ACTIVE OUTDOORS: Taking a dip after walk along Nairn’s ‘secret’ beach

Rachel Smart gets her toes wet on a trip to explore Nairn’s worst-kept secret – a wide open beach just a little out of town

John has once again entrusted me to write this week’s Active Outdoor piece. I was a little wary that I wouldn't get another opportunity after I took the wrong route the last time and ended up walking up a different hill than intended!

But this walk required less in the way of paths and forests, and was instead more open seas and wide sandy plains. I also had my friend Skai with me, so I had a second opinion about which way we were headed.

Being a born and bred Aberdonian, one of the things I miss most about living in the Granite City is being beside the seaside. So I was very keen to check out the ironically famous “Secret Beach” near Nairn.

We jumped in the car in Inverness and drove about 20 minutes towards Nairn. We took the second turn off to Ardersier, where we then headed down a very bumpy, narrow farm track (I had read some instructions online and had been given a bit of local advice so I had a rough idea of where we were going).

When we got to the bottom of the road, it seemed like we were just at a farm, but a short way beyond we found two small parking areas. Hurrah! This must be it, we thought.

The sun was shining but the weather was still cold - it is still winter after all - so we wrapped up in our cosy clothes.

We passed a field of sheep - am I the only one that says “baaa” as I walk past..? - and then went through a gate. There is a lot of dog poo in bags selfishly dumped at the side of this bit of path – another thing that was mentioned in online reviews too.

You then get to a fork in the path but I assume whichever one you take will lead you to the beach. We took the one on the left and a little further on we climbed over a small grassy verge and, voila, there was the beach in all its glory.

I could feel my soul being soothed as I looked out at the miles of beach before me. It is one of the widest beaches I have ever seen, and the sand was a lovely shade of white.

We decided to head in the direction of Nairn. Walking along the beach we found many sea treasures, my personal favourite being the little starfish that had been washed up on the shore with the tide.

Route details

Secret Beach, Nairn

Distance 8.5 miles / 14km

Terrain Tracks then beach, returning mostly on grassy path

Start/finish Hilton of Delnies, west of Nairn

Map OS Landranger 27; OS Explorer 422

Getting a seaside fix on the not-so-secret beach

Click here to view the route in OS Maps

The waves were gentle that day and they lapped up and down, providing a peaceful melody to our walk. The beach was relatively quiet but there were a few walkers out with their dogs. There was also a man on the beach trying to hit his golf ball back onto the course - thankfully he waited for us to pass him by.

It took us about an hour-and-a-half to get to Nairn, where there was a bustle around the town. I was pleased to see the outdoor gym that has been built there, something that I often see abroad, but not so much here in Scotland.

There were lots of people with their dry robes on who had braved the sea for a cold dip, and the whole atmosphere of the seafront was just very relaxed.

By the time we had got there, Skai and I were pretty hungry. We came across the Sun Dancer, a restaurant I’d heard good things about, and decided to see if we could get a table. We were sat down pretty quickly, and I got a warm bowl of salmon and sweetcorn chowder while Skai opted for a granola bowl.

Fuelled up, we then had a quick look in Nairn town centre and grabbed ourselves a wee sugar boost in the form of cake from The Highland Weigh.

We were now ready to make our journey back towards the car.

As we walked back along the Nairn boulevard, and towards the wide open beach, we were comically surprised to find the tide had come right in - funny it does that - and were a bit perplexed at how we were going to get back towards the car.

Following our instinct we headed through the car park of the golf course, and then onto the golf course. Thankfully there was a little path running down the side, above the high tide mark, so we could make our way back.

At some point the beach was wide enough that we could get down onto the sand safely again. By this time the sun was setting and the sky was filled with a lovely light. There was also the crest of the moon in the sky.

When we got back to the bit of beach parallel to the car we decided to get our Wim Hof on and take a cold dip in the sea. It was quite literally breathtaking. The water was so still and the air felt so clean. This was Canadian Skai’s first time in Scottish sea waters!

Feeling full of endorphins and my body feeling at one with nature, we headed back to the car, and back along the A96 towards Inverness. A very lovely day indeed.