Beaches of Wester Ross - Scottish Natural Heritage

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COMMISSIONED REPORT
Beaches of Wester Ross
Commissioned by the Countryside Commission
for Scotland, 1971.
R. Crofts, A. Mather
For further information on this report please contact:
Advisory Services
Scottish Natural Heritage
2 Anderson Place
Edinburgh EH6 5NP
This report should be quoted as:
Crofts, R., Mather, A., April,1971. Beaches of Wester Ross. Department of Geography,
University of Aberdeen, under the direction of C. Wilson, for the Countryside Commission
for Scotland. Reprinted 2001 by Scottish Natural Heritage as a Commissioned Report.
This report or any part of it should not be reproduced without the permission of Scottish Natural Heritage which
will not be unreasonably withheld. The views expressed by the author(s) of this report should not be taken as
the views and policies of Scottish Natural Heritage. Please note that all statistics, lists of Sites of Special
Scientific Interest, etc are given in the appendix in the project report and some of them may have changed.
© Scottish Natural Heritage. First published CCS 1971.
COMMISSIONED REPORT
Beaches of Wester Ross
R. Crofts, A. Mather
First published by the Countryside Commission
for Scotland, 1971.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the numerous individuals without whose help the report could not have been
produced.
Professor K. Walton gave continuous advice and encouragement, while Mr. C. Wilson supervised the
technical aspects of the production of the report. Miss Valerie Simpson undertook the analysis of sedimentary
samples, and Miss Yvonne Wilson typed the manuscript prior to printing. Mr. C. Bremner was responsible
for the production of the text maps, while Miss Ruth Taylor carried out the cartographical work on the
individual beach maps. Messrs J. Livingstone and D. Robertson reproduced the photographic illustrations,
and Messrs T. Cook, H. Ross and W. Bragg co-operated in printing and binding.
Thanks are due to the County Planning Officer for Rossshire for information. Grateful acknowledgement is
made to the Ordnance Survey for permission to reproduce the aerial photograph in Figure 4, and to Messrs
Geo. Outram, Perth, for supplying the cover print.
March 1972
R.C. and A.M.
For further information on this project contact:
George Lees, SNH, 2 Anderson Place, Edinburgh EH6 5NP.
[email protected]
For further information on the SNH Research & Technical Support Programme contact:
The Co-ordination Group, Advisor y Ser vices, 2 Anderson Place, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131 446 2400
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report – Beaches of Wester Ross
Contents
Acknowledgements
Notes
Introduction
1.
The Coast and Tourism
1
2.
Physical Characteristics of Sandy Beaches in Relation
to Resource Utilisation
5
3.
The Carr ying Capacity of Beach Complexes
14
4.
Methods of Analysis
16
5.
Individual Beaches
22
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
5.14
5.15
5.16
5.17
5.18
5.19
6.
Achnahaird Bay
Reiff
Badentarbat
Mungasdale
Gruinard Bay: North Beach
Gruinard Bay: South Beach
Mellon Udrigle
Mellon Charles
Slaggan Bay
Inverasdale
Mellangaun
Seana Chamas
Little Sand
Gairloch
Opinan
Redpoint North
Redpoint South
Applecross
Camusteel
Conclusions and Recommendations
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
General Observations
The Planning of Beach and Coast Use – The National Scale
The Planning of Beach Use – The Sub-Regional Level
The Planning of Beach Use – Local Tactics
22
29
32
36
41
46
51
58
61
65
66
73
78
85
91
98
103
108
113
115
115
117
119
122
Appendix 1
Glossar y
124
Appendix 2
Beach Complex Parameters
126
Appendix 3
Indices of Attractiveness
128
Appendix 4
Habitat Diversity
130
Appendix 5
Sediment Characteristics
132
Bibliography
133
Geomorphology Symbols
134
List of Figures
1
2
3
4
5.1–5.19*
6
Location of Beaches
Composition of Beach Complexes
Model Beach
Geomorphological map and aerial photograph (Mellon Udrigle)
Geomorphological maps
Conservation Areas
*Also included in atlas volume.
List of Plates
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Achnahaird
Achnahaird
Reiff
Badentarbat
Mungasdale
Gruinard
Gruinard
Gruinard
Mellon Udrigle
Mellon Udrigle
Mellon Udrigle
Mellon Charles
Mellangaun
Seana Chamas
Little Sand
Little Sand
Little Sand
Gairloch
Opinan
Opinan
Opinan
Redpoint
Notes
1. This report is the sixth in a series of beach surveys commissioned by the Countryside Commission for
Scotland. Other reports completed refer to Sutherland, Caithness, Lewis and Harris, Barra and the Uists,
and West Inverness-shire and North Argyll.
2. Place-name spellings are taken from the most recent available Ordnance Survey one-inch or six-inch
maps.
3. The term machair is employed in the sense of a maturely vegetated sand-built landform feature. It is
emphasised that the term is used for convenience, and bears no direct implications regarding the lime
content of the underlying soil or the floristic composition of the vegetation. Synonyms include links and
dune pasture. The meanings of other terms are given in the glossary in Appendix 1.
Introduction
Although limited in extent, the sandy beaches of the West Highlands form an important resource for tourism
and recreation. The “fragile”, easily-damaged nature of the beaches demands careful conservational
management and it is important that each beach is used for the purpose for which it is best suited.
The Countryside Commission for Scotland, in exercise of their powers under Section 4(c) of the Countryside
(Scotland) Act, 1967, commissioned the Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen, to undertake
an inventory of certain resources of selected beaches in Wester Ross with a view to providing the
Commission with basic data for conservation and recreation-development planning. In the commissioning
letter of 16th April, 1971, the Department were instructed to investigate and report on the following factors
for each beach examined:
(a) Physical characteristics of the beaches and beach materials in either case to the landward limit of
maritime activity; this physical assessment will form the core of the report;
(b) Vegetation;
(c) Grazing;
(d) Ownership and land tenure;
(e) Recreational use;
(f) Scientific and scenic conservation value;
(g) Dynamics and rates of change;
(h) Accessibility, water supply and other factors as appropriate;
(i) Such other factors as may be agreed between the Commission and the Department.
The Department were also invited to provide a synoptic assessment of these factors, and to comment or make
suggestions on relevant factors such as conservation, future recreational provision, carrying capacity and
any other appropriate matters on which they wished to comment. Instructions were given to the effect that
close liaison would be made with the County Planning Authority, and accordingly the Department invited the
county planning officer to inform them of specific problems which he felt should receive attention, and of the
ways in which the survey could be made most useful for his purposes. Where possible the points raised by
the county planning officer have been incorporated in the programme of fieldwork and in the presentation
of findings.
It is emphasised that in accordance with terms of reference, this survey examines certain aspects of beaches
as tourism resources, and does not investigate the pattern of demand for beach recreation. In other words,
it presents information basic to the wise use of the limited beach resources of the region, but it is beyond
the remit of the study to investigate the demand and behavioural characteristics of the tourist population.
1.
The Coast and Tourism
Coastal types vary in degree of attractiveness to tourists and recreation seekers. Rocky coastlines may be
attractive because of the grandeur of their cliffs, while saltmarshes may prove interesting because of their
rich flora and fauna. Sandy beaches, however, especially where they are backed by dunes and links,
form the main focus of tourism activity on the coastline, and many of the problems of coastal recreation
planning and development focus on this coastal type.
In Wester Ross, the coastline is deeply indented by the sea lochs of Loch Broom in the north and Loch
Carron, Loch Long and Loch Duich in the south. The total length of the mainland coastline is approximately
280 miles, of which the greater part consists of rocky shores in places backed by cliffs. Only about 8 miles,
or 3% of the coastline length, is in the form of sandy beaches, and these beaches form small pockets
bounded by low rocky headlands. Long stretches of dune-backed sandy beaches like those of the east coast
of Scotland are lacking, and most of the pockets occur in the central part of the Wester Ross coastline around
Loch Gairloch, Loch Ewe and Gruinard Bay. The location of the beaches is indicated in Figure 1, while their
size distribution is indicated in Figure 2.
Although it is frequently assumed that much of the coastline in a Highland area such as Wester Ross is remote
and inaccessible, in actual fact vehicular access to within a relatively short distance of the shore is possible
along a considerable part of the shoreline. Only about one quarter of the coastline length is not backed
either by an A or B class road, or by a minor tarred road, and this “inaccessible” section of the coast
contains relatively few beaches. Many sandy beaches in the area are, on the contrary, highly accessible,
and indeed some are directly backed by the main artery of tourist movement, the A832. Carter (1971)
estimates that between 5,000 and 10,000 tourist-vehicle journeys per week take place along this road
during the summer months. Clearly such a volume of flow, passing in places within a few yards of sandy
beaches, is likely to be reflected in large-scale demand for access to the more attractive beaches.
The potential demand for beach recreation is further emphasised by the importance of settlements along the
A832 as tourist accommodation centres. According to Carter, Gairloch alone houses between 35,000 and
50,000 “holidaymaker person-nights per week”, greater than one third of the area’s accommodation (Parnell
1968), while Poolewe and Aultbea also accommodate large numbers of tourists. These figures suggest that
the visitor potential on the more accessible beaches of the central part of Wester Ross can number up to
several thousand per day. Since the beaches are limited both in size and in resilience to recreationallyinduced damage, it is essential that careful conservational planning and management of the beach resource
is required.
Sandy beaches in themselves are not easily damaged by tourist or recreational use, although they can be
extensively modified by man’s interference in the form of sand extraction or coastal engineering. The “fragile”
zone is the blown-sand accumulation which backs many sandy beaches. Onshore winds blow sand
landwards from the beach, and the colonising action of vegetation helps to fix the blown-sand accumulations
in the form of stable land surfaces. The young vegetation communities which act as colonising agents lack
diversity and stability, and are easily damaged by grazing or by treading by human foot or vehicle wheel.
Once damaged or destroyed, the vegetation no longer functions as an effective binding agent, and the
unprotected sand grains are easily removed by the wind, resulting in unsightly “blow out” scars in the dune
or links, and fresh accumulations of sand to the landward which in places may bury grazing or cultivated
land, or even impede vehicle movement on roads.
1
Since beach complexes are areas of fragile environment, and since they are strictly limited in number and
extent in Wester Ross, it is important that their recreational use must be developed within a conservational
framework. It is essential, especially in the beaches located close to the main tourist routes, that management
inputs seek to counteract tendencies towards resource deterioration. The scale of required management will
depend on the inherent stability or instability of the beach, and the intensity of use which it is proposed to
permit on it. The ensuing parts of this report seek to identify the processes presently operating on the various
beach complexes in the area, and to suggest possible management objectives which it is hoped may prove
useful in any overall coastal planning policy which may eventually be adopted for the area.
2
Figure 1
Location of Beaches
3
Figure 2
Composition of Beach Complexes
4
2.
Physical Characteristics of Sandy Beaches in Relation to
Resource Utilisation
The conservational utilisation of sandy beach complexes for recreation and other purposes demands a
knowledge of the physical processes acting upon the beach, and the likely consequences of potential
man-made interferences. From the analysis of the beaches in the region covered by this report, it is possible
to make certain broad generalisations concerning physical processes and landform evolution, and thereby
to construct a model beach, on which the main beach characteristics and potential danger zones can
be identified.
Examination of the maps in the accompanying atlas volume indicates that certain landform-elements are
common to almost every beach, while on some beaches distinctive groupings of landforms, or
landform-associations, have evolved. Beaches in the region usually consist of several zones or elements,
which are linked by dynamic relationships and which combine to form the beach complex. All the elements
of the complex need not be represented at every site, but the main elements of beach, dunes and machair
are usually present in some degree of development. A diagrammatic profile illustrating the main elements is
shown in Figure 3. Where the beach is composed of sediments other than sand, or if rock occurs in the
inter-tidal zone or in the immediate offshore zone, this model pattern is modified to a greater or lesser extent.
The zones and sub-zones of the beach are defined on morphological and genetic grounds, and are
discussed in the ensuing sections of this chapter.
The lowest element of a beach complex is the offshore zone, which can act as both a source and trap for
sediment supplied to the beach or removed from it. This zone lies beyond low water mark and is continuously
covered by sea-water. Therefore it is not mapped in detail on the beach maps (see atlas volume) but
information on the nature of the seabed and the offshore gradient is available from Admiralty Charts. In most
of the beach areas of the region, the offshore zone is sand-floored, but occasional rocky outcrops, and
patches of coarse sand, gravel and shingle also occur. During periods of constructive wave action, sediment
is transported by waves and currents from this zone towards the beach, while during destructive wave
conditions the direction of sand movement is reversed. The amount of sediment available in this zone for
beach nourishment depends on local wave and current patterns, the nature of the sediment in terms of its
size and shape, and the sediment budget in the surrounding coastal area.
The calcareous nature of the sand on some beaches (eg Mellon Udrigle and Slaggan) suggests that the main
source of sediment is from organic sources, but for the greater part sediments are mineral in origin, and are
derived from weathering on cliffs and other land surfaces and from supply by rivers and streams. Depletion
in the reserves of sediment held in the offshore zone, as a result of natural processes or engineering works,
will cause a loss of sediment from the inter-tidal beach and erosion will ensue in the landward zones of the
beach complex.
The beach zone is perhaps the most dynamic element in the beach complex, although it is less sensitive to
trampling and other repercussions of recreational use than the dunes and machair. The zone comprises the
area between low water mark and the upper limit of wave activity, which is usually a little beyond the high
water mark of ordinary spring tides. Close relationships exist between the beach zone and the adjacent
elements of the beach complex in terms of sediment supply and other dynamics.
5
The beaches described in this report are composed largely of sand in the calibre range 0.18–0.50mm.
This sand is slightly coarser than the sand composing the dune and machair zones. The physical
characteristics of this sand vary with its sources and the processes to which the individual particles have
been subjected. Most of the sediments contained in the beach, and more especially those in other parts of
the beach complex, are derived from granular and chemical disintegration of solid rock. Hence the particles
are predominantly mineral in nature, and quartz is the major mineral component. Some beaches, however,
have high carbonate contents (see Appendix 5) reflecting relatively large proportions of organic carbonate
material in the sand. In the absence of significant outcrops of calcareous sedimentary rock, this suggests that
the sand consists largely of the comminuted remains of shelly fauna. The direct inference from high-carbonate
beach sands is that the present net supply of material to the beach complex is greater than the net loss.
Conclusions on the supply/loss balance in mineral sands are less easily reached.
An important distinction between carbonate and mineral sands can be drawn in terms of the shape of the
individual particles. Generally speaking, quartzose sand particles are more spherical and have smoother
surfaces than the carbonate particles, which, in the case of comminuted shells, tend to be elongated and
flat in shape and are characterised by surface irregularities. The quartzose particles are therefore more
streamlined and respond more readily to wave and wind action than carbonate particles. A good example
of this differential response is often seen on the inter-tidal beach after wave wash-over and especially during
and immediately after moderate or strong onshore winds. If the beach sand has a carbonate content of
between 10 and 50%, consisting mainly of shell fragments, the slightly larger and flatter shell fragments may
be left behind as a surface lag whilst the mineral particles and the more spherical carbonate particles are
readily transported. The same phenomenon on the backshore is a good indicator of the supply of sand from
beach to dunes. Similarly, after a wave breaks, the backwash flowing down the beach carries with it the
finer and more spherical particles leaving a lag of the coarser, more irregularly shaped particles.
By examination of the distribution of grain sizes of beach sands, some indication of their origin may be
revealed. However the grains have rarely undergone selection and shaping by waves and currents over a
sufficiently long period for the size and some of the shape characteristics of their previous environment to be
effaced. This highlights a major problem in beach nourishment studies. Most of the sand particles have been
fashioned under many environments in the past few millenia, and it is almost impossible to distinguish
between sands of different origins.
In many beach areas, relict or fossil landform assemblages function as important sediment-supply sources for
present beach nourishment. Many of the sandy beaches in the region are backed by raised shoreline
terraces or by landforms composed of glacial or fluvio-glacial material. Erosion of these landforms by stream
action or slope processes supplies sediment of varying calibre for beach-complex construction. The sand
content of these landforms is often limited, but they may supply copious amounts of coarser material which
can exert a significant influence on beach accumulation.
Other possible sources of sediment supply include the offshore zone, which has already been discussed,
and cliff erosion along neighbouring stretches of coast. The supply of sediment from adjacent cliffs depends
on the type and erodibility of the rock of which the cliffs are constructed, and also on factors affecting the
transport of debris to the beach. In Wester Ross, beaches are frequently surrounded by irregular cliffs of
Torridonian sandstone or Lewisian gneiss. The former yields moderate to large quantities of sand particularly
where the rock cement is weak, but very little sand-grade sediment is derived from the latter. Much of the
6
coastline takes the form of a low rocky shore on which the processes of marine erosion proceed extremely
slowly, so that little sediment is yielded. In general terms, new material for beach nourishment is derived from
inland sources and reaches the beach either directly by stream or river deposition, or indirectly via transport
into the offshore zone.
The morphology of the sandy beaches in the region of study displays certain features symptomatic of
prograding (advancing) shorelines and others which are indicative of shorelines of degradation (retreat).
A transect across the beach from the backshore to low water mark illustrates the fact that the beach can be
sub-divided into two parts, the upper and lower beaches (Figure 3). These elements are usually separated
by a marked change of gradient and sometimes also by a change in sediment size. The relationship
between beach gradient and sediment size is summarised in the statement that gradient is usually
proportional to grain size. The divisions between upper and lower beach is best developed during settled
weather conditions in summer, when waves and currents redistribute beach material and gradually build up
the beach surface to a few inches or even feet above normal (mean) level. This progradation of the beach
has a positive effect on the whole beach complex as the surplus sand is usually deposited in the form of a
berm or berms at successive high water marks. These berms not only block the passage of waves onto the
backshore and the dune front (coastal edge), but also provide sand for dune construction. A further feature
of this constructive “summer beach” is the development and subsequent migration of beach ridges. These
ridges form around low water neap tide level with intervening runnels, and under wave action migrate up
the beach as far as the break of slope. Here they are dispersed by waves, but their constituent material is
used in berm construction. Every prograding beach does not display ridge-and-runnel phenomena because
of local peculiarities, but in general terms if the beach has a low gradient lower section (less than about 4°)
and has constructional bars and berms it is likely to be prograding.
During winter or after a period of storms and accompanying destructive wave action, the beach profile can
be very different, representing a degrading shoreline. The profile of the “winter beach” under these conditions
rarely has any bars, berms or ridges except in extremely degraded form, and the upper beach and backshore
zone either show signs of wave erosion as far as the coastal edge, or else have an increase in beach
gradient to between 7 and 10°. During this phase, the material removed by wave action is carried to the
nearshore where it is retained until transported back to the beach during summer conditions, or alternatively
removed to the offshore zone where it may be permanently lost to the beach circulation system. Should these
“winter beach” conditions be predominant throughout the year due to strong exposure or poverty of sediment
supply, the beach will be continually degraded to the detriment of the whole beach complex.
The backshore zone is thus the crucial element in the evolution of the dune and dune pasture areas. If this
backshore element is poorly developed, and the dunes and machair undercut by waves at ordinary spring
tides, the adjacent wind-deposited landforms will undergo continuous removal by frontal wave washing, and
material will consequently be lost to the circulation system.
The removal of sand from the backshore zone is thus liable to lead to deterioration of the beach and machair
areas, and if these areas are to be conserved, sand extraction from the beach must not be permitted to
take place.
The nature of the backshore zone has been demonstrated to be of crucial importance in influencing the
stability of the beach complex. A second factor affecting stability is the plan of the beach. The plan is
7
Figure 3
Model Beach
8
summarised in the C:P index, which expresses the relationship of the length of the beach, in terms of the length
of the chord joining the beach headlands, to the degree of curvature, in terms of the length of perpendicular
P from the mid-point of the chord to low water mark. The magnitude of the C:P ratio, and the skewness or
asymmetry of the beach plan about a central axis, permit certain generalisations on the lateral stability of the
beach. If the C:P ratio and skewness are large, the lateral stability of the beach is likely to be low, and this
instability is likely to be transmitted to the dune and machair zones. On a symmetrical or non-skewed beach,
there is no residual lateral direction of sand movement, so that the plan of the beach is more stable, and the
beach complex, as a whole, is also (other things being equal) likely to be relatively stable.
The most active process in beach degradation, the removal of sand and the undercutting of dunes, involves
wave action. If wave energy can be diminished by natural agencies, then the beach is likely to remain stable
or even to prograde. A number of the beaches in the region are in relatively exposed situations, open to the
Minch, and even those beaches exposed only to short fetches may be affected by locally generated
destructive waves or swells generated in the open sea. Hence almost all the beaches are likely to be affected
by destructive wave action during part of the year. Many of the beaches, however, are protected by natural
agencies of wave-energy dispersion such as reefs, skerries, offshore bars, berms or river mouth spits.
