The water may be a bit chilly for a dip, and it is unlikely that visitors will have any trouble finding a spot for the beach towel.
But two separate reports yesterday heaped praise on the quality and cleanliness of Scotland’s beaches and bathing waters.
The annual Scottish Beach Awards, organised by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, recognised 61 beaches from across Scotland – some well known, others hidden gems – for their pristine sands, good water and environmental quality.
Fife retained its title as the region with the most awards, home to 14 winning beaches. The Highlands, home to Dornoch’s sweeping sandy beaches and the remote Achmelvich Bay in Sutherland, was second with 12 successful award winners.
At the same time, environmental watchdog Sepa confirmed an increasing number of Scottish bathing waters have been rated as excellent, with more than 88 per cent of designated bathing locations said to have met strict environmental water quality standards.
However, the water quality at some of the most popular destinations for west coast sunseekers – including Ayr’s South Beach, Irvine and Heads of Ayr – were rated as “poor”.
Kirkcaldy’s Pathhead Beach in Fife earned a Scottish Beach Award.
The Scottish Beach Awards are regarded as a national benchmark for local environmental quality along all of Scotland’s coastline.
This year’s Awards saw 61 winning beaches across 11 regions recognised, including 54 beaches which have held an award for five or more consecutive years.
Despite its “poor” Sepa rating, Irvine Beach, with its gently rolling sand dunes and beautiful views of Arran and Ailsa Craig, made a return to the Awards after an absence of a decade, while Gullane Bents in East Lothian and St Andrews West Sands have marked 27 consecutive years as award winners.
However, Dunbar east beach, close to the town’s busy harbours, has dropped off the list even though according to Sepa its water quality has improved to “excellent”.
The award-winning beaches have to meet a list of 30 separate criteria points, including beach safety, access, facilities as well as cleanliness.
Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Scotland’s coastlines and waters attract thousands of visitors every year.
“These beach users can be assured that where they see the Scottish Beach Award flag they will have the experience they are looking for: a clean beach, excellent amenities and signposting about the local area, as well as information about water quality.”
The pristine sands and water of Achmelvich Bay in Sutherland.
According to Sepa, Scotland’s 86 designated bathing waters are improving in quality, with 32% rated as “excellent”, and 88% meeting strict water quality requirements introduced in 2015.
At the same time, fewer waters were said to be falling below standard, with the 10 rated as “poor” now said to be the focus of partnership projects to help raise standards.
The lowest performing area was Solway, where four out of its seven designated bathing waters, at Brighouse Bay, Dhoon Bay, Rockcliffe, and Sandyhills, were rated as “poor”.
Others rated as poor include Eyemouth in South East Scotland and Musselburgh’s Fisherrow Sands and at Kinghorn in Fife.
However, the Highlands and Island’s 16 bathing waters all received pass marks, with nine – among them Loch Morlich near Aviemore, Dunnet, Gairloch Beach and Mahrihanish – rated as “excellent” and Nairn (Central) and Thurso both moving up to a “good” rating. There were also positive signs in South-East Scotland, where Dunbar (East) and Thorntonloch have both improved to “excellent”, and Yellowcraig and Seton Sands both improved to “good”.
While Portobello (West) in the outskirts of Edinburgh and Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire both passed for the first time.
Elie in Fife was one of 61 beaches to be praised for high standards.
Calum McPhail, Sepa environmental quality manager, said: “It is great news that more bathing waters have met the ‘excellent’ standard than since the new tighter standards first came into force in 2015.
“Each water is different with a unique set of potential water quality challenges. Working with partners we’re continuing our focus on bathing waters rated as ‘poor’ with tailored improvement plans.”
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