Dog Friendly Beaches in Highlands

An enormous, almost always empty Highland beach north of Gairloch with vast views west to the Outer Hebrides, year-round unrestricted dog access and the kind of solitude that only the west Highlands can offer.

The stunning white sand beach featured in the film Local Hero, with turquoise water, views to the Small Isles and year-round unrestricted dog access on the Road to the Isles.

One of Britain's most magnificent and remote beaches: a vast arc of sand backed by dunes and the sea stack Am Buachaille, accessible only via a 4.5-mile moorland walk with year-round unrestricted dog access.

One of Scotland's finest beaches at the tip of Ardnamurchan, the most westerly point on the British mainland, with turquoise water, white sand and extraordinary views to the Small Isles and Outer Hebrides.

A small, perfect cove in Assynt with crystal-clear water, white sand and a dramatic backdrop of Torridonian mountains.

A beautiful, remote Coigach beach north of Ullapool backed by dunes with outstanding views across the Minch and year-round dog access in one of the finest stretches of north-west Highland coastline.

A remote beach near Cape Wrath with blindingly white sand, turquoise water and year-round access at the very edge of mainland Britain.

A breathtaking Assynt beach backed by ancient Lewisian gneiss rocks with an Iron Age broch above, views to the Outer Hebrides, a dog-friendly campsite and year-round unrestricted access.

Britain's most northerly mainland beach, a vast arc of sand in Caithness with year-round access and a dramatic scale that feels truly remote.

A wide sandy Wester Ross beach with views to the Outer Hebrides, year-round unrestricted dog access and one of the best-equipped Highland villages for post-beach refreshments.

A beautiful, remote white sand beach on Wester Ross looking west to the Outer Hebrides with dramatic mountain backdrops, year-round dog access and the kind of untouched solitude rare even in Scotland.

A beautiful white sand beach where Britain's shortest river meets the sea at Morar, with Loch Morar just behind and year-round unrestricted dog access on the stunning Road to the Isles.

A wide, remote sandy beach near Kinlochbervie in north-west Sutherland with year-round dog access, turquoise Atlantic waters and the extraordinary emptiness of one of Scotland's most northerly west-coast beaches.

A beautiful, barely visited sandy beach near Sheigra in north-west Sutherland with year-round dog access and the extraordinary sense of solitude found only at the northern edge of the British mainland.

Dazzlingly white sand beaches at Morar with year-round access, views to Skye and Rum across the water and a dramatic highland setting.

A small Coigach beach with outstanding views to the Summer Isles, year-round dog access and the option to extend the day with a boat trip to the uninhabited islands offshore.

A white sand beach at the beautiful Road to the Isles village of Arisaig with iconic views to Eigg and Rum, year-round dog access and excellent facilities for the area.

A wide sandy beach on the north Sutherland coast at Bettyhill with year-round dog access, the River Naver outflow at one end and connections to the Highland Clearances story at the local museum.

A beautiful sandy beach at the base of dramatic limestone cliffs on the north Sutherland coast near Durness with year-round dog access and extraordinary Cape Wrath peninsula scenery.

A small, beautiful sandy Assynt cove near Clashnessie with year-round dog access and the ancient Lewisian gneiss landscape typical of north-west Sutherland.

A beautiful sandy beach near Tongue with outstanding views across the Kyle of Tongue to Ben Loyal and the Sutherland hills, year-round dog access and the quiet majesty of the north coast.

A wide, award-winning sandy beach at historic Dornoch alongside the Royal Dornoch Golf Course, with year-round dog access and a town full of cathedral, witchcraft history and unexpected celebrity connections.

A wild sandy bay in Gruinard Bay with views to the former quarantined Gruinard Island, year-round dog access and the dramatic Torridonian sandstone landscape of Wester Ross as a backdrop.

A sandy Wester Ross beach near Laide with year-round dog access, magnificent Torridonian mountain views and the empty, wild character of the north-west Highland coast.

A beautiful sandy beach at the Halladale river mouth in Melvich on the north Sutherland coast with year-round dog access and the big, open skies of the Caithness-Sutherland border.

A long sandy beach on the Moray Firth with year-round access and the sunniest climate in Scotland, backed by a pleasant seaside town.

A small, beautiful white sand cove south of Gairloch on the Wester Ross coast with year-round dog access and the quiet, hidden quality typical of the lesser-known Highland beaches.

A sandy Black Isle beach near Chanonry Point, the most reliable land-based dolphin watching spot in the UK, with year-round dog access and a village rich in Pictish heritage.

A sandy Sutherland beach near the Stoer peninsula, starting point for the walk to the Old Man of Stoer sea stack, with year-round dog access and outstanding coastal scenery.

A beautiful, quiet white sand beach north of Arisaig beside the scenic Traigh Golf Course with year-round dog access and views to the Small Isles.

A quiet sandy beach on the Pentland Firth coast at Armadale village with year-round dog access and the open, windswept character of the north Sutherland coastline.

A wide sandy beach at the east Sutherland town of Brora with year-round dog access, a famous whisky distillery and golf course in town and views across the Moray Firth.

A sandy beach at the historic Black Isle seaport of Cromarty where the firth meets the Moray Firth, with year-round dog access and one of Scotland's finest preserved 18th-century townscapes nearby.

A sandy east Sutherland beach at Embo just north of Dornoch with year-round dog access, backing onto the famous Dornoch links golf course coastline.

A sandy Black Isle beach at Fortrose near the cathedral ruins and Chanonry Point dolphin watching spot with year-round dog access and views across the Beauly Firth.

A long sandy east Sutherland beach dominated by Dunrobin Castle above, with year-round dog access and the chance to combine the beach with a visit to one of Scotland's finest stately homes.

A sandy beach at the picturesque fishing village of Portmahomack on the Tarbat peninsula with year-round dog access and the excellent Tarbat Discovery Centre nearby.

A small, sheltered sandy beach near the abandoned village of Rispond on the north Sutherland coast with year-round dog access and an isolated, peaceful character.

A small sandy cove near Durness with vivid limestone-blue water, year-round dog access and the remote character of the most north-westerly corner of the Scottish mainland.

A sandy beach on the north Sutherland coast near Strathy with year-round dog access and the wide-sky character of the Pentland Firth coastline.

A quiet sandy beach at the east Ross village of Balintore near the famous Hilton of Cadboll Pictish stone, with year-round dog access and good connections to the area's outstanding Pictish heritage.

Nairn's beautiful sandy East Beach, known as the Brighton of the North, where dogs must be kept on leads at all times, though the wide sands and Moray Firth views still make for an excellent leashed beach walk.