The existence of ridges of shingle or shingle and sand in the backshore zone protects the very fragile dune
front from wave attack. A low-gradient lower beach affords similar protection by causing the waves to break
at a distance from the dune front sufficient for most of the wave energy to be dissipated before reaching the
most fragile zone.
The backshore zone represents an overlap between the uppermost limit of wave activity and the outer limit
of the dune succession. In this zone, plant colonisation will occur if conditions of sand supply, beach gradient
and wave conditions are favourable. The initial “foreshore colonisation” is by annual flowering plants, which
are tolerant to conditions of moderate salinity and which thrive with a continuous input of sand.
The development of this first stage in the dune succession in turn ensures a continuing supply of sand for
dune reformation. If the zone survives, small embryo dunes evolve, and perennial grasses colonise,
enhancing both the stability of the embryo dunes and the protection of the coastal edge. The backshore
area, however, may be degraded during periods of winter-type destructive wave action, permitting direct
wave access to the dune front. The presence of a thick, wide backshore, on the other hand, does not
necessarily ensure general stability of the dune zone. Indeed a continuous supply of sand and the possible
landward migration of the embryo dunes may cover the dune vegetation and perhaps permanently bury it.
The degree of development of the dune and machair zones is very variable. In some beaches, a “normal”
dune succession occurs, including foreshore colonisation, foredunes, mobile yellow dunes, stable grey dunes
and dune pasture. This “normal” or “model” succession, however, does not always occur in the beaches of
Wester Ross. On occasions the dune zone is absent, and a machair-like area approaches directly to the
coastal edge and upper beach. On other beaches a narrow zone of stable grey dunes intervenes between
beach and machair. This variability in the composition of the beach complex is a reflection of the variability
of the evolutionary stage reached by the beach complex. In situations where machair abuts on the upper
beach and coastal edge, it is probable that a pre-existing zone of active dunes has been completely
removed by deflation, leaving a residual smooth or gently undulating sand plain. In other situations, a dune
zone may never have been present, but instead the machair evolved directly on a raised sand flat without
the intervention of the normal stages of the dune succession.
9
Regardless of the form of the dunes or machair, they represent a long period of evolution, influenced by
changes in sea levels and in volumes of sediment supply and usually involving periods of deflation as well
as of sand accumulation.
The dune and machair zone is the most fragile and potentially the most unstable of the whole beach
complex. It is in this zone that the potential impact of agricultural or recreational man is at its greatest.
The natural system may be either stable or unstable, but the intervention of man is normally associated with
a reduction in stability. Man’s intervention, however, is simply a complication in a system which is already
extremely complex in nature, since it is influenced by a large number of independently-variable factors.
An apparently stable dune/machair zone may be extremely sensitive to the introduction of the human factor,
and conversely, a zone which appears to be highly dynamic in nature may in fact have a high degree of
resilience to agricultural or recreational use.
The dune front, or coastal edge, is the transitional zone or interface between beach and dune/machair.
Where the backshore is absent or is poorly represented, the front may have a steep face of bare sand.
This face may be the scene of wave or wind erosion, or even of the accumulation of sand over a previously
eroded face. The main symptoms of erosion, however, are easily recognisable, and the chief of these is the
existence of a near-vertical bank of sand at the top of the face, held together by the roots of dune grasses.
Similarly, if the edge is broken into segments by deflation channels or hollows, it is highly probable that sand
is being lost to the landward area. Conversely, the presence of a wide backshore on which embryo dunes
are forming, or the occurrence of vegetation on the actual dune front, suggests that conditions of
progradation (or at least of stability) are present.
The coastal edge interface between bare and vegetated sand surfaces is the most fragile part of the beach
complex. The edge is particularly easily damaged by recreational traffic to the beach, and once damage
is initiated natural processes may exploit it with devastating effect. If conservational management is to be
practised on the beach, it is thus vital that every effort is made to prevent or minimise damage to this
delicate zone.
In model beach situations, a succession of sequential elements constitute the dune zone. The outermost
element takes the form of a mobile dune ridge parallel to the shoreline, but broken by a series of deflation
channels or stream outlets. This ridge is backed by an area of irregular topography consisting of semi-mobile
dunes of conical/elongate form, interspersed with deflation hollows of varying size. Next is a zone of low
grey dunes characterised by a partially formed soil layer and a close-knit vegetated surface dominated by
mosses, lichens and low flowering plants. The stability of this element is usually inversely proportional to the
amount of high perennial grasses. These grasses survive best with a continual covering of sand, while the
lower-growing flowering plants, mosses and lichens indicate a relatively stable natural surface, with little or
no sand increment.
The proportion of plants indicative of a stable surface increases through the dune succession and reaches a
maximum in the machair or dune-pasture area. The diversity of the plant communities tends to increase
landwards, as Table 2.1 compiled from statistics presented in Sir Edward Salisbury’s “Downs and Dunes”,
indicates.
10
Table 2.1
Number of Species in Phases of Dune Vegetation
Embryo Dunes
Yellow Dunes
Fixed Dunes
Late Fixed Dunes
Herbaceous perennials
7 (39%)
24 (33%)
65 (46%)
124 (85%)
Biennials
2 (11%)
Annuals
9 (50%)
Total non-woody species
18
(7%)
18 (12%)
44 (60%)
5
60 (42%)
73
143
4
(3%)
17 (12%)
145
In general terms, both the species diversity and the percentage of ground cover increases rapidly towards
the landward part of the dune zone. As the plant communities become more fully developed the soil humus
content of the underlying sand also becomes greater, and tends to reduce the likelihood of sand-blow.
The proportion of bare sand within the dune zone is a further index of instability, and in conjunction with the
frequency and distribution of steep bare sand faces serves as an indicator of both the amount of mobile
sand within the zone, and of the degree of vigour of vegetation regeneration. Bare sand surfaces within the
zone can be either of a depositional or of an erosional origin.
One type of bare sand surface is merely a surface covering of sand newly blown from the beach or from
eroding parts of the dune system. It is in itself not an indicator of stability but simply of dune rejuvenation.
In areas of stable surface vegetation, sand deposition inhibits vegetative growth or tends to encourage the
growth of perennial dune-building grasses at the expense of other species. In either case the surface is likely
to become increasingly irregular, and highly susceptible to eventual denudation. In the machair zone, the
surface covering of recently deposited sand is usually very thin, and is readily stabilised by low-growing
plants whose growth rates are able to keep pace with the rate of surface build up of sand.
In a dune zone, a bare sand surface usually reflects the removal of the pre-existing vegetation by natural or
man-induced agencies, and the consequent wind erosion of the exposed surface. The net result is a very
irregular topography of stable dune hillocks bounded by undercut edges descending into deflation hollows.
Erosion proceeds until the erodable material (ie sand above the water table or dune base) is exhausted, or
recolonisation of surface vegetation takes place. The attentuated residual dunes are indicative of the volume
of sand which has been deflated. The residual deflated surface may be defined by the water table, which
forms an effective base level to wind erosion of sand, or by the occurrence of coarser material such as
shingle or fluvio-glacial deposits, or rock which the wind is incapable of moving. The rate and intensity of
wind erosion of sand are controlled by wind directions and velocities. Erosion may thus occur only
episodically, depending on the relative frequencies and strength of winds from the various quarters to which
the beach is exposed, and also on the seasonal occurrence of these strengths and directions. During the
winter half of the year vegetative growth is much less vigorous, and thus regeneration may be inadequate
for the development of sand traps.
Natural processes within the dune zone tend to work towards a long-term condition of equilibrium. Various
stages of stability and instability occur during evolution towards this equilibrium condition. Phases of
instability may be of such physical and a real magnitude as to dislocate the evolution completely, and bring
about the total destruction of the dune zone. Eventually it is replaced by a sand plain which ultimately
becomes vegetated and appears as a machair-like area.
11
The beach complexes of Wester Ross display various stages in the evolution of equilibrium-state dune systems
and machair zones. The process of deflation is the formative one in either case, and the variables which
control its extent, rate of operation and resultant landform pattern are extremely complex. In general terms,
deflation begins with the action of wind on a surface of bare or partially vegetated sand. Wind action can
occur from any direction, but usually attains its greatest impact when occurring from the predominant or
prevailing wind direction, which for exposed beaches is from the west or south-west. The initial causal factors
behind the occurrence of the bare sand patch may be associated with environmental factors such as high
salinity of the ground water, or lack of adequate mineral nutrients for plants, or indirectly with recreational
or agricultural activities involving trampling and over-grazing respectively. Once a surface irregularity has
been formed by these factors acting individually or in combination, it tends to be exacerbated, especially
by wind action. The increasingly irregular topography induces wind turbulence, irregularities are accordingly
accentuated, and deflation hollows of various sizes and shapes are formed. Deflation hollows within the
dune zone can be sub-divided into two basic types, namely the circular inter-dune hollow and the elongate
channel. Once formed, the former type will be extended provided that the basic processes which led to its
formation are perpetuated. If the surface of the hollow and its surrounding area, however, are colonised by
perennial grasses (either naturally or by planting) then deflation will be controlled. The grasses may induce
the formation of small dunes on the floor of the hollow, and a new cycle of accumulation may commence.
Elongate channels are more difficult to stabilise. The channels are the result of the exploitation of linear
weaknesses such as those along permanent or seasonal stream courses or footpaths, or even along a zone
initially undercut by storm waves. Wind erosion becomes concentrated into the narrow channel which in turn
is progressively widened and deepened. Until sand accumulation across the mouth or throat of the channel
is induced by natural or man-made factors, deflation of the channel is likely to continue, and at the down
wind end of the channel redeposition of wind-blown-sand will bury stable dune or machair areas.
The dune zone is a very fragile element of the coastal environment and is very easily damaged by man and
by grazing animals. Treading and trampling are particularly detrimental to the natural stability of the
landforms because of their deleterious effect on the vegetation which helps to bind the sand surface. Access
routes to the beach and dunes for pleasure or grazing usually follow lines of pre-existing weakness across
the dune ridge, either through a col between sand hillocks, along an elongate deflation channel or via a
stream-cut depression. The intensification of trampling, with distrubance and damage to vegetation, leads to
the lowering of the surface, thereby increasing the canalisation of wind action, leading to deflation of the
channel and redeposition of sand on neighbouring surfaces. This trampling effect usually attains a maximum
in summer, when the sand is drier and more readily blown than usual, and when vegetation regeneration is
occurring. If the young vegetative growth is destroyed, its year-round sand-binding effect will be
correspondingly reduced. In this respect the grazing activities of cattle and sheep can be equally destructive
as the incursions of the tourist, but the restriction of grazing animals to the more stable, maturely vegetated
areas is more easily achieved than the control of tourist activity.
Uncontrolled access to the dune and machair system by cars and caravans can have disastrous effects in a
previously stable environment. The initial formation of a track or tracks (especially short-radius turning tracks
where the wheel traces take the form of asymmetrical grooves) not only damages the vegetation but by
compaction makes recolonisation difficult after the traffic intensity decreases. The track surface is gradually
lowered and winds become increasingly funnelled with the resultant evolution of an elongate blow out. The
sides of the blow out may be further damaged by rabbits and grazing animals, and in short, once initiated,
the blow out becomes progressively enlarged.
12
The efficacy of remedial measures varies according to the physical, biotic and recreational circumstances
of the beach in question, while their selection depends on the formulation and objectives of the management
aims at the local and regional level. Even with considerable capital investment and recurrent expenditure the
complete control or elimination of beach complex erosion cannot be guaranteed. Indeed such control would
be undesirable since certain types and intensities of erosion are “normal” features of beach complex
evolution. Furthermore, certain beaches are potentially unstable in respect to natural conditions, and it is an
error to assume that all symptoms of instability are attributable to misuse. On the other hand, however, the
beach complex represents one of the most fragile environments in the Highlands, and it is important to ensure
that misuse is not permitted. Although some types of beach complex protection are costly and are achieved
only at the expense of considerable environmental modification, others are cheap and make little impact on
the amenity of the area and may indeed improve the amenity.
The most sensitive element of the beach complex is the coastal edge. Where this edge is damaged, perhaps
by wave attack or by recreational traffic to the beach, elongate blow outs can readily form and can
eventually enlarge so as almost to consume the entire dune/machair system. It is thus suggested that one
simple cheap and effective form of control is to fence the coastal edge and to funnel all recreational access
through narrow openings in the fence, which can be protected by sleeper staircases or other means.
This method of control is commended particularly for situations where the dune zone is absent and the
machair approaches close to the upper beach. Other management methods include the fencing of
particularly sensitive dune forms (such as knife-edged ridges where playing children can initiate blow outs
across the ridge crest) and the provision of duckboard catwalks. Encouragement can be given to the build
up of a wide, steeply sloping backshore by the erection of netting or wicker fences across the beach. This
may lend protection against the undercutting of the coastal edge by waves, but on the other hand may
reduce the nourishment of the dune zone and thereby increase the risks of wind erosion. Thus such
manipulations of the sand budget must be very carefully assessed prior to action being taken. The erection
of devices which induce the deposition of wind transported sand (ie fences of wicker or of plastic net
material similar to that used in snow fences) can be effective in stemming the enlargement of blow outs, but
it is important to realise that such fences must be placed some distance upwind of the desired site of sand
accumulation. The planting of marram grass or other plants can also be effective in encouraging sand
deposition, and, by reducing the proportion of bare sand surfaces, can enhance the general stability of the
beach complex. In this respect, it is suggested that experimentation might be made with the growing of
marram (and indeed other plants of dunes and dune pastures) from seed sown on mats of open sacking or
other fine mesh material on relatively favoured, well-watered parts of the beach. After germination and
growth of the seedling to a few inches in length, the mats could be transported to the particular site requiring
attention. Finally, it must be emphasised that for reasons of physical conservation, as well as for conservation
of general amenity, vehicular access, and especially caravan access, should not be permitted on
unprotected sand-built landforms. Where such access does take place, however, it should be confined to
tracks which have been protected by metalling in the form of local shingle or other hard-core material.
13
3.
The Carr ying Capacity of Beach Complexes
The information most sought by the beach planner is a simple, concise measure of the beach’s carrying
capacity, or the intensity of use which the beach can tolerate without physical damage. Unfortunately simple
numerical measures of carrying capacity cannot be systematically calculated from measurements of beach
variables, and standard formulae cannot be constructed to facilitate the estimation of the safe level of use
from known physical conditions. Thus while it may be possible to quote carrying capacities of 50 or 100
persons per day for a particular beach, these figures would not be arrived at by a standard, objective
method of analysis or synthesis, and unless heavily qualified, they could not be readily substantiated.
Thus it is essential that the concept of carrying capacity should be regarded critically and with much caution;
to be meaningful and relevant the concept must be qualified by numerous provisos and reservations.
One of the main difficulties stems from the fact that the physical capacity of the various elements of the beach
complex is unequal. The capacity of the beach itself is determined by its physical dimensions rather than by
any other factor; over-crowding and noise pollution are likely to impose ceilings on intensity of use long
before physical deterioration sets in. In the dune zone, on the other hand, the environment is very much more
fragile. Damage is easily caused even at relatively light intensities of use, and the physical carrying capacity
is low. Thus if the carrying capacity of the beach complex is set at the level of the most sensitive element,
much of the complex is likely to be underutilised. This conflict emphasises some of the difficulties of
establishing carrying capacities for beach units.
The capacity of the most fragile beach element, and thus of the beach complex as a whole, could be
considerably raised if inputs in the form of capital and management were available. In other words, the
capacity of the weakest part of the beach could be increased at a cost. The magnitude of this “environmental
cost” would depend on the fragility of the weakest beach element and on the intensity of use which it was
wished to accommodate. Thus carrying capacity is meaningful only in the context of a given level of
investment of capital and labour.
Carrying capacity is meaningful only in terms of a given type of use. Certain uses are likely to have a
minimal effect on the natural stability of a beach zone or on the complex as a whole; others are potentially
highly destructive. Picnicking or sunbathing, for example, have few adverse effects on beach stability,
whereas more mobile pastimes such as children’s games undoubtedly have a much greater effect. Similarly,
behaviour patterns are important variables affecting carrying capacity. A party of 10 recreationists walking
single-file along a dune-col path would have much more deleterious effects than 10 individuals visiting the
beach at different times of day and avoiding existing tracks.
Thus for various reasons, it is both meaningless and imprudent to quote beach complex carrying capacities
in simple numerical terms. Such figures could well induce a false sense of security in certain beaches, and
could be easily undermined in any planning inquiry. Quite apart from these difficulties in regard to
recreational carrying capacity, it must be borne in mind that recreational use rarely occurs in isolation; almost
always the beach complex is also used for agricultural purposes, and an infinite variety of combinations of
agricultural and recreational intensities is possible.
14
It is thus important to stress that the conclusions regarding a particular beach and its recreational capacity
must be based on interpretation of beach parameters and characteristics rather than on their mathematical
manipulation. Likewise the recommendations regarding their use are based on interpretation and judgement
rather than on mechanical mathematical processes. Consequently, these conclusions are more accurately
portrayed in verbal, qualitative terms than in terms of numbers, and it is emphasised that the numerical data
presented in the subsequent parts of this report are intended as aids to, rather than substitutes for, intelligent
assessment and judgement.
15
4.
Methods of Analysis
The methods of investigation of the beach resources were focussed on the analysis of their physical
characteristics vis à vis stability or instability. In accordance with the terms of reference of the survey, which
instructed that the core of the report should be the physical assessment of the beaches, by far the greater
part of the survey effort was concentrated on the analysis of the landforms of the beach complexes and the
processes in operation on them. Various other aspects of the beaches were also investigated, as outlined in
subsequent sections of this chapter, and statistical summaries of the collected data are presented in the
appendices.
The principle technique in the analysis of the beach resource was the large-scale mapping of the physical
features of the beach complexes. The resultant maps form an inventory of the landforms as observed in the
summer of 1971, and suggest the main physical processes which are tending to modify these landforms.
The construction of the maps in the field facilitated the “dissection” of the beach complex into its constituent
elements, and enabled the mapper to recognise the relationships between current landform elements and to
identify the direction in which physical trends were likely to operate in the foreseeable future.
Recent large-scale topographic maps of the coastal areas of Wester Ross have been published by the
Ordnance Survey at either the 1:10,560 scale or the metric 1:10,000 scales, but large-scale plans at
scales of 1:2,500 or 1:5,000 are not available. These new maps provide a wealth of topographic and
other detail for both position-fixing and for comparison of recent coastal trends, and formed the basis for
field mapping.
Extensive use was made of Ordnance Survey vertical aerial photographs at the largest available scale,
which was normally at 1:10,000 although in some cases 1:25,000. While this scale was inadequate to
portray minor landform features in a form adequate for the very detailed mapping which it was wished to
carry out, the photographs proved invaluable used alongside the large-scale maps. The lack of contrast
between beaches and blown-sand areas on some prints, however, obscured important features such as blow
out margins and dune systems, and in these cases the photographs proved to be of only limited value.
In the field, physical features were plotted on a base map on which were previously marked
“location-indicators” such as roads, houses and rock outcrops which could be used as reference points.
The limited time available meant that full-scale topographic surveys of the beach complexes could not be
conducted, but compass bearings and pacing were extensively used in the fixing of the position of features
such as blow outs. Mapping was conducted at a scale of 1:3,500 (approximately 18 inches to the mile or
one inch to 100 yards), and particular attention was devoted to areas of the beach complex showing signs
of over-use or of potential or actual instability. An example of a geomorphological map placed alongside a
vertical aerial photograph is shown in Figure 4.
The large-scale maps of the beaches of the region are reproduced in the accompanying atlas volume
together with keys to the symbols employed and at a reduced scale in the text (Chapter 5). Prohibitive costs
of printing precluded the use of colour to indicate the various landform elements, materials or processes,
but from the viewpoint of practical significance the most salient features are relatively few in number.
The physical characteristics of sandy beaches are considered in relation to resource utilisation in Chapter 2,
where the three main zones of beach, dunes and machair are discussed. In particular the nature of the
16
Figure 4
Mellon Udrigle
Figure 4 Mellon Udrigle. Geomorphological map. Vertical photograph (Reproduced from Ordnance Survey
photograph, with sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office, Crown Copyright reserved.).
17
coastal edge, or the interface between beach and dunes or links, is of critical importance in indicating the
potential stability of the beach in question.
A coastal edge or dune front which shows signs of under-cutting by wave action is indicated by a fine
toothed line, with the teeth contiguous or separate according to whether the “cliff” is “live” (ie shows signs
of current or recent erosion) or not. The height of the edge, or the vertical distance between the upper and
lower breaks of slope, is indicated numerically. An undercut dune front is a danger symptom giving warning
not only of wave erosion, but also indicating that wind erosion of the blown-sand part of the complex is a
distinct possibility. The free face of sand exposed by wave action can be easily exploited by wind,
especially where animals or tourists have formed a path onto the beach. Where neither erosion nor accretion
is occurring on the coastal edge or dune front, the symbol
is employed, while in situations where
accretion is taking place, and the dune front is advancing or prograding, the coastal edge is represented
by
. Again the height of the edge is indicated numerically. Where the backshore is wide and steeply
sloping, sand can be easily blown landwards to accumulate under the influence of colonising vegetation
into embryo dunes. This is one of the requirements for a stable beach complex. It must be emphasised that
stability of position of the dune front is not synonymous with stability of the beach complex, and indeed a
beach complex may be highly unstable despite an accreting dune front. Nor is it suggested that a stable or
accreting dune front in itself is a stable or resilient landform element. The condition of the coastal edge is
simply a variable feature which indicates or portrays certain aspects of the beach’s sand-supply budget.
