 V*t log –22 + V’t
69
(3)
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
This gives a threshold velocity of 11.6 knots which falls into the 11–16 knot speed category on
Meteorological Office Summaries.
Having made these assumptions equation 2 can then be used to produce a number which expresses the
relative amount of sand potentially moved by the wind during the time it was presumed to blow – ie actual
rates of sand drift cannot be predicted but the method can be usefully employed in regional comparison in
terms of available wind energy.
By substituting values for equation 2 for each of the wind speed classes weighting factors for each speed
class can be derived. This is illustrated for the lower speed classes used in this method of analysis.
Wind summary
velocity category
Mean velocity
V2
(V-Vt)
V (V-Vt/100*
11–16
13.5
182.3
1.5
2.7
17–21
19.0
361.0
7.0
25.3
*numbers divided by 100 to reduce weighting factors to smaller size for convenience of plotting wind roses.
The weighting factors thus represent the rate of sand transport while the % of wind occurrence in the
summaries represents the length of time that the wind was presumed to blow from a given direction at a
given speed, therefore, –
Q V2 (V Vt)t
(4)
t = time wind blew, expressed as a percentage
Q = annual rate of sand drift
To evaluate the potential relative sand drift at a station the weighting factor for each speed class is multiplied
by its percentage frequency for each direction. This is illustrated from the Leuchars Summary for the lowest
speed class:
Method of computing potential sand drift from percentage frequency wind data using weighting equation
(Leuchars Annual Summary 1962–77)
Speed
Class
Knots
Weighting
Factor
350–00
020–040
050–070
080–100
100–130
140–160
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
11.6
2.7
1.0
2.7
1.4
3.8
2.4
6.5
2.7
7.3
2.1
5.7
1.0
2.7
Speed
Class
Knots
Weighting
Factor
11.6
2.7
170–190
200–220
230-250
260-280
290-310
320-340
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
%
VU
0.8
2.2
3.0
8.1
9.2
24.8
3.2
8.6
1.6
4.3
0.8
2.2
The amount of potential sand drift for each direction from all speed classes can then be summed and a total
for each direction produced. These totals can be used to construct a circular histogram or sand rose which
will represent graphically both the amount of potential sand drift and its directional variability from the twelve
compass directions used in the Meteorological Office Summaries. The arms of a sand rose are proportional
70
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
in length to the potential sand drift from a given direction. The arms point toward the direction from which
sediment moved.
Vector unit totals from the different directions can be resolved into a single resultant – referred to as the
resultant drift direction (RDD). This represents the direction to which sand would tend to drift under the
combined influence of winds from the different directions. The magnitude of this direction can be found using
Pythagorean theorem and is referred to as the resultant drift potential (RDP).
REFERENCES
Bagnold, R. A. (1951). Sand Formations in Southern Arabia Geographical Journal 117, pp. 78–86.
Fryberger, S. (1979). Dune Forms and Wind Regime, in E. McKee (ed.) A Study of Global Sand Seas
USGS Prof. Paper 1052.
This appendix was kindly provided by Maralyn Robertson-Rintoul.
71
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
APPENDIX 2
KEY FOR FIGURE 1.1
1
Gillfoot Bay
35
Carleton Bay
2
Mersehead Sands
36
Lendalfoot
3
Sandyhills Bay
37
Ardwell Bay
4
Whiteport
38
Ardmillan
5
Brighouse Bay
39
Woodland Bay
6
Carrick Shore
40
Girvan
7
Airds Bay
41
Girvan North
8
Cardoness Shore
42
Dipple
9
Newton Bay
43
Dowhill Port
10
Mossyard
44
Matthews Port
11
Garlieston
45
Turnberry Bay
12
Rigg Bay
46
Broad Sands
13
Back Bay
47
Maidenhead Bay
14
Front Bay
48
Port Carrick
15
Monreith Bay
49
Culzean Bay
16
Philip and Mary
50
Croy Brae
17
Craignarget
51
Bracken Bay
18
Auchenmalg Bay
52
Heads of Ayr
19
Luce Sands
53
Greenan
20
New England Bay
54
Doonfoot
21
Kilstay Bay
55
Ayr South
22
Drummore Bay
56
Ayr Newton
23
Cairngarroch Bay
57
Prestwick Bay (Prestwick)
24
Maryport Bay
58
Prestwick Bay (Troon)
25
Portlogan Bay
59
South Bay (Troon)
26
Ardwell Bay
60
Barassie
27
Float Bay
61
Irvine Bay (Gailes)
28
Knock and Killantringan Bays
62
Irvine Bay (Irvine)
29
Broadsea Bay
63
Irvine Bay (Ardeer)
30
Dally and Dounan Bays
64
Stevenston
31
Lady Bay
65
South Bay (Saltcoats)
32
The Wig
66
Horse Isle
33
Ballantrae Bay
67
North Bay (Ardrossan)
