Vatersay Bay Beach

Vatersay Bay Beach is on the tiny island of Vatersay, connected to Barra by a causeway since 1991, at the southern extremity of the inhabited Outer Hebrides. The island has two main beaches, the east-facing Vatersay Bay and the west-facing Bagh Siar (west bay), and both are remarkable: white shell sand, clear water and the open Atlantic on the west side and the sheltered Sound of Vatersay on the east. A war memorial on the hillside above the west beach commemorates the loss of the troopship Annie Jane in 1853, when 450 emigrants drowned off Vatersay during a crossing to Canada. The island population is tiny and the atmosphere is one of genuine, peaceful remoteness.

There are no dog restrictions at Vatersay Bay Beach. Year-round access under Scottish land reform legislation. The island is so sparsely visited outside summer that dogs will typically have the beach entirely to themselves. The machair on Vatersay is rich in wildflowers and ground-nesting birds in summer: dogs should be under close control when not on the sand.