Where present, the active dune zone is represented by a series of short arcs over a coarse stipple suggestive
of an underlying surface of potentially mobile sand. In some instances, the dunes are arranged in
well-defined ridges which are usually parallel to high water mark, although in their latter stages of evolution
the dune systems may degenerate into ridge-forms oblique or transverse to this direction or even to formless
sand hillocks. Usually the relief of the dune system is very hummocky and sometimes even chaotic,
but invariably the landforms are “fragile”, and very easily modified by natural or man-induced processes.
In particular the development of tracks through the dunes may lead to the destruction of the binding
vegetation (usually marram grass) and the ensuing development of wind erosion. This erosion may excavate
a large hollow bounded only by the water-table or the underlying foundation of shingle, glacial deposits
or rock.
The links or machair zone, which in most beach complexes represents the largest element, is depicted by a
series of lines parallel to the dominant slope. This symbol implies a sand-built landform covered with a grassy
sward. Drainage is usually free, and this landform offers attractive opportunities for recreational use.
Although less “fragile” than the dune zone, the machair zone is unsuitable for heavy use, and the sward is
easily broken by vehicle wheels or even by heavy foot traffic. Sites where wind erosion is excavating hollows
or blow outs in the machair are indicated by toothed lines, which enclose bare sand stipples if the hollow
is still active.
The maps set out the configuration and a real extent of the beach, dune and machair zones, and indicate
the physical stability or instability of the respective units. Here the coastal edge bears signs of waveundercutting, where the dune zone is absent or very narrow, or where the machair symbols are interrupted
by blow outs, the beach is liable to suffer instability which may well affect its long-term recreational use.
On the other hand, the presence of a wide upper beach, accreting dune front and relatively unbroken zones
of dune and machair suggest that the stability may be relatively high. Every beach complex is, however,
18
potentially unstable, and even on the most stable unit the environment is delicate and recreational use must
be carefully controlled.
The distribution and dimensions of the beach units are indicated in Figure 2. The divided circles are
proportional to the total size of the beach complex above high water mark, and the area affected by erosion
is differentiated in the central part of the circle. The “damaged” area refers not to bare sand, but rather to
the areas affected by blow outs. It is emphasised that such measurements of “damaged” areas must be
regarded with some caution, since they are likely to represent minimal values of damage. As the coastal
edge retreats, “damaged” dune or machair will be replaced by “undamaged” upper beach. Also the
division of the beach complex between “dune” and machair cannot be precise since in reality a continuum
exists. Thus the divided circles can only be regarded as indicators of the dimensions and composition of the
beach complexes, but they do clearly illustrate the broad contrasts in size, amount of erosion and physical
composition which characterise the area. Proportional circles are not shown for beach complexes whose
blown-sand area is negligible.
Interpretation of the landforms, and the physical processes affecting them was aided by laboratory analysis
of sedimentary samples taken from the beach, dunes or machair. On each beach a sand sample was taken
from the mid-point of the inter-tidal zone at the centre of the beach, and the particle-size distribution was
analysed. Mean grain-size diameter was used as a measure of the calibre of the beach material. For both
beach- and blown-sand, the shape of the particle-size distribution curve shed valuable light on the physical
processes affecting the material. Lime content, as measured by Collins Calcimeter, helps to differentiate
between sand of organic and sedimentary origins. The origin of the sand is of practical significance insofar
as it is likely to govern the rates of sand supply to the beach, with resultant repercussions on the stability of
the complex. Where the origin of the sand was not clearly defined, the shape and surface characteristics
of individual grains were examined under a binocular microscope.
In addition to the sedimentary analyses, various “synthetic” measures of beach stability were calculated.
The first of these is the C:P ratio which expresses the relationship between the length and curvature of a
beach. Under most conditions, the greater the curvature of the beach the greater is its stability in relation to
lateral shifts. It must be emphasised that the overall stability of the beach complex is not directly expressed
by the C:P index, but only the lateral stability of the beach itself. Even with reference only to the beach,
however, complications arise when comparisons are made between beaches of markedly different size, and
when the beach is interrupted by reefs and skerries. Many of the beaches in the area under consideration
are broken by numerous rock outcrops, and the index under these circumstances becomes meaningful only
for individual beach segments.
After mapping was completed on each beach, the field-workers scored the stability of the unit on a scale
ranging from 5 for a highly stable beach to 1 for a highly unstable unit. The score was arrived at qualitatively
rather than by the use of any direct quantitative measurements, and it is thus possible that different workers
might award different scores. Field experiences, however, showed that the variation between scores
awarded independently by two workers was extremely small, and in fact never exceeded 1 point.
This stability index can thus be regarded as a concise and relatively reliable summary of the natural stability
of the beach unit. It is emphasised that scoring was based on an assessment of the natural condition of the
beach, and thus did not take into account factors directly associated with the beach’s utilisation. A second
stability index was built up synthetically by beginning with 5 points for each beach, and deducting halfpoints
19
for each factor contributing to or suggestive of instability. Such factors included the lack of accretion and
a narrow upper beach, biotically and anthropically-induced erosion, signs of beach rotation and high
C:P ratios. The system of scoring is described fully in Appendix 2. Thus each beach unit, where such
measurements are both meaningful and feasible, has three quantitative indices of stability, namely the
C:P index and the two stability indices, and these measures are indicated in the statistical summary tables.
It must be emphasised, however, that these indices, while useful as aids in summarising and expressing
beach complex stability, are not intended to dominate the conclusions regarding any specific beach, and
their limitations and methods of calculation must be fully borne in mind.
Exposure was measured using a variation of a technique employed in forestry. The slope, expressed in
percentage, to the nearest skyline was measured to eight compass points, and the resultant measurements
were used to construct a rose diagram. A beach with a high degree of topographic shelter will have steep
angles to the nearest skylines, and since in the construction of the rose, lines were drawn proportional to the
slope, large roses imply that the beach is highly sheltered. Conversely small roses imply exposed beaches.
The areas of the roses are quoted in the statistical summaries (Appendix 2); it should be noted that the actual
units are irrelevant, and that the figures are meaningful comparatively rather than absolutely.
Since the size of the rose does not indicate whether the beach is exposed from the seaward or landward,
aspect is expressed in broad terms by the use of initial letters, which also are listed in the statistical summary.
A south aspect is represented by S, west by W, east by E and north by N.
One of the factors influencing both the recreational and conservational attractiveness of beaches is the
variety of habitats represented. A beach containing rock pools and mud-flats, for example, as well as sand,
provides a site of considerably greater interest for the informal types of recreation prevailing in the area than
a monotonous, uniform stretch of sand. For each beach unit therefore, the number of habitats represented
was counted (see Appendix 4). Habitat definition was based primarily on the schedule employed in Nature
Conservation at the Coast, but on some beaches additional habitats such as moorland, bog, scrub
woodland or coniferous plantation were recognised and included in the count where the habitats
approached to within a short distance of the shore. It is fully appreciated that habitat diversity influences
scientific interest as well as recreational attractiveness, and conflicts may be felt between the wish to
conserve the site and to use it fully for recreational purposes. These possible conflicts are discussed in
subsequent chapters. Note was made also of Sites of Special Scientific Interest or any other conservational
legislative provision, and details are presented in the statistical summaries where appropriate.
An attempt was made to quantify the attractiveness of each beach unit as perceived by the potential visitor.
It is not feasible to conduct a large population sample around the coastline and seek their responses in the
field, but instead colour slides were taken of each beach and shown to the sample, who were asked the
question: “How attractive do you find each beach?”. Instructions were given to award each slide a mark
from 1–5, with 5 being allocated to beaches found to be “highly attractive”. Participants were asked to try
to ignore variations in weather conditions and in the standard of photography.
Many criticisms can be levelled against this technique. One of the most serious is that the beaches could
not be photographed under uniform weather or lighting conditions. Many of the scorers asked whether they
should assess the beach in isolation, or together with its background, which clearly is an integral part of the
general scene. On such occasions the basic instruction was simply repeated. Every effort was made to
photograph the beach from the point at which most tourists would approach it, and no attempt was made
20
to seek the best viewpoint. In many beaches, the view from the beach is more attractive than the view of
the beach, but it was not feasible to photograph outward views systematically. In any case, photographic
representation of distant views of islands or headlands is likely to be poor.
The transparencies were shown to a sample of 174, most of whom were enrolled at evening classes on the
subject of the Scottish Highlands. The sample included a wide range of age and social class, and while
perhaps not representative of the entire population it is certainly representative of the section of the
population most likely to make visits to the Highland area. Conclusions regarding the results and validity of
this method are discussed in Appendix 3.
Where possible, interviews were sought with local residents in the hope of eliciting information of past and
present uses of the beach complex, and of its ownership structure. It must be made clear, however, that even
after the fullest explanation of the purpose and nature of the survey, the sight of the field-worker with
mapping-board, clip-board and sand samples almost invariably resulted in a reluctance to divulge
information on ownership and tenurial aspects. The information which was obtained was received in good
faith, but it should be emphasised that the accuracy of such information cannot be guaranteed.
Extensive literature searches were undertaken in both historical and recent sources. Fragments of information
regarding the use of certain beaches in bygone times were gleaned from standard sources such as the Old
and New Statistical Accounts of the various parishes, but the literature is practically devoid of records of
recent research work apart from the Scottish Tourist Board report on the Gairloch area.
Note was made of the number and behavioural patterns of recreationists on beach complexes at the time
of mapping, but systematic sampling and interviewing was not conducted since it was outwith the scope of
the study. It is suggested, however, that complementary studies of tourist behaviour and expectations would
be extremely valuable in the efficient and successful planning of beach resources.
21
5
Individual Beaches
5.1
Achnahaird Bay
(Figure 5.1, Plates 1, 2)
General Setting
Achnahaird Bay occupies a deep, north-facing inlet on the south side of Enard Bay, not far from the
boundary between Ross-shire and Sutherland. The funnel-shaped depression, which the beach complex
occupies, follows a north-south trending fault in the surrounding Torridonian Sandstone, and is bounded on
the east side by a steep rocky slope. The western margin is less well defined, and extensive blown-sand
deposits have accumulated on the gently sloping topography. Discharge from the Loch Raa/Loch Vatachan
system finds an outlet via the Achnahaird Bay inlet, but the stream channel has an insignificant influence
on the beach topography since it flows at the extreme eastern margin of the beach complex.
One of the main characteristics of Achnahaird is its tidal strand-like appearance. The backshore zone is
extremely wide, and the blown-sand accumulations lie not so much behind the beach as on its flank.
This reflects the rather unusual combination of topographic and exposure conditions in the inlet. A second
important characteristic lies in the scale of the unit. Both in terms of beach and of machair it is an unusually
large unit, and is in fact the largest beach complex on the north-west mainland coast between Sandwood
Bay in Sutherland and Sanna Bay in Ardnamurchan. The combination of scale, unique topographic setting
and the scenic and ecological richness of the surrounding area suggest that special care should be taken in
the planning and management of Achnahaird Bay for recreational and other uses.
Beach
Achnahaird beach is composed principally of fine, moderately well-sorted sand with a fairly low carbonate
content of 14%. Although the shell content is appreciable, the greater part of the sand is of a mineral origin,
and its light reddish-brown colour suggests that the erosion of local Torridonian Sandstone rocks is the source.
Active marine erosion on neighbouring cliffs is likely to be the main source of sediment supply to the beach.
There is no evidence that large quantities of sand-grade sediment lie offshore; in fact most of the offshore
ground is of rock, veneered in places with shells. The shortness of the stream together with its loch origin
mean that it does not play an important role as an agent of sediment supply to the beach, but on the other
hand its function in recycling sand is a factor of major importance in the sediment budget of the beach
complex. Sand blown by westerly winds from the upper part of the backshore and from the eroded remains
of dunes and machair is trapped in the stream channel and transported seawards to be returned to the
beach during spells of constructive wave action.
Although the greater part of the beach is composed of sand, patches of shingle occur along the stream
channel (especially on its east side) and also on the central part of the strand. Shingle in the latter area may
represent the remains of a former shingle ridge enclosing the inner part of the inlet, and which was possibly
constructed during a period of slightly higher sea level. Small accumulations of shingle mixed with sand also
occur in the extreme north-west corner of the backshore, possibly as a result of the marine erosion of till
deposits which are now mostly masked by blown-sand accumulations.
22
Although conclusions on the nature of the sediment budget in a complex situation such as that at Achnahaird
are not easily reached on the basis of study over only a short period, the absence of well-developed
constructional features suggests that present sediment supply rates are strictly limited. Certainly the present
rate of supply seems inadequate to sustain a stable dune and machair complex on the scale of Achnahaird.
Indeed the peculiar configuration of the beach complex at its present stage of development means that the
coastal edge is very long in relation to the length of beach in which sand supply is focussed; in fact a
physical bottleneck exists in the sediment supply system in the form of rocky headland protruding from the
west just to the south of low water mark (see Figure 5.1).
Dunes
The dune zone of the model beach situation is almost completely lacking at Achnahaird. Although it is highly
probable that a dune ridge did exist at one time, possibly in arcuate form parallel to the present low water
mark, this ridge has been completely consumed by erosion. In places, however, younger, second-generation
dunes have formed along an ill-defined zone in front of the eroding machair edge. In the central part of the
west side of the beach, a low dune ridge continuous for over 100 yards marks the frontal limit of an area
of flat machair colonisation on a former deflation surface. To the north of this low ridge, the young dunes
are discontinuous and are highly localised, but indications are present that some dune activity is present and
eventually a low dune ridge may form along the length of the eroded machair edge.
Within the eroding machair area, a number of small dune-like forms have developed in the reception areas
for sand winnowed from machair blow outs. These features, however, tend to be rather ephemeral, and in
terms of stabilising influences must be regarded as negative rather than positive since they usually result in
the weakening of the underlying machair sward through burial of the surface vegetation.
In summary, the coastal edge of the Achnahaird blown-sand complex tends to be rather indistinct, and is
characterised by erosion rather than deposition. Although erosion has made deep inroads into a pre-existing
dune and machair system, some indications of the re-formation of a protective frontal dune ridge are present.
The rate of development of this ridge is, however, slow, and seems inadequate to offer hope of checking
and stabilising the current episode of machair erosion.
Machair
The Achnahaird machair forms one of the largest stretches of dune pasture in the north-west mainland.
Sand accumulation has occurred very extensively over a gently sloping area of low relief. Although the sand
cover thins gradually towards the north-west, nowhere does it appear great, and indeed underlying glacial
materials protrude through the sand veneer in a few places.
Although the macro-topography of the machair zone is relatively featureless, the micro-topography of the
frontal part of the zone is broken. Indeed one of the main characteristics of the machair is the wealth of
erosional forms in its lower part. The machair front is retreating irregularly in a highly crenulated fashion.
Although blow out elements lie in every attitude, the preferred orientation appears to be northwest/southeast, and it would appear that dry southeast winds play important roles in blow out enlargement.
It must be emphasised, however, that the exposed nature of the area (exposure index 0.9) means that winds
from every direction can achieve considerable erosional work.
23
Some of the blow outs presently making inroads into the gently sloping machair seem to exploit seepage
zones and intermittent channels of the machair drainage system. The southeast trend of many of these
drainage courses tends to emphasise the preferred orientation in the blow out pattern.
Although the main characteristic of the Achnahaird machair may be its rapid rate of erosion at the present
time, a second characteristic is the development of machair-like swards on flat areas which have already
been deflated to water-table level. The largest areas, some of which are still susceptible to occasional
salt-water inundation, lie in the extreme south of the inlet; others have formed closer to the “old” machair as
an end stage in the cycle of wind erosion of the dune/machair zone.
Dynamic Relationships
The dynamic relationships between the various elements in the Achnahaird Bay are highly complex.
The sediment circulatory system is extremely intricate, and the range of combinations of intensity of wind,
wave, tidal and fluvial factors is almost infinite. Hence the behaviour of the beach complex is difficult to
predict; patterns and trends in evolution can readily be checked or even reversed by the occurrence of
exceptional conditions.
It is clear, however, that the beach complex has reached an advanced stage in its cycle of evolution.
This advanced stage is witnessed by the development of machair-like swards on the flat deflated surfaces
where dunes and earlier-generation machair once stood. It is likely that the period of most vigorous erosion
of the beach complex is now past, but it is also highly probable that intense erosional processes will continue
to operate in the foreseeable future. In order to conserve the surviving area of mature machair, it is important
to ensure that biotic and anthropic use of the area is controlled, and that nothing be done to exacerbate the
present erosional situation on the rapidly retreating machair front.
Vegetation
The advanced stage reached by the evolution of the beach complex means that the “normal” pattern of
vegetation zonation, as encountered in the model beach situation, does not occur at Achnahaird.
Active colonisation by marram or other species is restricted to the few spots where embryo dunes are
evolving on the relatively wide backshore to the north-west of high water mark on the west side of the inlet.
Marram growth also occurs on some patches of redeposited sand down-wind of the most active blow outs.
In general terms, however, growth of marram or of pioneer species does not seem sufficiently vigorous to be
effective in the evolution of substantially sized dunes which could aid in the stabilisation of the whole beach
complex. Landwards from the eroding machair edge, the machair sward gradually merges into wet
moorland on peat beyond the limit of substantial blown-sand accumulation. On the revegetated deflation
surfaces seawards of the eroding machair front, communities have developed which are intermediate in
physical appearance between machair and saltmarsh. Gradually, as slow accretion of sand raises their level
above that of frequent saltwater inundation the vegetation composition tends towards that of a machair
community on a substrate with a relatively low lime content.
Tenure and Non-Recreational Use
The greater part of the blown-sand area is at present used as permanent grazing, although cultivated land
approaches close to the eroding machair edge adjacent to Achnahaird Farm. While there is no direct
24
evidence to link present erosional processes with cultivational practices, evidence from aerial photographs
confirms that much of the machair surface bears traces of old cultivation rigs, and it is possible that the
development of erosion may have been related to past cultivation. It is highly probable that pastoral activities
associated with that cultivation may have exacerbated the instability of the beach complex.
At the present time, the main biotic hazard is the intensive rabbit activity which characterises the main part of
the eroding machair. Rabbit burrowing along the sides of blow outs (Plate 1) greatly accelerates the process
of blow out enlargement, and in other situations may indeed be responsible for the initiation of blow outs.
Recreational Use and Amenity Considerations
Although only moderately attractive in itself (attractiveness index 3.20) the setting of the bay within a highly
scenic and popular tourist area means that the level of recreational use is considerable. The main access
point is from the north-west part of the beach complex, where a small car park has been constructed beyond
the limit of blown-sand. Although there is some evidence of trampling damage to the moorland vegetation
between the car park and the beach, the peaty nature of the underlying soil means that the risk of severe
erosional damage is not great. The car park is in fact well-sited, since pedestrian access to the beach avoids
traversing the most fragile zones around the eroding front edge of the machair. The siting is also good from
the point of view of facilitating access to the low cliff coastline immediately to the north of the beach.
Many visitors starting from the car park fail to reach the beach itself but are content to picnic in the shelter
and privacy of some of the minor indentations in the cliff-line. Thus the siting of the present car park helps to
divert recreational pressures from the most delicate part of the complex and at the same time encourages
the use of relatively high capacity areas which would otherwise probably remain unutilised.
Although some informal caravanning takes place near the road at the extreme south end of the inlet,
residential recreational use does not at the present time pose problems to the conservational management
of the beach complex since vehicular access to blown-sand areas is not feasible.
Management Objectives
Although not unsuited to the present pattern and intensity of recreational use, the physical characteristics of
Achnahaird are not conducive to the conservational development of the area for higher intensity residential use.
Much of the beach complex is in a highly unstable condition and is in fact undergoing rapid erosion.
The introduction of larger numbers of visitors for longer periods of time could serve only to exacerbate the
present situation and lead to the further deterioration of the resource. In fact the assemblage of erosional
landform elements displayed by the complex at its present evolutionary stage is extremely rare, and together
with the overall scale of the beach and machair, is probably sufficient to justify the scheduling of the area
as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Other local features of scientific interest, including raised beach
elements and botanical features, lend support to this suggestion.
In addition to the damage to the general beach resource and to features of general scientific interest,
broader amenity factors must surely discourage the development of intensive recreational developments at
Achnahaird. In addition to lying on the fringe of a Natural Nature Reserve and an Area of Great Landscape
Value (Figure 6) the bay contains the only sizable, accessible sandy beach between Achmelvich in the north
and the Gruinard beaches to the south. The rarity of the resource in this stretch of coastline emphasises the
25
desirability of avoiding any development likely to have detrimental effects. Thus it is concluded that the
beach should remain at its present intensity and type of use, and no encouragement should be given to any
development likely to increase recreational pressures on the delicate local environment.