34
The Whilk
68
Seamill-Ardrossan
72
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
69
Seamill South
105 Rhunahaorine
70
Seamill
106 Ronachan
71
Ardneil Bay
107 Dunskeig
72
Largs Bowen Craigs
108 Loch Stornoway
73
Millport
109 Kilberry
74
Fintray
110 Cretshengan
75
Kilchattan Bay
111 Millars Bay
76
Stravanan Bay
112 Stotfield
77
Scalspie Bay
113 Ormsary
78
St. Ninians Bay
114 Loch Caolisport
79
Etterick Bay
115 Kilmory
80
Sannox
116 Bagh na Doide
81
Brodick
117 Carsaig
82
Lamlash
118 Crinan
83
Whiting Bay
119 Ganavan
84
Kildonan
120 Ledaig
85
Torrylinn waterfoot
121 Tralee Bay
86
Drumadoon
122 Port Ellen
87
Machrie
123 Kilnaughton
88
Kilbride
124 Traigh Bhan Oa
89
Kilfinan
125 Killeyan
90
Skipness
126 Laggan Bay
91
Grogport
127 Gartbreck-Ardlarach
92
Carradale
128 Bridgend
93
Ardnacross
129 Uisgeantuidhe
94
Polliwilline
130 Claddich
95
Macharioch
131 Lossit Bay
96
Brunerican
132 Machair Bay
97
Dunaverty
133 Saligo Bay
98
Carskey
134 Traigh Bhan
99
Lossit
135 Sanaigmore Bay
100 Machrihanish
136 Ardnave
101 Port nam Marbh
137 Killinallan
102 South Glenbarr – Bellochentuy
138 Bagh an da Dhoruis
103 Muasdale
139 Ardtala
104 Tayinloan
140 An Doirlinn
73
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
141 Port Mor
177 Kilkenneth
142 Corran
178 Hough
143 Glenbatrick
179 Sraid Ruadh
144 Shian Bay
180 Bhasapoll
145 Corpach Bay
181 Balephetrish
146 Glengarrisdale Bay
182 Creagan Coast
147 Bagh Gleann nam Muc
183 Vaul
148 Tarbert Bay
184 Salum
149 Oronsay
185 Caolas Urvaig
150 Traigh nam Barc
186 Brock
151 Ardskenish
187 Gott Bay
152 Machrins
188 Scarinish area
153 Kiloran Bay
189 Baugh Heanish
154 Croisebrig
190 Traigh Bhagh
155 Loch Staosnaig
191 Sorobaidh
156 Cable Bay
192 Hynish area
157 Port a Chapuil
193 Gunna
158 Traigh Cill Mhic Eoghainn
194 Caolas Ban
159 Port Uisken
195 Feall Bay/Crossapol Bay
160 Ardalanish Bay
196 Port ant Saoir
161 Traigh Gheal
197 Hogh Bay
162 Knockvoligan
198 Cliad Bay
163 Fidden
199 Bagh na Trailleich
164 Fionnphort
200 Traigh Cill Ionnaig
165 Traigh Mhor Iona
201 Traigh Thorastain
166 A’Machair Iona
202 Traigh nan Uan
167 North Iona
203 Traigh Bhousd
168 Traigh ant Santachaidh
204 Traigh Logabhaisg
169 Gribun
205 Traigh Tuath
170 Calgary Bay
206 Sorisdale
171 Bagh Chrossapol
207 Loch Gorten
172 Loch Buie
208 Loch Breachacha
173 Carsaig Bay
209 Bagh a Ghallanaich
174 Balephuil
210 Galmisdale
175 Bharrapol
211 Bay of Laig
176 Greenhill
212 Camas Sgiotaig
74
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
213 Kilmory
249 Stoneybridge
214 Sahmnan Insir
250 Howmore
215 Un-named
251 Eochar to Dremisdale
216 Tarskavaig
252 Linique
217 Camasunary
253 Guallan
218 Glen Brittle
254 Southwest Benbecula
219 Talisker
255 Culla and Aird
220 Fiscavaig
256 Ballivanich
221 Coral Beaches
257 Rosinish
222 Camas Ban
258 Baleshare
223 Mingulay Bay
259 Kirkibost
224 Pabbay Barra
260 Paible
225 Sandray Main Beach
261 Balranald
226 Sandray Sheader
262 Tigharry and Hougharry
227 Bagh a Deas
263 Hosta
228 Vatersay Bay
264 Scolpaig
229 Traigh Varlish
265 Foshigarry
230 Uidh
266 Vallay
231 Halaman Bay
267 Sollas
232 Borve
268 Oronsay
233 Allasdale
269 Newton
234 Eoligarry
270 Monach Is.
235 Traigh Scurrival
271 Boreray
236 Traigh Cille Barra
