Sandwood Bay from Blairmore

The walk starts from the car park at Blairmore, at the end of the road near Kinlochbervie in the far north-west of Sutherland. A wide gravel track leads across open peat moorland past a string of lochs, Loch na Gainimh and Loch a' Mhuilinn among them, and gradually becomes a narrower path. Sandwood Loch comes into view on the last stretch, and the path goes on through the dunes to the head of the beach at Sandwood Bay, a wide sweep of sand with the sea stack Am Buachaille at its southern end. The walk ends at the dunes above the beach. The return is the same way.

It is 13.9 km there and back with 187 m of ascent; allow about 4 hours. The grade is Moderate: nearly four hours on a level track and a boggy path with no steep climbs, but long, remote and often wet.

The John Muir Trust, which looks after Sandwood, describes the four-mile path as crossing exposed moorland, with parts that are uneven and often wet, and says to remember that Sandwood is an active crofting estate and to follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. It says that if you find the car park full you should have a plan B. Sandwood lies 11 miles from Cape Wrath; the way on towards Cape Wrath is not part of this walk. The bay faces the Atlantic, so keep well back from the surf.

OpenStreetMap lists the car park at Blairmore as free. There is no station near.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.