The pattern and scale of erosional damage in the frontal zone of the machair are such that little can be done
to reduce instability by modest engineering measures. It is reluctantly concluded that the size of the problem
means that control or remedial measures at realistic cost are not feasible propositions. Elimination of the
present rabbit population would, however, help to slow the processes of erosion.
Summar y
Achnahaird Bay is a highly unstable beach complex situated in an area richly endowed with scenic
resources and ecological interest. The present pattern of recreational use does not seriously exacerbate the
erosional situation, but it is strongly recommended that further developments which foster recreational use
should be strongly discouraged.
26
Figure 5.1
Achnahaird Bay
27
Plate 1
Blow outs on Achnahaird machair. Note the closeness of grazing on the machair sward, and the
occurrence of rabbit burrows on the erosion faces.
Plate 2
Achnahaird Bay, looking towards the southeast.
28
5.2
Reif f
(Figure 5.2, Plate 3)
General Setting
Reiff Bay occupies a small south-facing embayment on the outer part of the Coigach promontory which
defines the south side of Enard Bay. Although the sandstone promontory forms an undulating lowland
extending to a height of about 300 feet, the micro-topography, especially along the coast, is very irregular.
Numerous rocky knolls interrupt the coastline and have played important roles in the evolution of the
beach area. Despite the prevalence of Torridonian Sandstone in the neighbouring low rocky coastline,
sand comprises only a small fraction of the present beach materials; cobbles and boulders constitute the
main elements. The sand beach area is very small and wind-blown-sand has not accumulated beyond high
water mark.
Beach
The main constituents of beach material are boulders (up to 2–3 feet in diameter) on the flanks, especially
to the west, and cobbles towards the upper part of the central beach near high water mark. Both cobbles
and boulders bear traces of recent transportation by wave action. Only on the central part of the beach
does sand constitute the main material and even here it is broken by numerous protruding boulders. The sand
has a mean diameter of 0.25mm and has a lime content of 40%, suggesting that much of it originates from
the disintegration of marine shells. Indeed nautical charts indicate that shells cover part of the adjacent
offshore ground.
Dunes
There are no wind-blown-sand accumulations in the form of dunes. The coastal edge is low, indistinct and
neutral in terms of erosion or progradation.
Machair
The machair area is very small and poorly developed, and consists only of a very thin, discontinuous veneer
of blown-sand over a shingle and rock substrate. Topographically, the thin machair area is broken and
dominated by a steep rocky knoll which overlooks the beach. The sand veneer constituting the machair
element in the beach complex is much too thin to experience erosion, and the whole unit is highly stable.
The main feature of the dynamic relationships of Reiff Bay is the interplay between marine forces and
discharge from the Loch of Reiff. The outlet is in fact maintained by training walls, and the main tendency
of natural processes is towards the complete sealing of this outlet by deposition of boulders and cobbles.
Processes involving wind action are very poorly developed, since available material for wind-blow, in the
form of dry sand, is almost completely lacking.
29
Vegetation
Influence of blown-sand on the surrounding vegetation is almost non-existent, although that of salt spray is
very much more significant, especially on the exposed headlands. Most of the area surrounding the bay has
experienced modification through cultivation or intensive grazing.
Croft land approaches close to high water mark, and a feature of the area is the occurrence of numerous
small fields enclosed in dry stone walling. Both cultivation and grazing are operating at a very much lower
intensity than formerly, and there is no evidence that agricultural practices are having a detrimental effect on
the stability of the beach complex.
Despite the rather remote situation of Reiff Bay at the terminus of a very minor unclassified road, recreational
usage of the beach and adjacent area is not inconsiderable. Indeed at the time of survey no less than
13 caravans were observed on croft land in close proximity to the beach; in terms of the very restricted size
of the bay this represents use of considerable intensity. The beach complex, however, is very stable, since
potentially fragile blown-sand landforms are lacking, and the dangers of erosional damage induced by
recreational activity are highly remote. In terms of general amenity and environmental quality, however, the
situation is less happy, and the area surrounding the beach tends to have a rather untidy, congested
appearance, aggravated by “wild” camping around the road end.
It is suggested that within a general strategy for recreation planning in the Coigach area, thought might be
given to means whereby pressure at Reiff might be relieved by the provision of adequate facilities in an
alternative area where more space is available. It is emphasised, however, that this suggestion stems from
general environmental considerations rather than from a wish to avoid damage associated with
recreationally-induced erosion for which there is no evidence.
The relatively remote location and physical stability of Reiff Bay combine to provide a situation in which there
is little urgent need for planning or management. While the situation in regard to general amenity is far from
perfect it is certainly not urgent, and many other Wester Ross units should receive priority in this respect.
At the same time, it should be emphasised that the physical capacity, in terms of size, both of the beach
complex itself and of the surrounding area is very limited and it would not be realistic to consider the site as
being suitable for larger tourist developments.
Summar y
Both the beach and the beach complex at Reiff Bay are very small, and much of the beach material is in
the form of shingle. The natural stability of the bay is high, and there is little danger of recreational damage.
Considerable informal residential use is made of the beach area, but no conservational problems have
arisen except those associated with the general amenity of the area. It is suggested that Reiff Bay is not
suitable for further recreational development, and that in the meantime the present pattern of use be allowed
to continue.
30
Figure 5.2
Reif f
Plate 3
Reiff Bay – note the sparse sand cover and the lack of dunes and machair.
31
5.3
Badentarbat
(Figure 5.3, Plate 4) [Badentarbat is selected as an example of a shingle beach.]
General Setting
Badentarbat Bay lies between the island of Tanera More and the end of the Coigach peninsula lying to the
north-west of Achiltibuie. Much of the bay is fringed by a low rocky shore with discontinuous patches of
shingle, but a short segment of the shore to the north-west of the junction of the Reiff and Achiltibuie roads
is in the form of a “free-standing” shingle beach. The beach forms the seaward slope of a shingle ridge
which partially encloses a former inlet and has impounded a small freshwater lake and swamp. There is little
sand on the beach, and neither dunes nor machair have evolved. Despite the relatively unattractive site,
however, considerable use is made of the beach and adjacent area for recreational purposes, primarily
because of ready vehicular accessibility.
Beach
The beach material is primarily in the form of cobbles ranging in diameter from about 3–6 inches.
Larger cobbles on the lower part of the beach are immobile and weed-covered. On the flanks of the beach,
cobbles give way to larger blocks and boulders which are not readily moved by present wave action.
Only on the lowest part of the beach does sand grade material occur. The composition of the beach material
suggests that much of it is derived from the marine erosion of till cliffs lying to the south-east of the beach.
These low cliffs are now largely inactive, and it is probable that there has been a reduction in the rate of
supply of beach material. In the absence of a need to maintain nourishment of a backshore and dunes zone,
however, this fact is of little practical significance.
Dunes
Since negligible quantities of sand occur on the upper part of the beach, wind-blown-sand accumulations
have not been able to evolve. The coastal edge is low and indistinct, and there is little danger of it becoming
the focus of erosional activity.
Machair
Likewise the machair zone is non-existent, although a very thin, discontinuous veneer of wind-blown-sand
overlies the upper part of the shingle ridge in places.
In terms of dynamic relationships, the beach and related elements are not highly active, and the balance
between physical processes is much less delicate than on most sandy beaches.
Vegetation
A feature of the area is the marked absence of vegetation associated with beaches or with marine
influences. A grassy sward extends to the vegetated front of the shingle ridge, and successional zones
32
equivalent to those of the sand-dune situation are absent. Prolific growth of reeds in the lagoon enclosed by
the shingle ridge is indicative of rapid deposition of material, probably from a terrestrial rather than a marine
source. The peaty area lying to the southeast of the lagoon is clothed in typical bog vegetation.
Although the beach area forms a fairly intensively used part of a rough grazing (a system of sheep pens has
been built on part of the shingle ridge) there is no evidence to suggest that grazing or any other agricultural
activities have had adverse effects on the physical stability of the area. A small salmon fishing station is
based around a pier immediately to the north-west of the beach.
Although the beach is exposed (shelter index 0.30) and not particularly attractive (index 1.90) it receives
considerable usage from both residential and non-residential types of recreation. The main attraction of the
beach clearly lies in its easy accessibility. A road traverses the crest of the shingle ridge, and motor vehicles
can easily pull on to the grassy sward between the road and the shingle beach. At the time of survey,
12 caravans were parked in the area, although no proper facilities are provided. Despite this relatively high
intensity of use, however, there is no evidence to suggest that the likelihood of recreationally-induced erosion
is strong. It is true the grassy vegetation has been destroyed along wheel tracks in places, but since resilient
shingle is exposed rather than fragile sand, there is no danger of blow out development. Indeed from the
viewpoint of physical stability, Badentarbat beach is well suited to intensive recreational use.
The high physical stability of the beach means that little is required in the way of management to control
recreationally-induced erosion. The main objections to the continuation of caravanning are likely to derive
from aesthetic considerations rather than from those of physical conservation. No screening is available at
the present time, and the area suffers from relatively strong exposure (both visually and climatically) from
certain directions. However, this exposure is unlikely to be greater than at other actual or potential sites for
caravanning activity in western Coigach, and it is not considered that urgent action is required to change
the pattern of usage.
Summar y
The shingle beach at Badentarbat Bay is characterised by a high degree of physical stability, and it is highly
improbable that recreational use will result in erosional damage. The accessible location of the beach means
that it is subjected to a considerable intensity of use, but it is concluded that from the conservational
viewpoint the current situation is satisfactory and need not be changed.
33
Figure 5.3
Badentarbat
34
Plate 4
Badentarbat.
35
5.4
Mungasdale
General Setting
Mungasdale Bay (Bagh Mhungasdail) forms a small inlet one-third of a mile deep, on the east side of
Gruinard Bay. The bay, which faces west-north-west, is sheltered in the lee of Gruinard Island which protects
it from wave action except in a narrow north-west sector. The depression of the bay continues inland in the
form of an assymetrical valley, which marks the junction between Lewisian Gneiss and Torridonian
Sandstone. The steep southern gneiss slope, which overlooks the beach in cliff form, contrasts with the more
gentle sandstone slope to the north.
The main Gairloch-Braemore road (A832) fringes the south side of the beach, and although car parking
facilities are not provided, access from the road to the beach is not difficult. Intensity of recreational use,
however, is slight compared with that on the Gruinard Bay beaches lying to the south.
Beach
Beach material is mainly in the form of medium sand with a low carbonate content (4.12%). The reddish
brown colour of the sand hints at an origin in the decomposition of Torridonian Sandstone, and material is
supplied both from the marine erosion of low cliffs to the north of the beach and from the stream
(Allt Mhungasdail) which drains into the bay. The stream also supplies quantities of cobbles to the beach,
and a delta-like spread of material has been deposited in the inter-tidal zone of the beach adjacent to the
stream’s mouth. Cobbles and boulders of marine origin also occur on the flanks of the beach, especially on
the north side.
The beach is wide (over 200 yards) and appears to be well-nourished with continuing supplies of sediment.
Indeed there is considerable embryo dune activity on the backshore, tending to re-stabilise the coastal edge
zone, which has in the past been the focus of severe erosion.
Dunes
A continuous frontal dune ridge backing the coastal edge is not present at Mungasdale. Undoubtedly such
a ridge at one time existed, but consumption by wind erosion has been almost complete. In the north part
of the beach (north of the Allt Mhungasdail outlet) all trace of a frontal dune ridge has disappeared,
while in the south the ridge, which formerly would have paralleled high water mark, has been severely
modified into an elongate feature almost at right angles to its former direction. Modification of this ridge is
still continuing, and its seaward edge is in the form of a steep sand cliff reaching 25 feet in height.
Much of the northern edge of the ridge is now beyond the reach of waves but wind erosion continues.
In the deflated area formerly lying below the original frontal dune ridge, there is clear evidence that dune
reformation is beginning to take place. A zone of embryo dunes is beginning to evolve, and although still
weak and discontinuous, this zone will eventually develop into an energy-absorbing ridge which will shelter
the eroding area behind it.
36
Machair
Machair in the sense of a gently rolling sandbuilt plain of low relief does not occur at Mungasdale. Instead
the dune pasture zone is characterised by relatively steep slopes broken in places by deep blow outs and
stretches of redeposited sand. The main feature is the huge blow out near the south end, which tends to
dominate the whole beach complex and emphasises its instability. The blow out is both long and deep, and
is continued at its landward end by freshly-deposited ridges of sand which tend to eliminate the surface
vegetation and so accelerate the rate of encroachment of the blow out. Smaller blow out systems also occur
near the mouth of the Allt Mhungasdail and in the northern half of the beach complex.
The initial trigger factors setting off the episode of severe erosion cannot now be defined with confidence,
but may have consisted of wave undercutting of the former dune front during a severe storm, in combination
with fluvial erosion by streams in spate. The situation may also have been aggravated by rabbit activity.
Irrespective of the initial causal factors, severe wind erosion is one of the main characteristics of the beach
complex at the present time. An area equivalent to almost half the present dune and machair zone has
already been lost through erosion, and management objectives at the present time should be focussed on
efforts to halt the erosion and to encourage the re-establishment of an energy-absorbing frontal dune ridge.
Mungasdale beach complex is a highly dynamic unit evolving in response to stream action as well as to the
forces of wind and waves. At the present the main direction of evolution is towards a reduction of erosional
activity, and the re-establishment of a dune ridge parallel to high water mark. The processes of “healing”,
however, have not yet reached an advanced stage of development, and indeed rapid erosion is still
proceeding at the south end of the beach complex. The presence of symptoms of “healing”, however, give
hope that in the future the present level of instability will lessen, and also indicate that the situation is one in
which management measures might be effective in accelerating the natural processes of re-stabilisation.
It must be emphasised, however, that Mungasdale remains a very sensitive beach complex, and that the
possibility of erosion accelerating and indeed consuming practically the whole blown-sand complex is by
no means remote. It is thus imperative that decisions concerning the future use of the beach take full
cognisance of the present state of instability and its associated dangers.
Vegetation
Active marram colonisation is taking place in the incipient zone of embryo dunes above high water mark,
but the familiar “yellow” dune zone of the model beach situation is lacking. Behind the coastal edge the
sand-built landforms are clothed in mature marram communities, giving way in places to communities
dominated by bracken. Patches of gorse occur around the northernmost stream outlet, while a small
plantation of wind-stunted conifers lies between the beach and the road at the south end.
The beach complex is largely in the form of rough grazing, and is attached to Mungasdale Farm, the
buildings of which lie immediately to the east of the blown-sand area. Cultivated land lies beyond the limit
of blown-sand on the north side.
37
There is no evidence to suggest that grazing activities of domestic stock were responsible for the initiation
of the present episode of erosion in the beach complex, but the occurrence of any animals around the
eroding faces can only have detrimental effects at the present time. It should be emphasised, however, that
there is no evidence of over-grazing, and that rabbits do not at present constitute a threat.
Although located in close proximity to an important tourist route, Mungasdale beach receives comparatively
little recreational use. The scenic attractiveness is not high (2.92), nor is there a great deal of shelter, or of
habitat diversity. A major limitation to recreational use, however, is the absence of adequate parking
facilities near the beach. Roadside parking is deterred by the presence of a bend in the road, and in general
there is little to attract the passing tourist to stop.
The present intensity of recreational use is probably suitably adjusted to the carrying capacity of the beach.
Although some tracking has developed along access paths from road to beach, there is little sign of adverse
effects associated with recreational use. Were the present intensity of use to be significantly increased,
however, acceleration of blow out development would be likely to result, and the re-establishment of a frontal
dune ridge delayed or prevented.
The principle management objective should centre on the slowing of erosion in the main blow out near the
south end of the beach, and on the eventual reformation of a new dune ridge across its mouth. It is suggested
that nets of fine mesh material, or wicker fences, should be erected in front of the mouth of the blow out,
and also at intervals along its length, in an effort to reduce the effects of wind blow and at the same time
to facilitate the development of cross blow out ridges of sand. Similar techniques might be employed in order
to strengthen and accelerate the development of the embryo dune further to the north, although the main
blow out is the site requiring the most urgent attention. These measures will not lead to immediate
improvements in the stability and carrying capacity of the beach complex, but over a period of about ten
years should have definite beneficial effects.
In addition to the erection of fences or nets, it may ultimately be necessary to protect the access paths to the
south beach by sleeper tracks. It is recommended that nothing be done to increase the present intensity of
recreational use of the beach, and that no car parking facilities should at present be provided. The carrying
out of rehabilitative measures cannot be expected to result in short-term improvements in the beach’s
capacity, but could have invaluable beneficial effects in the long-term, when it might be possible to open up
the beach for more intensive use to relieve pressure on the Gruinard beaches to the south. In the context of
intensively used roadside beaches in Wester Ross, it is important to plan ahead to a time when every effort
will have to be made to maximise the capacity of every roadside beach; it is thus essential that consideration
be given to the “upgrading” of Mungasdale beach in the very near future.
Summar y
Mungasdale beach is a small unit on the east side of Gruinard Bay and close by the main A832 road from
Gairloch to Braemore. The beach complex displays many symptoms of instability and indeed has suffered
severe erosion. It is considered, however, that modest rehabilitative measures would stand a good chance
of success, and early experimentation with them is strongly recommended.
38
Figure 5.4
Mungasdale
39
Plate 5
Mungasdale Bay – it is recommended that efforts be made to heal this blow out by the erection of sand
traps of wicker fencing or fine mesh material.
40
5.5
Gr uinard Bay: Nor th Beach – Camas Gaineamhaich
General Setting
The inner part of Gruinard Bay terminates in a wide inter-tidal beach composed of sand in the eastern part
and gravel and cobbles in the portion opposite the mouth of the Little Gruinard River. Much of the sand
beach is backed by steep rocky slopes, on which blown-sand accumulations have been unable to form,
but in two areas where the beach is backed by lower ground, pockets of dunes and machair have evolved.
The more southerly of these pockets, near the mouth of the Inverianvig River, is adjacent to the main A832
road, and is a popular stopping place, in which the pressure of recreational use is high. The northern
beach complex, however, is about 300 yards distant from the road, and the intensity of recreational use is
much less.
Camas Gaineamhaich occupies a “bay within bay” situation, and is contained between headlands in the
form of rocky islets joined to the mainland by marine deposits of cobbles and boulders. Steep rocky slopes
approach close to the high water mark on the flanks of the beach, but the topography behind the beach is
much gentler sloping and is in part clad in peat. It is on this gently sloping surface behind the beach that
elements of dunes and machair have formed.
Beach
Except for the flanks of the beach, the material is composed almost entirely of fine to medium sand with a
low carbonate content. The brownish colour of the sand may suggest an origin from the decomposition of
Torridonian Sandstone. It is unlikely that the sand is derived locally from marine erosion of cliffs, but the
offshore ground is extensively sand covered, and it is probable that Gruinard Bay acts as a reservoir for
sand derived from wave erosion of sandstone cliffs on more exposed parts of the coast. The spreads of
boulders and cobbles on the flanks of the beach are largely of Lewisian Gneiss of a more local origin.
Although the carbonate content of the sand is in general low, occasional spreads of coarse shell fragments
occur on parts of the beach but their contribution to beach material is not great.
Although the beach is wide (inter-tidal zone 300 yards) it is very flat and does not appear to be particularly
well nourished, and evidence of features symptomatic of constructional processes is slight. The beach is in
fact tending to rotate at present, and by wave undercutting of the coastal edge on the north side, is tending
to seek a new orientation with a stronger northerly component.
Dunes
Most of the coastal edge south of the stream outlet takes the form of an actively accreting dune ridge. In its
northern part, the ridge is very low and as yet poorly developed. Indeed it would appear that evolution of
this portion of the ridge is very recent, and it is highly probable that it occupies the former position of an
earlier dune ridge now completely consumed by erosion. There is clear evidence of strong erosional activity
in the area behind this incipient dune ridge, but gradually this activity will lessen and an effective, energy
absorbing frontal dune ridge develop. Despite the relative poverty of nourishment of the beach, the frontal
dune ridge seems to be developing rapidly at the present time, although it is still weak and could be easily
41
breached. The development of new dunes, however, gives ground for optimism that the general stability of
the beach complex will increase in the future, provided that the present intensities and combinations of
processes be allowed to continue.
At the extreme north of the beach, a cliff 6–8 feet in height has been cut into maturely vegetated sand
overlying the base of the rocky slope. Marine erosion in this zone is unlikely to lead to serious wind erosion
of the blown-sand material, which is here thin and does not form free-standing dune or machair landforms.
Machair
Behind the dune zone lies a large system of interlinking deflation hollows which separate the frontal dune
ridge from the machair. These blow outs are still active, especially on their landward edges where steep
slopes of up to 15 feet in height have been cut. Behind them lie areas of machair rejuvenated into dune
form by the deposition of sand winnowed from the blow outs. The deposition of new sand on the maturely
vegetated machair sward weakens it and permits the ready encroachment of the undercut edge.
