I wanted to add another walk to my “Places to Visit” section, but somewhere a little different to the last.
An Corran beach is located near Staffin on the Trotternish peninsula (my favourite peninsula, if you hadn’t already guessed), with views over to the uninhabited Staffin Island. It’s about a 30-minute drive from Portree, and you can take the bus from Portree if you’re visiting without a car. It stops on the main road, outside the Columba restaurant, and takes about 15 minutes to walk to the beach, down a single track road.
A note if you’re driving - as mentioned, it’s a narrow road so don’t speed, please look out for livestock, other cars, and pedestrians. And the drop to the left.
The beach is pretty unique for several reasons (although, not gonna lie, looks very much like the black sand beach near Vik in Iceland, minus the rock formations in the sea.. I have photos from each that look nearly identical) - it’s one of the few sandy beaches in Skye, but not only that - the sand is black! (I realised I sabotaged myself with my previous parenthesised comment.)
”But there are other black sand beaches on Skye,” I hear you say. Yes, but this one has dinosaur footprints!
The footprints belonged to herbivorous dinos (who were apparently up to 10 metres long!) who walked on 2 legs - they have three front-facing toes. The prints are actually really hard to find - I personally have never found them, although I intend to keep searching. Make sure to visit at low-tide to give yourself the best chance, you can check the times at tidetimes.org.uk . Even when the tide is out, they could be covered by sand or the abundant seaweed present on this beach, so keep your eyes peeled. There are also some helpful information boards up in the car park that show you what to look for, and explain a little more about the dinosaurs that lived there. Searching for the prints is great fun for kids and adults alike.
Nope, these weren’t them.
This is one of my favourite beaches on Skye. It’s so clean! I don‘t think I’ve ever come across any litter, and that makes me very happy. It doesn’t get too busy either, there’s usually only a handful of other people visiting, if any. There are plenty of rocks for you to sit on and contemplate the beauty of your surroundings.
It’s a great place for seeing spectacular rainbows, and there are usually lots of sea birds and - if you’re lucky - seals! Once when we were playing a game of American football on the beach, a couple of curious seals swam up to watch us for a while until they got bored.
Walking An Corran can be a lovely chilled amble along the beach, exploring around the rocks, or it can be walked as part of a circuit that takes you through Staffin village and the shoreline. Here is a link to a map of the circuit in case you want to check it out.
Take a picnic blanket, your binoculars, a camera and waterproofs! Whether it’s raining or not, it can get quite blustery and more than likely you’ll get soaked with sea spray - very refreshing.
Just some practical information - as with most beaches on Skye, dogs are welcome! And parking is very easy, right next to the beach. The path down from the car park can be a little steep and slippery.
There’s also a museum nearby (about a 5 minute drive back towards Kilt Rock) - the Staffin Dinosaur Museum, open weekdays, where you can find out more about the dinosaurs that roamed the Isle of Skye. It’s well worth a visit to meet Dugald Ross, who founded the museum as a teenager, and discovered all the fossils in the collection himself.
To sum up, it’s a beautiful place to spend an hour or two, just to while away an afternoon, and can easily be visited in conjunction with Portree, the Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock (and the nearby waterfalls), or various other short hikes along the east coast of the Trotternish peninsula.
I’m hoping to be back there myself in a couple of weeks, COVID-19 restrictions willing, so maybe see you there!
Tioraidh!
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