272 Berneray West Coast
237 Fuday
273 Berneray Beasdair
238 Coilleagh Phrionnsa
274 Pabbay Chaisteil
239 Rhuban
275 Pabbay Baile Fo Tuath
240 South Glendale
276 Killegray
241 Smerclett
277 Ensay
242 Garrynamonie
278 Traigh a Siar
243 Kilpheder
279 Corran Taransay
244 Daliburgh
280 Paible Taransay
245 Frobost and Askernish
281 Northton
246 Milton
282 Scarasta
247 Bornish and Kildonan
283 Borvemore
248 Ormaclett
284 Borvebeg
75
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
285 Nisabost
321 Ardnamurchan Pt.
286 Seilebost
322 Sanna Bay
287 Crago
323 Kilmory
288 Luskentyre
324 Achateny
289 Husinish
325 Camas an Lighe
290 Traigh Mheilen
326 Cul na Croise
291 Cravadale
327 Ardtoe
292 Mealasta Island
328 Dorlin
293 Mealasta
329 Back of Keppoch
294 Mangersta
330 Bunacaimb
295 Carnish
331 Traigh
296 Ardroil
332 Camusdarroch
297 Traigh na Clibhe
333 Achaidh Mhor
298 Traigh Valtos
334 Morar
299 Traigh na Berie
335 Sandaig
300 Traigh Mhor (Little Bernera)
336 Ard Bhan
301 Un-named (Little Bernera)
337 Applecross
302 Bosta
338 Sand
303 Dalmore Bay
339 Redpoint South
304 Dalbeg Bay
340 Redpoint North
305 Barvas
341 Opinan
306 Dell
342 Loch Kerry
307 Cross
343 Gairloch
308 Swainbost
344 Strath
309 Eoropie
345 Little Sand
310 Port of Ness
346 Seana Chamas
311 Garry
347 Camas Mor
312 Traigh Mhor Tolsta
348 Cove
313 Giordale Sands
349 Mellangaun
314 Sheilavig Mor
350 Mellon Charles
315 Gress
351 Slaggan Bay
316 Traigh Rebac
352 Mellon Udrigle
317 Coll
353 Gruinard South
318 Tong
354 Gruinard North
319 Melbost
355 Camas a Chruthaith
320 Branahuie
356 Mungasdale
76
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
357 Achnahaird Bay
393 The Ayre
358 Garvie Bay
394 Melberry
359 Achmelvich
395 Rackwick
360 Clachtoll
396 Bay of Creekland
361 Stoer
397 Warebeth
362 Clashnessie
398 Bay of Skaill
363 Scourie
399 Marwick
364 Traigh na Teampuill
400 Birsay
365 Traigh Shourie
401 Sands of Evie
366 Oldshoremore
402 Bay of Meil
367 Oldshorebeg
403 Sands of Wideford
368 Sheigra
404 Redbanks
369 Sandwood
405 Sand of Ness
370 Kervaig Bay
406 Sand of Beeman
371 Keoldale
407 Sand of Ouse
372 Kyle of Durness
408 Sandside Bay
373 Balnakeil Bay
409 Newark Bay
374 Creag Thairbe
410 Dingyshowe
375 Sango Bay
411 Copinsay
376 Sangobeg
412 Burray Links
377 Traigh Allt Chailgeag
413 Ayre of Cara
378 Achininver
414 Honeysgeo
379 Talmine
415 Newark Bay
380 Melness
416 Sandwick
381 Coldbackie
417 Sand of Wright
382 Torrisdale Bay
418 Scapa Bay
383 Invernaver
419 Waulkmill Bay
384 Farr Bay
420 Bay of Sandgarth
385 Armadale
421 Veantrow Bay
386 Strathy
422 Mae Banks
387 Melvich
423 Scrimpo
388 Sandside Bay
424 Saviskaill
389 Thurso Bay
425 Sands of Woo
390 Murkle Bay
426 Bay of Tafts
391 Dunnet Bay
427 Wasbist
392 Sannick
428 Garth
77
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
429 Bay of Tuquouy
465 Sand of the Crook
430 Mae Sand
466 Bight of Scarma
431 Bay of Noup
467 Inganoust
432 Grobust
468 Sand of Rothiesholm
433 Bay of Skaill
469 Bay of Bomasty
434 The Ouse
470 Bight of Baywest
435 Pierowall
471 St. Catherines Bay
436 Bay of Brough
472 Stursy
437 Bay of Swartmill
473 Sands of Odie
438 Northwick
474 Papa Stronsay
439 Southwick
475 Cumley Bay
440 Bay of Moclett
476 Mill Bay