The machair area at Camas Gaineamhaich is strongly influenced by the underlying topography. In plan it
occupies a funnel-shaped area and thins rapidly against the steep rocky slopes which define the valley.
The small un-named stream occupying the narrow floor of the valley has exerted a major influence on the
micro-topography of the machair by bank undercutting, which in turn permits not only wind erosion but also
rubbing by rabbits and sheep.
The most significant process at the present time is the re-establishment of a frontal dune zone, which will
eventually give protection to the actively eroding front edge of the machair. Although the beach complex is
still in a highly unstable condition, its peak of instability appears to have passed, and gradually it should
become relatively more stable. The influence of the small stream draining onto the beach is also of
significance, not only in the erosion of part of the mature machair, but also in terms of its function in
recirculating sand from machair back to beach from whence it may contribute to the re-development of a
new dune zone.
Vegetation
Vigorous marram growth is taking place on the young frontal dune and some planting of marram may have
taken place in the past. Behind the blow out zone in the lee of the dune ridge occurs a machair-like sward
rejuvenated in its frontal part by recently deposited sand with associated marram-dominated vegetation.
Extensive patches of bracken occur on both flanks of the beach complex, while wet machair communities
occur along the side of the stream. Birch scrub occupies a considerable area on the south margin of the
blown-sand area, while wet moor extends from the landward limit of the machair up to the main road.
The beach complex forms part of the rough grazing of a sheep farm, and two sheep-folds occur on the
margins of the blown-sand area. The vegetation is closely grazed by sheep, but there is no evidence that
over-grazing, resulting in wind erosion, is taking place. It is possible, however, that high densities of sheep
in the past may have triggered waves of intense erosion.
42
At the present time, rabbits constitute a greater threat to beach complex stability than sheep, and especially
along the banks of the stream, rabbit burrows have been exploited and enlarged by wind erosion.
The main factor influencing the recreational use of Camas Gaineamhaich is its location some 300 yards
from the main A832 road. In the context of the local situation, in which there is a very much more accessible
beach only half a mile to the south, the distance between road and beach is sufficient to deter heavy
utilisation for recreational purposes. Car parking facilities are not provided on the road adjacent to Camas
Gaineamhaich, but some tourists are content to leave their vehicles on the rather narrow hard shoulder. From
there access is gained to the beach via a path over peaty ground. Although there are some signs of
trampling on this path, erosional damage is slight and is confined to the lower section of the path where it
crosses the landward part of the machair.
The present situation in which only pedestrian access is possible to the beach, and then only after a few
minutes’ walk, is in harmony with the physical characteristics of the beach complex. Although less unstable
than formerly, the resilience of the beach is not high, and it is not suited to high intensity use associated with
direct vehicular access.
The principle management objective should be directed towards the further development of the frontal dune
ridge, and the eventual re-stabilisation of the blow out lying behind it. At the present time, there is no need
for resort to be made to artificial methods of trapping sand in order to promote growth of the ridge, but if
breaches were to appear prompt action should be taken to halt their growth by the provision of wicker
fences. If resources are available, action could, with benefit, be taken to protect the eroding landward faces
of the large blow outs. The spreading of brushwood or of reeds on the bare sand faces would do much to
accelerate revegetation. The first priority must, however, lie in the conservation of the frontal dune ridge.
At the present intensity of recreational use, it is not essential to protect the access footpath by sleepers or
duckboards, but this will probably eventually become necessary on the more sensitive parts of the path on sand
substrates. Certainly if a car park were to be provided the lower section of the path ought to be protected.
At present rabbits constitute a greater potential threat to the stability of the machair area, and it is
recommended that they should be eliminated.
The current intensity of recreational use is acceptable in terms of the stability characteristics of the beach,
but any increase in use over the short-term must be viewed with great caution. It is recommended that no
facilities such as car parks, which might result in an increase in use, should be provided. In the long-term,
however, if the present tendencies towards gradual re-stabilisation are allowed to continue, the capacity of
the beach should increase. Eventually it should be possible to accept a higher intensity of use, especially if
modest control measures are instituted, and once re-stabilised Camas Gaineamhaich should be able to
relieve some of the pressures at the other Gruinard beach to the south.
43
Summar y
Camas Gaineamhaich at present is a beach characterised by highly active erosion of its machair area.
Re-stabilisation is gradually occurring, however, as a frontal dune ridge reforms, and this tendency could be
reinforced by relatively minor management measures. At present nothing should be done to increase the use
of the beach, but eventually a car park could be provided in order to encourage use and to relieve pressure
on the other beach to the south. It is emphasised that this is a long-term, rather than short-term, measure.
Figure 5.5
Gr uinard Bay (Nor th)
44
Plate 6
Gruinard Bay – north beach.
45
5.6
Gr uinard Bay: South Beach
(Figure 5.6, Plates 7, 8)
General Setting
The large embayment of Gruinard Bay has a crenulated coastline in which are found a number of sandy
beach pockets at Mungasdale, Gruinard and Laide. The Gruinard pocket is the largest but the configuration
of the rocky coast permits the area to be divided into northern and southern sectors. The latter is effectively
sandwiched between rocky shores to the north and the gravel and shingle strands at the mouths of the
Gruinard and Inverianvig Rivers to the south.
This southern pocket, although smaller in extent than its northern neighbour (Chapter 5.5), has more acute
problems of utilisation due to its proximity to the main West Coast route (A832) which passes within a few
yards of the beach and from parts of which the beach can be easily seen. The resultant intensive utilisation
must therefore be borne in mind in the subsequent discussion.
Beach
In common with many Wester Ross beaches there are two morphological components – a low gradient
lower beach with a ridge-and-runnel system of low amplitude and a steeper gradient upper beach.
The beach ridges migrate shorewards and carry much-needed medium quartzose sand to the upper beach
and backshore. This nourishment, however, occurs only during constructive wave phases, particularly when
the ocean swell reaches the shallow water at the bayhead. At other times the material, originally derived
via fluvial erosion of glacial and raised shoreline deposits within their catchments, is carried to the nearshore,
and waves comb down the upper beach and backshore and directly attack the fragile coastal edge.
In consequence the edge has retreated over the past few years. Although at the time of survey it was stable
and the southern end of the face had been partly recolonised, this stability is not representative of the
long-term net recession of the edge and shorewards migration of the high water mark. The main factors in
this recession are the lack of new material input into the nearshore circulation system from offshore and
riverine sources and the exposure of this location to destructive marine agencies.
Dunes
The beach zone is backed by a narrow elongate dune exhibiting features of senility. The natural surface is
extremely stable but this stability has been destroyed by the progressive erosion of the seawards face of the
dune where the high face is maintained throughout the year by wave erosion at its base. Wind carries the
loose, partly vegetated, sand onto the dune surface and subsequently across the road where it is deposited
in a thin layer over the outer margins of the raised shoreline terrace. The instability of the dune has been
accentuated by the continual trampling of tourists, particularly at the northern and southern ends, and
especially by the artificial cuts made on the rear slopes during the recent road widening. Even in the
absence of this anthropic interference the dune would still be in a diminishing state because during senility
it is unable to rejuvenate itself and hence resist the erosive forces of wind and waves.
46
Machair
The machair area is very small and represents a zone of very thin sand accumulation over the outer parts of
the raised shoreline terrace surface and particularly over the seawards edge. The surface is in a naturally
stable state.
Two features control the development of this complex and both have led to retrogression of the coastal edge
and the lack of development of protective backshore berms and embryo dunes. The site is highly exposed:
in the seawards direction, the wind being channelled to the bayhead where it has a dominantly scouring
influence. Of equal importance is the lack of new material to replenish the system. The two rivers, although
currently supplying quantities of sand to the lower beach and nearshore zone, carry a dominantly gravel
and shingle calibre load which is deposited across the upper beach and from which any sand cover is
removed by the combined action of waves and river outflow. Furthermore, the lnverianvig River, by
degrading the level of the upper beach, allows wave penetration further shorewards in this section and
consequently the shoreline and the coastal edge have retreated.
The resultant effect of these processes will be the continuing removal of material from the backshore zone
and the dune front and its subsequent removal to the deeper water offshore and hence the complex is seen
to be undergoing a phase of decline.
Vegetation
The dune vegetation is representative of the dune’s senility with a low grass sward and bracken, whilst
species such as Ammophila arenaria, indicative of sand increment, are also present on the seawards slopes.
Otherwise no backshore colonisation has occurred. On the raised shoreline and river terraces a grass
sward is dominant but bracken is gradually increasing particularly on the steeper slopes. The hillsides to the
south have a cover of conifers but to the north the steep slopes, with only a skeletal soil, have a grass and
bracken cover.
The land in the area is estate-owned and is used as rough grazing land for sheep. This grazing, coupled
with the burrowing activities of the increasing rabbit population, aggravates the anthropic instability at the
rear of the dune.
Although the area has no other uses, it is understood that the local authority regard the beach as being
suitable for shell-sand extraction. With the present poverty of natural supply of sand to the beach, such
extraction can only have detrimental effects to the stability of the complex, and in any case the lime content
of the sand is very low so that its agricultural value would be slight.
The amenity of the area is partially destroyed by the proximity of the main road which passes through it and
which permits easy access to the beach and dune. The road from the south crosses high ground between
47
Laide and Gruinard and from the highest point road widening has facilitated the provision of a layby.
From this point a view of the whole bay is achieved – perhaps one of the “classic” Highland viewpoints.
However, on descent from the viewpoint only the beach at Gruinard South, the first to be reached from the
south (and also from the north), is directly accessible from the road. The provision of a layby by the County
Council has intensified the use of the beach but at the same time has removed the problem of congestion at
the site, although some tourists still park on the grass verges. The layby is situated at the north end of
the bayhead and a stile has been constructed to give access to the beach over a fence (Plate 8).
This channelling has caused instability on the bare sand surface and as it is concentrated in summer
protective vegetation fails to re-establish itself in the area. Further paths across the middle of the dune and
at the southern end also lead to the beach; however, they are less intensively used.
The recent widening of the main road at the bayhead as part of the major road improvement scheme for
the area has had the most disturbing effect on stability. The narrowness of the available area for widening
forced the engineers to trim back the dune leaving a 6 foot high bare sand face with a narrow apron
between it and the road. This has resulted in a decrease in the dune area and the initiation of instability;
in consequence sand now blows onto and across the road and accumulates there and on the grass verges.
The construction of a layby on the landwards side of the road for the use of tourists is to be commended but
its positioning requires tourists to cross this busy road to gain access to the beach. Whilst the writers would
support road improvements and particularly the provision of laybys at tourist pressure points, the
consequences of such action in terms of tour safety and natural stability cannot be condoned.
The location is therefore scenically attractive at a distance but this is degraded at the site by proximity to
traffic and lack of shelter for beach recreation. With the present intensity of use, particularly for family
recreation, the instability will continue to the detriment of the resource.
Although many beaches in Wester Ross are in close proximity to the road, Gruinard South with its naturally
fragile landforms is potentially more destructable than others. However, management considerations must be
based on the maintenance of amenity by controlling the access points and by carrying out certain
recuperative measures. In such an accessible situation the prohibition or restriction of recreation could not
be justified or maintained.
It is therefore strongly recommended that the natural recolonisation of the coastal edge be aided by the
planting of stabilising Ammophila arenaria and Festuca rubra plants accompanied by the application of
nitrate- and phosphate-based fertilisers. Skinner (1970) suggested the construction of a foredune but the
complex has an inadequate sand supply to maintain such an artificial feature.
At the two main access points across the dune the detrimental effects of trampling would be reduced if
wooden steps with substantial rails were constructed leading from the stile to the backshore. At the same
time planting and fertilizer application could be carried out around these steps and also along the road
edge. The erection of signs indicating the recuperative measures should also take place. These measures
are recommended in the hope that the already degraded complex will not suffer further degradation and
loss of sand as a result of tourist activities, and although to some extent they restrict the freedom of the tourist
they would improve the stability of the area.
48
The provision of a car park of particular capacity ought, in theory, to control use intensity but unfortunately
it was noted during the survey that tourists were parking on the grass verges although the car park was not
full. In order to control such activities but without further destroying amenity it is suggested that locally-derived
stones be placed along the edge of the verge.
If the measures recommended are carried out the authors believe that the present intensity of use could be
allowed to increase to a limited extent. Such concentrations of half- and whole-day visitors at highly
accessible beach sites would help to relieve pressure at less accessible and potentially less stable locations.
Summar y
The accessibility of the beach and its location within a scenically attractive coastal area results in a high
intensity of beach use. The natural instability of the site, which is representative of a senile complex, is not
naturally suitable for such pressures. However, it is considered that both the stability and the capacity of the
beach complex can be increased by the implementation of the recommendations previously outlined.
Providing such measures are carried out immediately the beach will be able to cater for intensive recreational
utilisation by day-visitors.
Figure 5.6
Gr uinard Bay (South)
49
Plate 7
Gruinard Bay South – sandy pocket beach at bayhead surrounded by rocky slopes and raised shoreline
terraces.
Plate 8
Gruinard Bay South – concentration of tourist trampling and consequent extension of surface bare sand
area adjacent to main road.
50
5.7
Mellon Udrigle
(Figures 4, 5.7, Plates 9–11)
General Setting
The bay at Mellon Udrigle, on the east-side of the Rubha Mór peninsula, is set within the crenulate coastline
of Torridonian sandstone terrain between the rocky hills to the south and the drift-covered low rock surfaces
to the north. These deposits have been terraced by a series of small streams which carry sand and shingle
into the bay. The shingle and sand has been reworked by the sea and deposited in the form of a bayhead
bar, some 20 feet in height, whose upper surface can be seen beneath the eroded sand at the coastal edge.
Subsequent processes have carried sand shorewards to form a wide beach and a narrow aeolian area.
The instability of the latter is sufficiently severe to require limits to be imposed on the recreational and grazing
activities in the area.
Formal camping and caravan sites are inadequate to meet demand in the Gruinard and Loch Ewe area,
and Mellon Udrigle has become the focus of intensive caravanning.
Beach
Although the inter-tidal area measures only 100 yards in width the backshore area in the centre of the bay
is around 130 yards wide and beyond this is the coastal edge. The beach and backshore can therefore be
regarded as two interacting systems.
The beach follows the normal pattern of a low-angle lower beach with small-scale beach ridges, followed
by a steeper and wider upper beach. The material here is medium grain sand with a 41% lime content.
The upper beach limit in summer is marked by degraded berms over a width of 15 yards, and their outer
edge is eroded by wave action during high water spring and neap tide phases. Behind this berm the
foreshore is almost horizontal and consists of a coarser medium sand with a higher lime content. Beneath
this lime-rich sand the quartzose/shelly sand characteristic of the beach is found. This suggests that the upper
lime-rich sand has been derived perhaps from the degradation of the machair by wind and wave activity
over recent decades. This suggestion is corroborated by the lack of embryo dunes on the backshore and
the limiting of drift-line debris to the outer 20 yards of the backshore. If the sand were derived from the
inter-tidal area it would, in all probability, be modelled by the wind into dune forms.
The wide backshore area which protects the coastal edge from wave activity therefore gives relative stability
to the non-aeolian landforms. However, the southern half of the coastal edge has undergone wave erosion.
Subsequent supply of sand from the beach, and probably indirectly from machair erosion, has enabled the
shoreline to prograde seawards of the erosion face both in the south and between the stream channels.
Dunes and Machair
In the strict sense of the word the frontal aeolian ridge developed on the bayhead sand and shingle is an
elongate coastal dune but erosion has been so severe that from the viewpoint of operative processes it can
be included with the machair. Reconstructing the pre-erosional machair surface indicates the existence of a
51
late mature/senile landform unit which had achieved a high degree of stability. Subsequently, perhaps due
to changes in the wind pattern over a period of years and possibly intensification of machair utilisation, the
surface has been broken with the formation of linear blow outs, both normal and parallel to the shoreline,
and widespread deflation areas. Wind scouring has caused the incision of those bare sand areas below
the original surface leaving a series of irregular, stable grass-covered surfaces at the original level. With the
increase in sand-blow both from the erosion of the coastal edge and from the deflation areas, many of the
upstanding vegetated patches have been partially covered by sand. This has led to further instability
particularly as the late mature/senile machair vegetation was unable to keep pace with sand-blow.
In consequence almost 50% of the beach complex area represents a “damaged” surface, but the remainder
of the machair at the southern end of the bay has a generally stable surface and a prograding shoreline.
The situation of high machair instability and backshore sand accretion would appear at first sight to be
paradoxical. In the light of the previous discussion it is evident that there is not at present a large amount of
sand being transported from the beach to the machair.
The beach zone is apparently in an equilibrium state whereby sand is transported between the nearshore,
lower beach and upper beach at different periods depending on the weather conditions. The net result has
been the construction of a wide backshore from beach-derived sand so that currently even with the highest
tides the sea does not wash against the coastal edge at the bayhead, although this does occur at the
southern end of the beach. Little of the sand lost from the machair area has been transported inland as the
bay is exposed to the northeasterly direction. The greater part of this sand is thought to have been carried
by the wind and deposited onto the beach sand of the backshore – hence the variation in lime content and
the lack of underlying drift-line deposits in this sector. Therefore, in theory the sand has been retained within
the circulation system but with predominantly westerly winds this sand is only transported back to the machair
during the restricted periods of onshore winds. The major part of the sand redeposited in the machair zone
is, therefore, directly derived from wind scouring within that zone as is illustrated by the fact that deposition
has occurred at the base of many of the deflation faces whilst the deflation floors exhibit a scoured surface,
therefore representing the depositional area and the source respectively. The one-way movement of sand
must not be over-emphasised as certain areas, especially the large bare sand area at the south-western
corner, show that sand has been blown landwards from the backshore sector.
A further loss of sand from the machair zone occurs by stream erosion. The stream is undercutting the machair
as it passes through the area, carrying the material to the lower beach and nearshore sectors where it is
recycled to the beach, but only a small part is thought to return to the machair. A number of other streams,
concentrated in the area of maximum bare sand, cause the further destruction of the machair surface and
aid subsequent wind erosion and loss of sand.
Mellon Udrigle therefore exhibits a number of unique dynamic relationships acting in reverse to “normal”
processes, whereby the wind-eroded machair is not recharged by sand from the extensive backshore but
continues to be degraded and because of its age is unable to carry out natural stabilisation measures to
restore equilibrium.
52
Vegetation
The remnants of the original machair surface have a thick turf of low grasses of dominantly “agricultural”
species including clover, thistle, rye grass and the common daisy. Some sections of the deflation floors and
tracks have been recently colonised by low grasses and annual flowering plants but the perennial
sand-collecting grasses, such as marram, are wholly absent from the area.
The adjacent low ground consists of improved pasture which grades up the slope into heath grasses and
bracken. A small conifer plantation, probably 8–10 years old, is located behind the machair at the southern
end of the bay.
The area forms part of the Wester Ross crofting land. Sheep and cattle are grazed on improved pasture in
walled enclosures, but the machair forms part of the crofters’ common grazing and sheep pasture occurs
throughout the area. The rabbit population is largely concentrated at the southern end of the bay where the
undulating stable machair gives a more favourable burrowing habitat than that elsewhere. Hence, although
the rabbits are extending the areas of potential instability, as yet they have had no large impact. The intensity
of sheep grazing on the other hand aggravates an already unstable natural situation and the paucity of
vegetation cover has very little grazing value to the sheep.
The beach lies at the end of a single track road which leaves the main West Coast route (A832) at Laide
about 3 miles to the south. This dead-end road attracts day-visitors and particularly overnight campers and
caravanners. The nearest caravan and camping site is at Aultbea, 6 miles distant on the shores of Loch Ewe.
Otherwise the provision for overnight stops is made on an informal basis at many crofts and farms, hence
the pressures on existing sites, both formal and informal, are high and available land next to the sea is
utilised with or without the owners’ permission. The unsatisfactory nature of this situation is well-illustrated at
Mellon Udrigle where, with permission from local crofters, caravans and tents can be installed on the
machair and motor vehicles are given free access to the site, with the result that the naturally unstable
machair is further degraded and previously stable surfaces are broken by the tracks of cars, particularly if
they are towing a heavy caravan. This passage has broken the sward and left a bare sand surface with
very little recolonisation between the wheel tracks, and has been worn down almost a foot below the
surrounding stable vegetation and therefore presents potential deflation faces along the track edges
(Plate 10). At the time of survey 7 touring caravans occupied the machair with a further 3 static caravans
positioned on southern margin of the machair and 2 touring caravans and 3 tents were positioned on a very
stable machair between the stream and the houses of the township. The access to a local farm is also across
the machair and has continual use throughout the year with the result that the ground cannot recover
naturally. Other detrimental features resulting from this usage are the lack of adequate toilet provisions (only
one wooden closet, positioned on the centre of the machair, has been provided) and problems of litter
disposal (Plate 11).
The visual amenity at the site is low but this is not a justification for the continuance of the present recreational
utilisation. The road-end position makes it ideal for day-time use providing that the high instability is not
intensified.
53
It could be argued on purely recreational grounds that an area with many deflation gullies for shelter, easy
access to a sheltered beach for bathing and a wide backshore for picnicking should remain in its natural
state. However, despite these arguments the visual amenity of the area is reduced by the many deflation
faces and high proportion of bare sand. This situation is thought to be the result of natural processes and
probable non-recreational anthropic interference over a long time span. It is strongly emphasised that the
present use of the second most unstable machair (next to Opinan) in Wester Ross for camping and
caravanning intensifies this instability and further reduces the amenity of a coastal area of moderate
recreational potential. Management therefore should consider the initiation of a more stable physical regime
as its prime objective, so that the area may be used by the day tourist for recreational purposes.
The authors disagree with the Gairloch study proposal that “the use of the beach can be controlled by limited
caravan numbers – say fifteen – ...” (Parnell 1968, p.110). This is hardly compatible with their previous
statement that “... erosion has started and proper management to retain the sand and grass is urgently
needed” (Parnell 1968, p.110), with which the authors agree wholeheartedly. It is recommended that all
camping and caravanning on, and vehicular access to, the unstable machair at the bayhead between the
stream and the southern margin should be prohibited. Having removed one factor detrimental to machair
stability it is further recommended that the intensity of sheep grazing on the unstable area should be reduced.
It is also necessary to make provision for controlling natural instability. Bearing in mind the peculiarity of the
sand transport regime of the Mellon Udrigle complex, measures to construct a fore-dune are thought to be
inapplicable, and the main objective should be to prevent further erosion. Two courses of action are
available, requiring differing levels of capital outlay. Ideally all the areas of bare sand above the
H.W.M.O.S.T. should be planted and fertilisers applied. A bituminous or rubber solution could be sprayed
onto the bare sand to ensure short-term stability whilst the plants became established. This would obviously
be rather costly and it is possible that a simpler measure – planting without the application of an artificial
protective surface might be successful. The latter method has been successfully carried out in large migrating
dune systems elsewhere, and given protection from trampling for one or two growing seasons, should
guarantee a more stable surface than currently exists. If it were wished to permit access to the beach during
the period of treatment and recovery, duckboard pathways would have to be provided.
The present car parking situation is unsatisfactory. Cars may either park in front of the croft at the northeast
corner of the complex on payment of a 5p fee or else on the narrow grass verges between there and the
Opinan road. In either case congestion results, and the provision of adequate car parking is essential.
Parnell (1968) has suggested a 20-car car park but does not define the location. Such a size would be
suitable but it is suggested that two smaller car parks be constructed – at the road end immediately west of
the croft for about 15 cars and a second park in the angle between the Laide and Opinan roads for about
10 cars. From each of these car parks access to the beach should be along signposted paths; the one at
the northern end would require a small wooden bridge over the river and both should have a duckboard
base where they cross the machair areas. During the early stages of machair planting it is recommended
that only the northern car park be constructed, hence restricting beach access over the planted area. At a
later date the other car park could be developed when the plants had begun to stabilise.
54
Summar y
In a highly unstable natural complex where the sand eroded from the originally stable late mature/senile
machair is deposited on a wide backshore and not recycled to the machair for surface rebuilding,
the essential need is to encourage stability by planting grasses and prohibiting those uses, recreational and
otherwise, which are detrimental to stability and hence to recreational amenity. Once initiated the stability
will permit day-time recreational use of moderate intensity.
Figure 5.7
Mellon Udrigle
55
Plate 9
Plate 10
Mellon Udrigle – senile machair extensively damaged by over-grazing and excessive vehicle pressure.
Remnants of the original machair surface remain.
Mellon Udrigle – tracking to depths of a foot caused by continued passage of car and caravans across
machair surface. This situation occurs in many areas where vehicular access is unrestricted.
56
Plate 11
Mellon Udrigle – the problems of litter disposal.
57
5.8
Mellon Charles
General Setting
The Loch Ewe shore between Aultbea and Mellon Charles has no sandy beaches but at the latter a smallscale pocket beach backed by an extensive machair has developed over an area of approximately
33 acres. However, the situation is completely dominated by a Naval Ordnance Depot and associated pier
and slipway structures which cover about a third of the area and limit beach access. However, recreational
activity occurs in the form of a camping and caravan site on the machair and low intensity non-residential
beach use.
Beach
The beach has a uniform gradient and is in an equilibrium state. North of the slipway the backshore is
composed of drift-line debris and shingle, but to the south of the pier embryo dunes have developed on the
backshore and the shoreline is prograding.
Dunes
No dunes other than those on the backshore occur.
Machair
The machair has an extremely stable surface of low gradient and represents a senile landform unit. A few minor
surface irregularities occur at the south end and probably reflect undulations in the underlying drift and bedrock.
The senility of the machair precludes any dynamic processes in the complex except the transport of sand from
the upper beach on to the coastal edge, forming embryo dunes and permitting the progradation of the shoreline.
Vegetation
The newly wind-deposited sand in the embryo dunes has an open marram cover; elsewhere the machair
has a thick sward of low grasses and flowering plants.
The complex is within the traditional Wester Ross crofting area and parts of the machair are still used for
sheep grazing. Elsewhere areas of improved grazing have been fenced off. The major use, and one
peculiar to the northeast coast of Loch Ewe is by the Admiralty. The Ordnance Depot was established at the
beginning of World War II, and further installations have been constructed recently on the hillside south of
Aultbea as a N.A.T.O. refuelling depot. The siting of the depot at Mellon Charles, although imposing
restraints on recreational utilisation does not prohibit tourists from using the machair and beach.
58
Camping and caravanning take place on the machair to the northeast of the depot. Basic facilities are
provided but the site is unsatisfactory due to its proximity to the Ordnance Depot and its open accessibility.
The beach is also used by non-residential tourists, probably as much from curiosity of the Naval installation
as from pure recreational motives. Despite the positioning of the depot, the visual amenity is moderate –
perhaps the potential tourist is hardened to coastal despoliation.
The siting of defence installations in coastal areas, particularly in England and Wales, has been criticised
a great deal in recent years. However, the installation at Mellon Charles is discreetly sited and cannot be
seen until the township is reached. In any case, it would be unrealistic to recommend that the depot be
removed on the grounds of its impact on amenity.
The camping and caravanning site is not scenically attractive, but since no detrimental physical effects have
resulted it should be permitted to continue to function. In short, no new management objectives need be
defined nor recommendations made.
Summar y
From the amenity viewpoint, the Mellon Charles beach complex is by no means ideal for overnight stops or
for day-time recreation. However, there is no evidence that recreational use is resulting in adverse
repercussions, and it is suggested that the present pattern of use be allowed to continue.
Plate 12
Mellon Charles – discreetly placed Naval Ordnance Depot and pier at head of little-used sandy pocket beach.
59
Figure 5.8
Mellon Charles
60
5.9
Slaggan Bay
(Figure 5.9)
General Setting
The beach complex is confined to the head of Slaggan Bay and its lateral and landwards development has
been restricted by the proximity of rock and talus-covered cliffs to the modern shoreline. The cliff form of the
bay is asymmetrical in plan – the northern cliffs have a gradient of around 30° and the talus mantle is still
in an unstable state due to debris-slide activity and subsequent soil creep, whilst the southern cliffs lack this
mantle and are steeper rocky slopes with an apron of talus spreading across the beach towards low
water mark. At the bayhead the fossil cliff-base – a talus zone – reaches almost to high water mark.
In consequence of this topographic situation the complex has no dune or machair zones, but has only an
area of fresh sand blown onto the cliff-face at the northeast corner.
The beach occurs in a relatively isolated position at the end of a 2 1/2 mile gravel track from the
Laide/Mellon Udrigle road, and the intensity of use and the potential damage by recreational users remains
at a moderate level.
Beach
The beach is in a highly exposed situation but certain characteristics of the materials and morphology of the
beach moderate this exposure by dissipating wave energy. The northern and particularly the southern
margins of the beach are dominated by a lag deposit of shingle and boulders derived from the sub-aerial
weathering of the cliffs and to some extent by material supplied from the stream. The roundness and
sphericity of the particles testifies the exposure of the beach to high energy wave action. The relatively
coarse medium shell-sand is well-sorted and has been arranged into ridges-and-runnels which were on the
upper beach and the highest areas of the lower beach at the time of survey. With a relief amplitude of
4 feet and 7 feet respectively for the outer and inner-systems they afford protection to the bayhead,
backshore area. The largest runnel contains a permanent “tidal pool” about 100 yards by 50 yards in extent
into which both salt and fresh water are fed, surrounded to landward and seaward by beach ridges whose
position is stabilised by the compensatory movements of tides and stream flow. Behind the highest ridge a
small stream flows southwards, parallel to the shoreline and immediately below the mean high water springs
line before joining the main stream. Although this stream causes some recession of the coastal edge, the
edge is more resilient than under “normal” conditions as it comprises a talus slope of high calibre sediments.
The indications are therefore that beach nourishment is continuing in abundant supply with the retention of
sand in the backshore area and the maintenance of the sand area. The presence of a steep cliff backing
the beach restricts the amount of sand lost by wind-blow.
Dunes and Machair
None of the wind-deposited sand assumes morphology recognisable as dune or machair landforms.
The surplus sand from the beach ridges has been deposited as a thin layer over the outer part of the talus
slope and at the northeastern corner, where the cliff orientation changes from north-west/southeast to
north/south, sand has been blown up the cliff-face as far as the crest. Only a small amount of vegetative
61
stabilisation has occurred on the lower angle sectors where a stable sward of low grasses and flowering
plants has formed in places. However, the seawards edge has been trimmed by wave action and the bare
sand slope maintained by wind erosion and deposition. Hence this sector is highly unstable, but the nature
of the terrain does not permit the formation of dunes, and with the continuing supply of material from the
upper beach this situation will continue unless artificial stabilisation measures are taken.
The supply of sediment to the beach is continuing. Coarse materials and some sand are carried by the main
stream from the erosion of the raised shoreline and river terraces whilst the continuing instability of the cliff
slopes, particularly on the north side, provides a wide range of sediment dominantly of the coarse
sand/gravel calibre. The presence of beach ridges and the abundance of shell-sand (56% carbonate
content) on the upper beach and backshore suggests a continuing supply from the sandy offshore bottom
stretching out into the open sea.
Whilst the Allt an t-Slagain has caused some 25–30 yards of shoreline recession where it discharges onto
the beach, this has occurred mainly in the talus deposits whose coarse fraction has been deposited across
the upper beach. The small stream undercutting the coastal edge has also eroded material from the
uppermost beach ridge lowering its surface and redistributing the material across the lower beach. Although
such activity may have short-term erosive implications, the continuing presence of the “tidal pond” stabilising
the position of the beach ridges and the recycling of the sand means that the long-term effects are not
detrimental to the supply of material to the beach. The effect of the channel crossing the beach to the low
water mark has had a beneficial effect by recycling sand from the upper sectors to the lower beach.
Any detrimental effects of the channel are more than counterbalanced by the wave-energy dispersion
properties of the lag boulders which rise to 15–18 feet above the beach surface at the south end.
From present evidence, therefore, the beach system is in a youthful state with the continuing supply of sand
by wave action and stream recycling maintaining the beach ridges and protecting the shoreline from erosion.
Vegetation
The areas of sand at the northeast corner have a degraded sward of low grasses and flowering plants.
The talus slopes also exhibit a low grass sward but this has been overwhelmed by the subsequent growth
of bracken which, with a groundcover of low grasses, also dominates the cliff-faces at the bayhead and
along the southern shore. Along the northern cliff-face the instability is not conducive to bracken growth and
a thin grass cover exists over the more stable areas and on the central parts of the debris slides. On the
cliff-top the glacial deposits are covered with rough grass, whilst the terrace surfaces have either a
peat/heath surface or freshwater marsh vegetation.
The crofting settlement of Slaggan was occupied from the middle nineteenth century during a period of
population expansion. A population of 40 was recorded in 1891 living about half a mile from the beach
at the now ruined township. This settlement progressively declined and was finally abandoned in 1945.
Since this period the land has been used for the rough grazing of sheep by the Tournaig estate
(Mcpherson 1967).
62
The sheep population is low but the paucity of grass on the cliff-top attracts them to the cliffs, talus and blownsand areas, where the lime-rich sand has led to floral diversity and the development of more palatable
grasses. The natural instability of the cliff-faces has been increased by the formation of terracettes due to
sheep activity. However, in general, such grazing as occurs is not detrimental to the stability of the area.
Slaggan Bay is located about 3 miles from the minor road between Laide and Mellon Udrigle/Opinan
(Rubha Mòr). A signpost on this road points along gravel-based gated track to “Slaggan”, but there is no
indication (without map evidence) of a beach there. The track is passable for motor vehicles, although the
passing places are very infrequent and necessitate long reverses to allow vehicles to pass. The beach
therefore is relatively isolated and has a low intensity of use. The location is attractive because of its isolation,
together with vehicular accessibility to within a few hundred yards of the beach, and the scenic attraction
of the beach (the second highest in Wester Ross). These qualities make it ideal for day-visitors, particularly
family groups.
The path from the ruined Slaggan township reaches the beach down the unstable sand slope and the
concentration of access and play activities of children on this sand slope intensifies the instability as
vegetation does not readily colonise the bare sand because of the continual trampling.
The amenity of Slaggan Bay lies in its scenic attraction, its relative isolation compared with neighbouring
beaches and its low intensity of use. Management objectives should seek to retain this situation. At present
the area does not necessitate any specific management measures but with the probable increase in utilisation
a careful watch will be required so that amenity is not degraded. The beach is small and could quickly be
over-utilised and it is suggested that improvements to the access track and the provision of a car park and
signposts should be avoided as far as possible. If use becomes much greater it may be necessary to regulate
the numbers of visitors and conserve the amenity by locking the gate at the road end and charging a fee
for use of the track and the loan of a gate key. This system could be operated from a convenient roadside
cottage in Achgarve. As the main use at present, and indeed the one recommended by the authors, is for
family day-time recreation only a small number of car-loads would give the appearance of overcrowding.
If utilisation remains at a moderate level measures are thought to be unnecessary at this stage. However,
future measures to encourage the stabilisation of the bare sand on the cliff-face and to regulate the points of
access to the beach from the track end may be necessary. It is suggested that these should take the form of
marram grass planting on the bare sand slope with the emplacement of a temporary fence at the top and
base of the slope and the construction of a railed wooden staircase down the more stable cliff-slope by the
stream and thence a duckboard walk along the stream bank to the beach. This route is suggested so that
built features are placed at points not within view of the beach area.
Summar y
In conclusion it is suggested that the beach be utilised on an informal basis for day-time family picnics, and
that only if recreational pressure increases to a level whereby the amenity and scenic attraction deteriorate
should controls be imposed.
63
Figure 5.9
Slaggan Bay
64
5.10
Inverasdale
(Figure 5.10)
The beach at Inverasdale, about half a mile north of the township of Midtown is in the form of a shingle
foreland. The foreland has been developed below a fluvio-glacial area with two raised shoreline terraces. The
lowest terrace is an earlier foreland with the apex in a slightly different position to that of the modern foreland.
The beach consists almost wholly of shingle and its present form represents an equilibrium state, the wave-cut
coastal edge having been stabilised by shingle deposition. Although sand lies offshore on the floor of Loch
Ewe, only a very small amount of this material has been deposited in the inter-tidal area. Therefore, fragile
blown-sand landforms have not developed.
The older foreland has a patchy distribution of thick, short grass sward with patches of bracken. Some
colonisation has occurred on the highest storm ridges of shingle.
The foreland falls within a crofting area and is used for sheep and cattle grazing. Some of the shingle has
been extracted from the south end for construction purposes. This has had no detrimental physical effect but
has reduced the area available for grazing.
The beach is of scientific interest, representing two phases of shingle foreland development and although
not unique is a rare feature in Wester Ross. The shingle foreland has attracted a bird population, particularly
terns, as shingle beaches, the habitat of this species, are few in the area.
The area has a negligible recreational use. Although it can be seen from the road, access requires
negotiation of fences or farmyards, and a cliff. However, the area may be of value for informal picnicking
but more accessible locations of higher amenity are available in the area.
In conclusion the recreational utility of the site is low but it could be used for picnicking. Any such
recreational, grazing and extractive utilisation should not have a detrimental effect.
Figure 5.10
Inverasdale
65
5.11
Mellangaun
General Setting
The steep cliffs associated with the Loch Maree Boundary Fault trend inland in a north-westerly direction at
Midtown. The down-faulted area to the northeast has a low undulating rock relief with a cover of glacial
and fluvio-glacial sediments interspersed between rock knobs and lochans. The coastline is irregular and
rock-based with only one sandy embayment at Mellangaun and a small pocket beach – Camas Allt Eoin
Thomais (hereafter referred to as Cove) – to the north of Sron Meallan a’ Ghamhna. It is proposed to discuss
these two beaches together as their close proximity is important in recommendations for recreational use.
The main contrast between the two beaches is the relative accessibility of Mellangaun from the
Poolewe/Cove road (B8057) which passes immediately to the rear of the beach complex, compared with
the control of vehicular access at Cove imposed by the local farmer.
Beach
The beach at Cove consists of two sandy pockets between low-lying rock platforms. The complex is restricted
in development by the supply of sand and the proximity of the fossil, drift-covered cliffs to the modern
shoreline. The beach gradient of the western pocket is steep, reflecting the exposure of the site compared
with Mellangaun and the eastern pocket which is protected by a rock platform to the northeast. The upper
beach has a 20 feet wide surface of shingle which is piled onto the lower talus slope. Beyond this the cliff
steepens in an upper talus slope and finally in a slip zone at the top of the cliff. The beach profile is in
equilibrium with wave processes and is stable. The shingle protects the coastal edge from erosion, but over
a small sector the shingle beach is absent and wave action has caused some shoreline recession and the
development of a low coastal edge slope in sand.
The Mellangaun beach is subdivided by the Eilean Tioram bedrock ridge. The rock disappears beneath sand
around the high water level and hence the blown-sand landforms are more uniform in surface expression.
The beach forms, however, differ because of the shelter afforded by Sron Meallan a’ Ghamhna to the
northerly beach of Gaineamh Smo in contrast to the more exposed position of Camas na Muic south of
Eilean Tioram and the effect of the Uidh Chro stream on the southern beach. The northern beach has a
narrow inter-tidal area averaging about 110 yards and the sand is less well-sorted than on the southern
beach. The upper beach limit is marked by a berm beyond which a very wide, low angle, stable backshore
zone occurs totalling 140 yards in width. This zone can be subdivided into a number of sectors of increasing
gradient until the fossil cliff is reached – a 50 yards wide area of degraded sand berms with a lag cover
of shingle, showing that the sand has been blown inland, a 17 yard wide sector of foreshore colonisation
of high stability, an embryo dune sector of slightly greater width and finally a steeper sector of partially
vegetated sand. This zone as a whole is extremely stable with a vegetation cover of between 30 and 70%
where the low grasses are able to keep pace with the moderate sand increment from the upper beach berms.
In contrast Camas na Muic has a very wide inter-tidal area (270 yards) of much lower gradient and is
dominated by a series of stable, low amplitude beach ridges with intervening runnels. The surface sand
66
remains water-saturated throughout the lower water period and therefore very little sand is available for
transfer to the upper beach and sand-blow area behind. The upper beach has a steeper gradient and
exhibits a moderate amount of sand accumulation from which sufficient sand is available to cover the
previously eroded coastal edge and the fragments of stable machair.
The beach systems at Cove and north and south Mellangaun are therefore in equilibrium with marine
processes, but at the latter the stream has a detrimental effect on this stability.
Dunes
Only embryo dunes of recent origin have developed at Gaineamh Smo where plentiful sand is available for
their development above the high water mark. This bare area is moderately stable and the dune forms are
in consequence of low height.
Machair
The original machair surface developed in the southern half of Gaineamh Smo, and stretching continuously
from there to the southern end of the embayment, has been degraded by deflation and the continuing supply
of fresh sand from the upper beach and backshore areas. The steep coastal edge is now largely stabilised
but many deflation scars still exist along the Camas na Muic sector. The machair edge exhibits three forms
representative of progradation – embryo dune formation and sand accumulation in the central area of
Gaineamh Smo, rapid progradation by outbuilding of the machair vegetation north of Eilean Tioram and
slower progradation at Camas na Muic where the availability of sand is limited by the narrowness of the
upper beach/backshore area.
Deflation is occurring currently where the rock base is near to the surface and the wind is channelled with
the result of intensified scouring. On Eilean Tioram such activity has reduced the area of vegetated machair
surface to a third of its original extent and along the southern shore of the complex many small deflation
faces, usually less than a foot high, penetrate the whole width of the machair. Only in a small area
immediately north of the stream at Camas na Muic does blown-sand cover the machair surface.