441 Bay of Greentoft
477 Sumburgh
442 Sandyland
478 Pool of Virkie
443 Sealskerry Bay
479 Quendale
444 Sands of Mussetter
480 Scousburgh
445 Sands of Doomy
481 Rerwick
446 Bay of London
482 St. Ninians
447 Mill Bay
483 Maywick
448 Doun Helzie South
484 Banna Minn
449 Doun Helzie North
485 Sands of Meal
450 Blackskaill Bay
486 Sand Voe
451 Scar
487 Reawick
452 Whitemill Bay
488 Melby
453 Otterswick
489 The Crook
454 Bay of Sandquoy
490 Tussleby Sand
455 Bay of Sowerdie
491 Kirk Sand
456 Bay of Scuthvie
492 Housa Voe
457 Bay of Lopness (East)
493 West Ayre Hillswick
458 Bay of Lopness (West)
494 Sand Voe
459 Bay of Newark
495 West Sandwick
460 Tresness Bay
496 Brekin
461 Sty Wick
497 Lundawick
462 South Bay
498 Burga Sand
463 Linklett Bay
499 Burra Firth
464 Northness
500 Wick of Skaw
78
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
501 Inner Skaw
538 Rosemarkie
502 Norwick
539 Whiteness Head
503 Balta Island
540 Nairn West
504 Skeo Taing
541 Nairn East
505 Huney
542 Culben
506 Sandwick
543 Findhorn
507 Sand of Sand
544 Burghead Bay
508 Wick of Tresta
545 Cummingstown
509 Mid Yell
546 Hopeman
510 Swarister
547 Covesea
511 Gossabrough
548 Stotfield
512 Lingness
549 Lossiemoutn East
513 Eswick
550 Cullen Bay
514 Sand of Sound
551 Findlater
515 Gulberwick
552 Sandend
516 Sandwick
553 Whyntie Head
517 Levenwick
554 Boyndie Bay
518 Freswick
555 Banff Bay
519 Sinclair’s Bay
556 New Aberdour
520 Kilmote
557 Rosehearty
521 Crakaig
558 Fraserburgh Bay
522 Kintradwell
559 Inverallochy
523 Brora Dalchalm
560 St. Combs
524 Brora South
561 Strathbeg
525 Littleferry – Golspie
562 Rattray Head
526 Coul Links
563 Rattray Bay
527 Embo
564 Kirkton
528 Dornoch North
565 Ugie-Lunderton
529 Dornoch South
566 Peterhead
530 Cuthill Links
567 Sandford Bay
531 Morrich More
568 Cruden Bay
532 Inver-Arboll
569 Collieston
533 Portmahomack
570 Sands of Forvie
534 Wilkhaven
571 Foveran-Drums
535 Balintore
572 Menie-Pettens
536 Nigg
573 Balmedie
537 Cromarty
574 Blackdog-Murcar
79
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2
(continued)
575 Bridge of Don
612 Pettycur
576 Aberdeen
613 Burntisland
577 St. Cyrus
614 Silversands
578 Montrose
615 Peatdraught
579 Lunan Bay
616 Fishery Cottage
580 Arbroath
617 Cramond
581 Elliot
618 Portobello
582 East Haven
619 Fisherrow
583 Carnoustie
620 Seton-Longniddry
584 Barry Sands North
621 Gosford Bay
585 Buddon Sands
622 Greencraig Bay
586 Monifieth
623 Aberlady Bay
587 Barnhill
624 Gullane
588 Broughty Ferry
625 Muirfield
589 Tayport-Tentsmuir
626 Longskelly
590 Tentsmuir Point
627 Yellowcraigs
591 Kinshaldy
628 Broadsands
592 Leuchars
629 North Berwick West
593 St. Andrews West
630 North Berwick East
594 St. Andrews East
631 Milsey Bay
595 Airbow
632 Quarrel Sands
596 Cambo
633 Carty Bay
597 Balcomie
634 Seacliff
598 Crail
635 Peffer Sands
599 Anstruther Town
636 Ravensheugh Sands
600 Anstruther West
637 Belhaven Bay
601 Elie East Links
602 Elie Wood Haven
638 Dunbar Bathe
603 Elie Centre
639 Dunbar East
604 Earlsferry
640 Whitesands
605 Shell Bay
641 Barns Ness
606 Largo Bay
642 Thortonloch
607 Largo Town
643 Pease Bay
608 Lundin Links
644 Coldingham Bay
609 Leven
645 Linkim
610 Kirkcaldy
646 Callercove
611 Kinghorn
647 Eyemouth
80