The machair as a whole is emerging from a phase of deflation because sufficient material for coastal edge
stabilisation, shoreline progradation and deflation face eradication is available in the upper
beach/backshore areas. However, the area remains in a very fragile state and the continuing intensity of
recreational use will, in the absence of artificial controls of planting and/or access, lead to a progressively
deteriorating situation.
At Cove the presence of a steep sand beach backed by shingle is sufficient to reduce wave energy at this
relatively exposed site and only in a small area has wave action cliffed the sandy coastal edge. Elsewhere
the blown-sand overlying the talus slopes is extremely stable with a vegetative cover of over 90%.
The differences in landform units between north and south Mellangaun beaches reflect the variation in
exposure, the effect of the stream at the latter compared with the relatively minor influence of the stream at
the former, and the abundance of sand in the circulation system of the northern beach compared with its
67
southern neighbour. At Gaineamh Smo the shoreline has been progressively built seawards, and is at present
only restrained by the rock outcrops which intensify wave scouring at high water periods. The large areas
of stable bare sand landward of the modern high water mark are progressively permitting foreshore
colonisation to occur whilst simultaneously supplying sand to the coastal edge for progradation.
Wave activity is more important at the southern beach where the low amplitude ridge-and-runnel system,
although indicative of abundant sand supply to the complex, would appear to be stable due largely to the
proximity of the water table to the surface during the low water phase of the tidal cycle. Furthermore,
since the beach is here of lower gradient and more exposed to wave activity from Loch Ewe and swell from
the open sea beyond, waves are permitted to travel further up the beach. This situation is aided by the
erosive influence of the Uidh Chro stream which maintains a wide, shallow channel across the inter-tidal
area. Sand is transported by the stream from the upper beach and backshore areas and deposited
down-beach where it is effectively lost to the former area unless transported again up-beach during long
periods of constructive wave action. Hence at Camas na Muic the exposure, the inactivity of the beach
ridges and the degrading influence of the stream allow only a moderate quantity of sand to be transported
to the coastal edge and onto the machair. These areas therefore have a stable budget where the shoreline
neither advances nor retreats in the long-term.
Vegetation
At Cove a stable and extremely dense lowgrass sward covers the sand deposits. Elsewhere the steeper talus
slopes are dominated by a heath cover of coarse grasses, heather and bracken.
On the sand accumulation plain at Gaineamh Smo a variable cover of low grasses exists, with a few
dune-building species on the embryo dunes. On the backing fossil cliff heath plants are dominant but have
a sporadic distribution because of the continuing sand supply. The sand/peat covered cliff-top has a heath
vegetation.
On Eilean Tioram the low machair grasses are interspersed with bracken and thistles on the edge of the
deflation faces.
The vegetation cover at Camas na Muic is very variable with low dune grasses covering between 20 and
80% of the surface. The cliff-face has an association of heath species dominated by grasses.
The area falls within crofters’ common grazing land whilst the surrounding land is let as farm units by the
Inveran estate. Sheep graze the area but their limited numbers appear to have little detrimental effect on the
stability of the complex.
The remnants of war-time installations of army huts occur on the landward edge of the machair immediately
north of the stream, together with anti-aircraft gun emplacements on An Fhaighear Mhoir southeast of the
complex. Although parts of the installations have been removed, the remnants give an air of dereliction to
the area. However, they are not as intrusive here as between Cove township and Rubha nan Sasan where
many concrete edifices are still in existence. This is a common problem around British coasts, but is
particularly unfortunate in a highly scenic area such as Wester Ross.
68
Some of the installations on An Fhaighear Mhoir are used by the Aberdeen Marine Laboratory of the
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland as a base for their long-term investigations into the
marine fauna and physical processes of the area.
The area is accessible along the single track (B8057) which leaves the main road (A832) at Poolewe
6 miles distant. Many tourists visit the area for day-time recreation and as Mellangaun is the only large sandy
beach in close proximity to the road along the 9 miles between Poolewe and Cove, the complex has the
greatest intensity of recreational use.
The Inverewe Stage House camping and caravanning site, with accommodation for about 35 caravans and
15 tents, is inadequate for the number of tourists requiring overnight accommodation in the area; therefore
“wild camping and caravanning” is a frequent occurrence in laybys and disused gravel pits off the
Poolewe/Cove road and particularly on a semi-formal basis at Mellangaun. At the time of survey 14 touring
caravans and 2 tents were noted around the old army huts. The only facility provided is dustbins. The site
is therefore totally inadequate for the current intensity of utilisation.
The concentration of mobile overnight accommodation and the availability of off-the-road car parking for
day-visitors occurs adjacent to the least stable sector of the beach complex. The movement of wheeled
vehicles over the area has caused deep incisions in the machair surface and is therefore unacceptable for
the development of physical stability.
The passage of tourists from this area to the beach crosses the machair with its many small deflation faces
and considerable amount of new sand and regenerating vegetation. In consequence many tracks with a
bare sand base have developed across the area giving renewed impetus to the natural deflation processes.
Residential caravans are located on the headland of An Fhaighear Mhoir for use by tourists and for
temporary accommodation for the fishery scientists. A camp site formerly existed here but the attraction of
the above-mentioned site for tourists has led to its disuse.
The natural amenity of the area is high with the extensive beach and backshore areas in a relatively sheltered
location and offers views across Loch Ewe and inland to the Loch Maree mountain area. These external
views compensate for the low scenic attraction of the site itself, which consists of low inter-tidal rock outcrops,
light reddish brown beach sand and the low-lying uninteresting moorland scenery beyond.
The increasingly stable natural situation at Mellangaun, due to the continuing supply of sand to the
backshore area permitting shoreline stabilisation and progradation, is partially reduced by the unchannelled
access of tourists. Furthermore, the recreational amenity of the area is reduced by the remnants of war-time
installations and particularly by the parking of tents, caravans and cars on the upper surface of the machair.
Management should therefore seek to maintain the natural stability of the site and permit initially moderate
recreational utilisation of the complex.
With this in mind certain control measures should be adopted to debar overnight stops and the day-time
69
parking of cars on the machair. The simplest and cheapest method would be a continuous fence along the
area of access. As an alternative or complement to these measures a car park should be provided. There is
a large gravel pit about 600 yards north along the road which is at present used for informal parking and
which would be suitable for an official car park, particularly as the shape of the gravel pit provides
screening for the cars from the beach complex. A footpath already exists from the gravel pit to the beach
and its use should be encouraged by the positioning of signposts. The natural accretion and stability of the
backshore area to which the path gives access does not demand recuperative measures but with the
channelling of tourists over this area it will be necessary to provide a path and wooden steps down the
sand-covered, fossil cliff and perhaps some planting of perennial dune grasses on the bare sand areas and
particularly in the small deflation hollows. By reducing pressure on the Camas na Muic machair and
backshore areas, natural processes will probably be sufficient for the achievement of stability. However, the
parking area will require the planting of low dune grasses, either as seeds or plants, particularly on the old
vehicle tracks and on the small deflation faces. Once the vegetation has become re-established it may be
possible to allow a further access route to the beach in this area. At this stage it is suggested that another
car park situated in the gravel pit immediately north of the stream be constructed. From here signposted
access to the beach should be provided following the north bank of the stream, and therefore avoiding
intense trampling over the newly rejuvenated area.
The Scottish Tourist Board (1969) recommended that such roads as the B8057, Poolewe to Cove, should
be closed to caravans.
The authors would concur with this, provided that more residential accommodation of the chalet type is
developed in the Cove/Inverasdale area and that greater provision is made for campers and caravanners
at a central site in the Poolewe area.
The beach south of Cove should be left in a natural state and have a low intensity of recreational use.
Summar y
The large quantity of bare sand in the backshore area is indicative of the continuing input of material into
the system and has enabled a previously receding shoreline to be stabilised and in parts to prograde and
has aided the stabilisation of the eroding machair surface. Camping and caravanning on the machair are
inimical to this situation, and therefore recommendations are made for the control of residential use. The area
as a whole should be used by day-visitors and hence it is suggested that caravan access to the B8057 be
prohibited. Provided the recommended measures for speeding the stabilisation of the backshore and
machair, the provision of car park accommodation in two phases and the channelling of tourist access to
the beach are carried out as soon as possible, a moderate intensity of day-time beach use is feasible.
70
Figure 5.11
Mellangaun
71
Plate 13
Mellangaun – backshore deflation and coastal edge progradation at Camas na Muic. A very fragile
situation, aggravated by continuous tourist trampling.
72
5.12
Seana Chamas
(Figure 5.12i, ii, Plate 14)
General Setting
The Seana Chamas complex comprises a narrow sandy beach backed by Torridonian Sandstone cliffs rising
to 200 feet O.D. Only a small area of blown-sand occurs, accompanied by the development of embryo
dunes. Beyond the high watermark the cliff is mantled with rock and drift debris which is highly unstable
because of the steepness of the slope and the occurrence of many gullies on the face. The cliff-base is
protected from wave action by the talus cones and fans and the shingle deposit which has been laid down
in the backshore along the northern half of the beach.
Beach
The sandy beach has a steep gradient averaging 8°, despite being composed of very well-sorted medium
grain sand. This reflects the high exposure of the beach to the west over a wide arc of 150°. The shingle,
derived from the erosion of the talus foot, dissipates the high wave energy and is separated from the sandy
beach by an increase in gradient. The beach sediments and gradients are in equilibrium with the dominant
wave conditions.
Dunes and Machair
The only fragile wind-blown landforms occur at a point where the inter-tidal width increases to around 170
yards and the low water mark is displaced seawards. Here small embryo dunes have developed on the
backshore and the coastal edge, normally consisting of talus, is prograding due to the deposition of sand.
At Seana Chamas the debris-covered cliffs are an intrinsic part of the system as they supply material of both
sand and shingle grades for the maintenance of the beach and hence the protection of the cliff. The material
is transported downslope by streams after heavy rainfall, and by rock falls and debris slides. The beach and
small dune area are in dynamic equilibrium with the operative forces and the absence of wind-blown
landforms precludes beach complex instability.
Vegetation
The lowest talus slopes and the fossil storm shingle ridges have a thin cover of low grasses, thistles and
bracken. Further up the slope the continued instability is not conducive to soil formation but on the stable
areas short grass and bracken has colonised with juncus and other wetland species occurring at the stream
exits, where water ponding occurs on the talus fans.
The crofters’ common grazings include the cliff area which is used for sheep grazing despite the potential
hazards occasionally resulting in animal loss. The sheep accentuate the instability of the cliff-face debris by
causing terracette formation and partially activating slipping. However, this is a small effect compared with
the natural instability.
73
The road between Gairloch and Aultgrishan/Nelvaig (B8021) carries a moderate tourist traffic. Only two
sandy beaches occur along this stretch of approximately 10 miles – Little Sand (see Chapter 5.13) and
Seana Chamas. The former is highly accessible, whilst the latter requires the negotiation of a 200 foot cliff
or a walk along the beach from Aultgrishan (only feasible at low-tide). Hence recreational use is negligible,
and is probably only indirect from the many “viewpoints” along the cliff-top.
Parking along the road presents no problem as a number of disused and sporadically-used gravel pits
provide ample off-the-road parking for tourists. “Wild camping and caravanning” also occurs in these areas.
The visual amenity of the Seana Chamas beach and cliffs is high (attractiveness index 3.59). However, its
inaccessibility reduces both its present and future utility.
There are few “isolated” beaches in the Gairloch area. At Seana Chamas the high, steep debris-strewn cliff
restricts access and ensures a measure of isolation. This natural barrier is itself a sufficient control on intensity
of use, and combined with the stability of the beach and the lack of fragile dune forms, makes management
of the area unnecessary. The beach provides an attractive scenic resource which it is hoped should remain
as such.
Summar y
Seana Chamas is a fringing sandy beach below very steep and unstable cliffs and therefore its attraction is
as a view of the coastline rather than a location for active beach recreation except for the relatively few
tourists willing to negotiate the cliffs.
74
Figure 5.12i
Seana Chamas (Nor th)
75
Figure 5.12ii
Seana Chamas (South)
76
Plate 14
Seana Chamas – an isolated beach of high scenic attraction fringing high Torridonian Sandstone cliffs.
The low intensity of use is ensured by physical difficulties of access.
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5.13
Little Sand
(Figure 5.13, Plates 15–17)
General Setting
The beach complex in the Big Sand township is restricted almost wholly to the south side of the River Sand
on Little Sand Farm, and has formed as an elongate dune ridge behind a sandy beach backed by grey
dunes and machair, extending to a total a real extent of about 68 acres. The complex forms a wedge of
sand-based landforms between the river and the Torridonian Sandstone which strikes inland in a northerly
direction immediately to the south. The basal deposits of the complex are fluvio-glacial and raised shoreline
sands and gravels, which have been exhumed by stream erosion.
The recreational use of Little Sand is greater than elsewhere in the area due to the existence of a large
caravan and camping site which covers virtually the whole complex between the road and the dune.
The resultant pressure must be balanced against the natural stability of the area and its amenity for day-time
recreational use.
Beach
The low gradient beach has a continual supply of material from the sandy nearshore between Little Sand
and Longa Island about half a mile offshore. This sand is transported up the beach by constructive wave
action in the form of low amplitude beach ridges. The sand is deposited on the upper beach where the wind
redistributes it throughout the backshore area and onto the seawards face of the dune. The protection
afforded by Longa Island effectively reduces destructive wave action and allows the beach ridges to
be maintained.
A protective layer of shingle forms a ridge along the greater part of the beach at high-tide level (replaced
southwards by a sand berm) and hence wave erosion of the backshore and dune face is very limited.
In fact the coastal edge is prograding in some sections and is stable elsewhere.
Dunes
The backshore area has no embryo dune development or foreshore colonisation, but the greater part of the
coastal edge has been re-stabilised by sand nourishment and vegetation growth except where tourist tracks
are channelled down the face and where the ridge is dissected by a stream.
The elongate main dune ridge backs the beach and consists of a number of large hillocks linked by lower
cols. The overall stability is naturally high but there are a few areas where bare sand on the seaward face
has been exploited by the wind with the result that a series of deflation channels have developed across the
ridge, usually at the cols, and carry sand into the more stable grey dunes behind and onto the adjacent
crests of the main dune ridge. Circular or sub-circular deflation hollows are restricted to the landward slope
of the dune where turbulence readily increases the area of loose sand if the vegetation tussocks are damaged
by natural processes or anthropic interference. A further cause of dune erosion and the initiation of instability
is the passage of the River Sand and two smaller streams across the dunes to the sea. In each case a steep,
bare sand slope (Plate 16) has developed and is maintained by wind action and river undercutting.
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Behind the dune ridge an irregular area of partially stabilised grey dunes has developed, with a dominantly
tall dune grass cover of Ammophila arenaria, Elymus arenaria and Festuca rubra and accompanied by a very
dense ground cover of low grasses and mosses. The latter species are dominant between the hummocks and
as the small dunes become progressively stable these species will gradually replace the dune-building grasses.
The dune system is extremely stable at all stages. The small areas of instability can be attributed to the
paucity of sand supply from the backshore and coastal edge, which is itself accreting, and to the stabilising
effect of the dune-building grasses and the density of the ground cover.
Machair
The grey dune area gradually passes into an area of undulating machair where only a few minor dune forms
remain. The undulations and the steepening landwards gradient, averaging 10°, are a reflection of the more
abundant sand supply to the area in the past and of the irregularity of the underlying fluvio-glacial deposits.
At the eastern end around Little Sand Farm itself the gradient slackens and the machair surface becomes
regularised because the sand supply has been less abundant.
To the north of the River Sand a low machair, level apart from undulations in the frontal area where sand
increment has been more abundant, has developed with an extremely stable surface carrying a dense cover
of low and medium height grasses.
The supply of sand to the dune and machair system has been drastically reduced since the formation of these
landforms but remains sufficient to permit coastal progradation and nourishment of the previously eroded
coastal edge and dune face.
The only elements of natural instability are areally restricted and relate to the passage of streams through the
dunes and to the turbulent action of the wind.
Vegetation
The main dune face and crest has a dense cover of dune grasses, which increases on the leeward slope
where it is accompanied by low species giving an average ground cover of between 85 and 90%.
The grey dunes and machair have almost total cover of dune-building grasses and low grasses respectively,
except where disturbed by tourists. The surrounding area is clothed in improved grassland, grass and
heathland species or wetland species dependent on water table conditions.
Little Sand Farm controls the area south of the River Sand and west of the road. Sheep grazing is carried
out in this area but has no detrimental effect as the pasture is extremely rich and close-cropping rarely occurs.
Cattle also graze parts of the area but have little effect on stability.
North of the river grazing activity continues and rabbits cause incipient instability both here and in isolated
areas in the machair south of the river.
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The pressure on accommodation in the Gairloch area is severe and has resulted in the establishment of a
very large camping and caravanning site – the Big Sands Holiday Centre – at Little Sand Farm. The density
of tent pitches and caravan stances is extremely high for an area with a high degree of incipient instability
in fragile wind-blown landforms. At the time of survey 60 caravans, 35 tents and about 100 cars were
counted representing between 300 and 330 people. The site is controlled from a central area around the
old steading where a shop and other facilities are provided. The towed caravans are restricted to the most
stable machair area immediately west of the steading complex. Here the stability is not impaired although
no shelter or hard-core stances have been provided. The cars of campers and motorised caravans are
permitted over the whole dune and machair area. Newly erected toilet facilities of a very high standard,
plus a laundry and letter receptacles are provided in both the caravanning and camping areas.
Such intensive use without regulation of vehicular and pedestrian access has had detrimental effects on the
natural stability of the area and on its amenity. For example the unrestrained use of vehicular tracks to the
communal facilities and individual stances has caused the surface vegetation to be broken and bare sand
to be exposed. This has been deflated over the adjacent stable areas, whilst continuing traffic has lowered
the surface of the sand in the tracks and small deflation faces have developed between the tracks and the
adjacent stable surface. Tents are pitched on the flattest piece of ground available, usually where the
vegetation, because of trampling, is already degraded. The pitch, lasting a few days, reduces the growth
rate of the grass during summer, and potential areas of instability result (Plate 17). Campers also collect
driftwood from the beach, particularly where it is plentiful north of the river, and the fires lit in the camping
area are not only dangerous but readily kill the grass and are a further cause of instability. Although the
action of individual campers may have only a small influence, taken in total such activities as described
above increase the risk of surface rupture and sand-blow in an otherwise stable but fragile area.
The dunes have certain lines of natural weakness, particularly the points where streams cut through the ridge
and where natural deflation gullies form in the col areas. In both cases the severity of the instability is
increased by trampling between the site and the beach and more sand is blown from the main dune and
deposited on the stable areas to leeward.
The beach is used by aqualung divers and the continual dragging of boats and other equipment by them
causes severe degradation of the backshore and the lower dune face at its least stable point.
By comparison the activities of day-visitors have a much lower effect. A small car park for approximately
10 vehicles is situated at the extreme south of the complex on the landward side of the road where the latter
passes inland. The surface is extremely rough and requires attention. Access to the beach is gained across
the road through a gate and over the rock-based sand.
The name Big Sand attracts potential visitors’ attention at the signposts in Gairloch 3 miles distant along the
B8021. But the proportion of day-visitors using the area is reduced by the presence of the holiday centre
and since such beach locations in the area are few in comparison with the present number of tourists it may
be necessary to increase the amenity for day-time visitors by reducing the area of the holiday centre.
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The authors are of the opinion that beach complexes in particular and coastal areas in general are one of
the least suitable locations for the provision of overnight accommodation for campers and caravanners.
However, in the light of the existence of a well-equipped site at Little Sand it is unrealistic to suggest that
camping activity should cease. The recommendations made are based on the observed detrimental effects
resulting from camping and trampling and seek to maintain the natural stability of the area whilst it is still
possible to do so without having to resort to major rehabilitative works.
The area of tent pitches should be clearly defined and should be marked if necessary by fences – it should
be limited to the most stable areas nearest the road and especially immediately south of the farm. No pitches
should be allowed within say 50 yards of the main dune. As the shelter afforded by the dune ridge will be
diminished, planting of shrubs both for shelter and amenity purposes is required but it is unnecessary to form
an enclosure for each tent. Pitches should not be over-used and a rotation system could be operated by the
warden. Vehicular access can only be permitted if a prepared surface is used – gravel, duckboards or
wire-mesh are alternatives, of which the former is the most easily constructed and maintained. The “drive-in”
nature of the camping site cannot be tolerated in an area of high potential instability.
The siting of the caravan area is quite acceptable and all motorised caravans should also be placed in this
area. It is visually and climatically quite exposed at present, and the planting of rapid growing shrubs and
low growing trees would enhance the scenic amenity of the area.
The Scottish Tourist Board recommendation to prohibit caravans from the B8021 from Gairloch cannot in
this instance be supported unless the number of caravan stances are increased in Gairloch and the present
inadequate facilities at those sites substantially improved.
With the reduction in the spread of tents and the planting of shelter belts the complex will become more
attractive for day-visitors seeking recreation in the area. Increased car parking facilities will therefore be
required. The location of the present site at the southern end is suitable for considerable expansion and
improvement to hold around 25–30 cars. A further car park for a maximum of 20 cars could be provided
at or near the entrance to the Holiday Centre which is also an ideal location for the cafe proposed by
Parnell (1968).
There remain the problems of controlling beach access and the stabilisation of the bare sand and deflation
areas. Skinner’s (1970) suggestions are here pertinent. He proposes to “canalise the movement of people
and reinforce the dune at the points where they are encouraged to cross”. We suggest that a path be made
from the southern car park to the beach with steps down from the rock surface south of the stream to the
beach. Two further access points are proposed, one in the central area following the pre-existing stream
channel through the dune ridge. Here a duckboard walk should be emplaced from the stable machair
through to the beach. At the northern end the river poses problems of path construction because its
meandering course undercuts the leeward slope of the dune and the seaward slope of the machair, but
investigations should be made into the siting of a duckboard or preferably a wire-mesh path either along the
south bank of the river or through the adjacent deflation gully. In all the bare sand and unstable areas, dunebuilding grasses, preferably an Agrostis-Festuca-marram mixture, should be planted. Periodic checks should
be kept on these areas and further planting carried out as and when necessary. Initially the large areas of
bare sand may need surface stabilisation in the form of spraying with bituminous or rubber solution.
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Summar y
All of these recommendations are in order to conserve the amenity of the area for day and overnight tourists,
and if carried out would permit the high intensity of use to continue. The natural regime is potentially unstable
and a continuous check must be made on potential danger signs of instability and amenity degradation,
and immediate remedial measures taken. The management of the area therefore calls for the appointment
of a full-time warden, responsible for the allocation of tent pitches, the control of picnickers and general
conservational duties.
Plate 15 Little Sand – the Big Sand Holiday Centre based on Little Sand Farm (upper right) covers most of the
beach complex. Ready access is afforded to the fragile dune system for vehicles and campers. The grey dune area
retains many tussock grass species. The facilities provided are of high standard.
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Plate 16 Little Sand – small stream cutting through main dune ridge between machair and beach. Many potentially
fragile surfaces result. The channel forms a natural access line to the beach and trampling intensifies instability.
Plate 17
Little Sand – the reduction in machair grass growth due to surface covering by tents.
83
Figure 5.13
Little Sand
84
5.14
Gairloch
(Figure 5.14i, ii, Plates 18a and b)
General Setting
The coast at Gairloch covers a linear distance of almost 2 miles but only two areas of sandy beach occur,
at Gaineamh Achaidh Deisteil immediately below the Gairloch Hotel and the complex of Gaineamh Mhor
at the southern end. The remainder of the area falls within two coastal types. The northern half consists of a
narrow beach of mixed sediments within occasional rock outcrops and is backed by a succession of raised
shoreline terraces below the steep hill slopes. The southern part, in which the two sandy beaches occur,
consists of rocky headlands with an infill of beach deposits of various ages.
The accessible location of the sandy beaches means that considerable recreational use is made of them.
Beach
The beach at Strath Bay has small patches of sand between the areas of gravel, shingle and weed, and the
wind has redistributed it to form small embryo dunes immediately below the sea wall and north of the stream.
At Gaineamh Achaidh Deisteil, the lower beach consists of a series of long wavelength, low amplitude
ridge-and-runnels indicative of “summer beach” accumulation; these are succeeded by a beach berm which
is surrounded by a surface of lag gravel. Above this level coarser sediments – gravel and shingle – are
dominant. Despite the protective cover of shingle, the coastal edge has been cut by wave action. The edge,
however, is composed of talus and therefore instability is minimal, particularly as it is currently protected by
the shingle.
The lower beach at Gaineamh Mhor exhibits a ridge-and-runnel pattern and the material is carried up-beach
and deposited as a berm and on the backshore. However, in the past destructive wave action has cliffed
the seawards face of the dune and has caused the coastal edge to retreat. Currently the edge is stable
except at the extreme northern end where a seasonal stream has lowered the beach and consequently
waves have pushed the shoreline further landwards than elsewhere. Some progradation is taking place by
the blowing of sand onto the degraded dune face, accompanied by embryo dune development in the
central section of the bay. Accretion is particularly high at the southern end where the rock headland of
An Dun affords some protection.
The Gairloch beaches are directly exposed to wave action which is channelled along Loch Gairloch to the
bayhead areas, but sufficient sand is available in the system to give stability and promote shoreline
progradation. This situation is likely to continue provided that storm wave activity does not remove the
material offshore.
Dunes
Dunes occur only at Gaineamh Mhor where a single line of low dunes backs the beach and is succeeded
landwards at the centre of the complex by a high conical dune rising 20–30 feet above the surrounding
area. The abundance of sand in the circulation system permits the wind to deposit sand on the ridge and
85
for it to be blown inland along the stream channel. Instability largely results from two causes. The seasonal
stream in the north has cut down some 10–15 feet through the dune surface and bare sand slopes remain.
Deflation has extended this channel by forming small deflation hollows. The seaward slope of the large dune
has a steep bare sand face almost 30 feet high and sand from here is deposited over the crest of the dune
and on the surrounding dune forms. This has not, however, led to instability in the depositional areas.
Machair
Behind the dune zone the machair is very undulating and represents a mature stage in the cycle of
development. It passes into a flat senile form immediately seawards of the road. There are no breaks in the
surface vegetation.
The complex at Gaineamh Mhor is stable and the formerly degraded coastal edge is prograding. Sand is
continually being supplied to the beach but very little is transferred beyond the low coastal dune ridge except
where deflation occurs within the dunes. The complex is limited in development, therefore, by the proximity
of the surrounding hill-slopes.
Vegetation
The dune vegetation, although dominantly of dune-building species in the frontal areas – Ammophila
accompanied by Festuca and Elymus – is a stable growth form of some years standing. On the crest, the
landward slopes and in the grey dunes a stable grass sward has developed with low flowering plants.
The slopes surrounding the complex have a varied cover of mixed woodland with an undercover of rough
grass and other heath species. Elsewhere heath species, particularly grasses, are dominant.
The whole area falls within the jurisdiction of the Gairloch and Flowerdale estate. The farmland is restricted
to the flatter ground inland of the road and only a few sheep are grazed on the southern complex.
Reclamation work and sea wall construction has been carried out at Strath Bay but near the stream where
it has lowered the beach level, waves could possibly undermine the structure although the existence of
gravel, shingle and boulders on the beach somewhat reduces wave energy.
The positioning of residential development at Strath and the piecemeal construction of tourist facilities at
Auchtercairn reduce the visual amenity of the area. However, the worst feature is the large number of
sewage pipes which discharge onto the beach at Auchtercairn.
A communion service is held by tradition in the now stable deflation hollow of Leabaidh na ba baine biennally
(Dixon, p.310) but no detrimental effects seem apparent although the attendance is usually considerable.
The Gairloch area is the main servicing centre for the resident population of the surrounding area and for
86
tourists and it has a high accessibility with the main West Coast routeway passing close to the shore
throughout the area. However, it is only at Gaineamh Mhor that recreational pressures are intense.
The area serves as a golf course and for general beach recreation. The two uses are partly in conflict but
the golf club management have taken a number of measures to ensure that the amenity of the site for golf
and general recreation is not degraded. The 9-hole course covers an area much smaller than the average
size of 50–75 acres (Countryside Commission: Coastal Recreation and Holidays). The bunkers have been
restricted in size to a maximum of 10 square yards and sand is not spread onto the surrounding area.
The unstable slopes of the large dune are enclosed within an electric fence. Unfortunately the use of rubber
mats for driving from the tees does not allow the underlying vegetation to develop but they are probably
preferable to driving off the dune surface.
The main anthropic damage in the area results from tourist trampling. Notices have been erected in the hope
of redirecting tourists from the unstable bare sand areas, particularly on the yellow dunes, but little attention
is paid to them as tourists prefer to walk along the most fragile area of yellow dunes to ensure both
landwards and seawards views. Hence, surface degradation of 6 feet or more has occurred. The linear
stream course provides a much-used access to the beach from the car park and instability is therefore
accentuated.
Parking provision has been made for passing visitors to view the beach. A park for 15 vehicles together with
an indicator point on Caisteal na Cloinne, and seats have been provided. From there the scenic amenity of
the beach complex with the backcloth of the Torridonian hills can be appreciated (Cover and Plate 18) and
it is this environment which gave the Gairloch beach the highest attractiveness score (4.11) in Wester Ross.
A large car park accommodating around 85 vehicles is situated between the beach and the road.
This facility is used by golfers, tourists visiting the beach complex and also by passing tourists to pull off the
road. At the time of survey 35 cars were parked there and some 80 tourists were spaced through the area
– 40 in the dunes and on the surrounding cliffs, particularly at the vitrified fort site on An Dun, 20 on the
golf course and 20 on the beach. Despite this relative intensity, by Highland standards, the area was by no
means overcrowded.
The objectives and tactics discussed here relate only to day-time recreational activity on the Gaineamh Mhor
beach complex.
From the above discussion it is evident that although the beach complex in general is relatively stable certain
areas are highly unstable and others will become so if rehabilitative measures and the direction of tourist
access are not taken in the near future. The resource component of the area most easily degraded is the
dune system, which, if allowed to deteriorate would affect the stability of the remainder of the complex.
Hence the prime management objective must be to ensure the continuing stability of the currently stable areas
and to carry out measures to attain stability elsewhere. The measures should be two-pronged. Firstly tourist
access to the dunes and beach must be controlled by the provision of adequately signposted paths with a
firm stable base, and certain areas which are unsuitable to intensive trampling should be discreetly fenced,
possibly by a wire with a low voltage current. Within these protected areas planting and fertiliser-application
should be carried out.
87
Once these measures have been taken a watching brief should be held and necessary action taken
immediately should the situation deteriorate. The present intensity of utilisation can easily be maintained and
indeed increased but the upper limit (as governed by the car park) of around 250 people should be
rigorously maintained.
Summar y
The coastline at Gairloch is under intense pressure because of the service function of the settlement on the
main tourist route. Beach recreation is, however, restricted to two areas and only at one of these – Gaineamh
Mhor – has the intensity of recreational use caused a deterioration in the natural stability of the area.
Bearing in mind the fragile nature of the dunes certain measures to channel tourist trampling and increase
surface stability are recommended in the hope that the high recreational and scenic amenity of this area will
be conserved.
88
Plate 18a
Gairloch – the beach complex at Gaineamh Smo with the Torridonian peaks rising in the distance.
The complex contains a golf course as well as catering for informal recreation.
Plate 18b
Sands of Gairloch.
89
Figure 5.14i
Gairloch (Nor th)
90
Figure 5.14ii
Gairloch (South)
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5.15
Opinan
(Figure 5.15, Plates 19–21)
General Setting
The beach complex at Opinan, contained between rock headlands of Torridonian Sandstone, has developed
over relict fluvio-glacial and raised shoreline landforms. The complex covers an area of approximately
58 acres above the high water mark and currently 46% of this is in a “damaged” state. This latter figure
probably represents a considerable decrease over the past few years due to natural vegetation recolonisation and planting. The environment is still extremely dynamic and highly fragile and therefore
unsuitable at present for the relatively high intensities of use implicit in Parnell’s proposals for caravan and
camp site development, chalet and cafe construction, beach development and the construction of the
Diabaig/Red Point road.
Beach
The chief characteristics of the beach are the great width of the upper beach (27 yards) and the backshore
(17 yards) and the abundant supply of sand currently in circulation. A moderate reservoir of sand lies
immediately offshore from the beach and, during the predominantly constructive wave conditions of recent
years, has been carried up-beach and deposited at the high water mark as a berm. This berm not only
protects the wide backshore but also supplies sand for the progradation of the shoreline and the
maintenance of the coastal edge. The physical characteristics of the sand suggest that during “summer”
conditions wave action is highly efficient in sorting and redistributing the material derived from offshore.
However, there are signs of beach rotation and hence incipient instability in the resultant redistribution of
material but this relates partly to the disposition of the block and boulder beaches immediately north and
south of the sand. Despite the abundance of material the beach is tending to rotate in a northerly direction.
Dunes
The continuing sand supply from the beach has led to the development of a wide backshore at the rear of
which large embryo dunes have evolved during the seven years since O.S. aerial photographs were taken.
The majority of the forms are developed on the bare sand of the backshore but some of the landward ones
have developed around deflated fragments of the old dune ridge. The backshore and coastal edge in 1964
was intensely deflated with the remanée dune forms upstanding above the surrounding bare sand surface
but this position has been reversed by the large increment of sand into this area.
Machair
Beyond the embryo dune zone the ground rises in an irregular manner at slope angles between 15 and 35°
over the remanée dunes and onto a flat deflation plain at about 50 feet above sea level. This probably
represents a very large dune overlying coarser raised shoreline deposits as it has a markedly convex
cross-sectional profile. The surface of the plain was formerly stable, as attested by the presence of the ash
grey horizons of a podzolic soil, and small remnants of this surface have been left some 6–7 feet above the
deflation floor. The sand deflated from this area has been deposited on the area immediately beyond the
road where it has become largely stabilised by the colonisation of dune-building grasses, into the stream
92
which has dissected the landward edge of the machair where it is transported back to the beach and
nearshore, and across the stream northwards and up the long hillside which has the greatest amount of bare
sand in the area. The upper deflated surface of the machair has a few low mobile dunes, particularly at the
seaward edge, which have probably migrated up-slope from the embryo dune area and have been partially
stabilised by the growth of dune-building grasses. The upper sandy surface has become increasingly
stabilised as a result of planting, although there are many areas on the landward side where the sand
increment, essential in the stimulation of the growth of the dune-building species, is less. The remanée forms
have deflated sides and little or no sand has been deposited around them. The sand transported up the small
gullies present on the steep seaward slope is rapidly deposited on the frontal areas of the machair surface
and hence the machair is representative of accretion and deflation simultaneously. Only one major deflation
gully exists at the south end beyond the limit of the damaged machair. Here large quantities of sand
transported from the backshore have been deposited across the road and onto the adjacent previously stable
machair, with the result that a 2 foot high deflation face follows the road for about 230 yards, and has
caused the diminution of a stable sand ridge and the transformation of its surface from a stable machair
sward to one dominated by dune-building grasses.
The major area of sand-blow is immediately north of the stream, and stretches up the hillside for a distance
of 400 yards. The previously stable machair sward has been largely removed and the bare sand deflated
northwards overwhelming the low grass areas and extending the area of instability. Much of the sand
deposited in this area is probably derived from the deflation of the main machair area at the bayhead as
this source is to windward of the depositional area.
Further small areas of machair occur landwards of the road and are extremely stable apart from a few linear
deflation faces resulting from grazing activities rather than natural causes. Along the stream bottomland
between the road and beach stable sward covers a considerable area but even here, largely because of
recreational pressure and vehicular access, a number of low deflation faces occur.
Although parts of the deflated machair are becoming increasingly stabilised the major part of the area is still
intensely deflated and has little vegetative cover.
The causes of this extreme deflation are to be found in studying the interaction between different parts of the
beach complex and their relative positions in space from the viewpoints of sand supply and exposure.
Instability has been initiated by a combination of natural causes – the cliffing of the coastal edge by wave
action, the erosive action of the meandering stream undercutting the machair and causing 20–35 feet high
bare sand faces to develop over a distance of 350 yards, and the continuing supply of sand from the beach
and nearshore (often recycled by the stream) – and anthropic effects – especially the trampling and grazing
effects of sheep and cattle, together with the extraction of sand from the undercut slopes of the machair and
the ready access of vehicles onto the upper surface of the machair. In such a highly exposed coastal location
the instability is rapidly extended by wind action from all directions; small deflation faces are enlarged, high
bare sand faces are scoured and the sand transported into stable areas. It is this latter effect which has had
the greatest recent influence on the extent of bare sand and consequently on the general stability of the area.
The situation has been aggravated in recent years by the great increase in the supply of sand from the
beach, initially to the backshore and onto the coastal edge, which has then been carried onto the deflated
93
areas. However, the supply of sand is limited, but during the past seven years has brought about the
progradation of the shoreline and the formation of embryo dunes and has accelerated the rate of vegetation
growth on the backshore, on the coastal edge and in particular on the frontal sectors of the deflated machair.
The natural processes are, therefore, seen to be working towards an equilibrium situation at a moderate to
fast rate and with a high degree of success. However, the environment is still highly mobile and extremely
fragile and deflation could readily be restarted unless anthropic intervention takes place in the form of
induced surface stabilisation.
Vegetation
Dune-building grasses dominate the embryo dunes, the steep seaward slope of the machair and its frontal
area where low dunes have developed. Elsewhere on this surface low grasses have begun to colonise and
have achieved a cover averaging 30% of the surface. The remaining areas of machair have patches of a
thin grassy sward of low grasses and a few flowering plants. The machair vegetation rapidly gives way to
the improved pasture of the surrounding croftland except at the southern end where heath and wetland
communities are dominant.
Opinan is one of a number of crofting townships on the south side of Loch Gairloch, and much of the beach
complex lies under common grazings.
The high degree of physical instability of the complex was triggered off by both natural and anthropic
agencies. It is thought that with the increase in population of the settlement from 18 families in 1840 to 30
families in 1884 (Macpherson 1967), due to resettlement associated with neighbouring evictions, the
intensity of grazing was substantially increased beyond a level where the growth of vegetation could
maintain stability. At the present time there appears to be no sheep grazing and only a few cattle on the
stable area alongside the stream.
Detrimental non-recreational activities currently operative are the vehicular access to the machair areas
where the surface is incipiently unstable and the extraction of sand from the rear of the large “dune”
(Plate 21). The latter activity has resulted in the exposure of a further bare sand surface measuring about
1,600 square feet in area. In normal circumstances such sand removal ought to be avoided, and at Opinan
with so great an area of bare sand already and the important function of the stream in recycling material
from the rear of the “dune” to the beach, the removal of a large quantity of sand is indefensible.
Only two sandy beaches are located beside the road in the 11 miles between Gairloch and Redpoint and
is sufficient explanation for the high utilisation of the beach complex at Opinan. However, the amenity of
the area has been severely reduced by the extensive naturally- and anthropically-induced damage, and the
consequent widespread distribution of the light reddish-brown sand.
The area is used for family recreation. Cars are parked on the low machair beside the stream and direct
access to the beach is afforded by following the stream course. Damage has been caused by permitting
vehicular access but trampling has a limited effect here. However, many visitors trample over the unstable
94
dunes and deflated machair and inhibit the growth of stabilising grasses, thus increasing the possibility of
sand-blow from the embryo dunes and backshore area. Furthermore, a small car park (capacity 3 vehicles)
lies at the roadside on the rear of the deflated machair. Although the surface has been gravelled the park
gives direct access to the machair flat and thence across the dune zone to the beach.
The scarcity of beach resources in Wester Ross, particularly along the dead-end roads frequented by dayvisitors from central points, requires that such beaches as occur in close proximity to the road should undergo
careful management to safeguard their amenity. Unfortunately a combination of natural and anthropic factors
operating over a long period have severely eroded the recreational amenity of the Opinan beach complex.
It is the opinion of the authors that the prime management objective should be to encourage the
redevelopment of stability by planting, reseeding and fertilization, by controlling the mobility of the
backshore/embryo dune/”dune” edge area, by providing car park accommodation on the landward side
of the road with carefully controlled access to the beach complex, and by controlling the blowing of sand
onto the road. There are a number of measures which could be used to achieve these objectives and the
one used is partially dependent on the amount of money available and the effectiveness of the initial
controls. To suggest intensive planting over the whole damaged area of around 26 acres for example would
seem to be unnecessary; the main emphasis should be to stabilise the areas of high sand increment
immediately above the beach by planting and fertilisation, combined with the emplacement of brushwood
and netting in the backshore to trap the incoming sand. It is hoped that such action will restrict the transport
of sand onto the deflated machair surface. Here further planting as necessary should be made and
applications of fertiliser would undoubtedly accelerate growth. These recommendations follow naturally from
the preliminary proposals made by Skinner (1970). The upper machair surface should be fenced off to halt
vehicular and tourist access.
To control sand-blow onto the road at the southern end, two fences have already been constructed in the
deflation gully (Plate 20). Plant colonisation, however, has failed to occur and some planting is therefore
necessary. It is questionable whether the large impermeable fences have the desired trapping effect. Studies
elsewhere have shown that such structures encourage the deposition of sand some distance to leeward,
which in the case of the upper fence would be across the road. It is perhaps advisable that at least the upper
fence be replaced by brushwood or netting and that a further line be installed towards the lower end of
the gully.
The large area of unstable machair rising up the north slopes would be expensive to stabilise artificially but
if the sand-blow control measures in the backshore zone are successful the area may begin to stabilise
naturally. Hence any access by vehicles or pedestrians should be prohibited from this area by the
construction of a fence.
The areas of bare sand landward of the road must be stabilised by planting and small stakes or boulders
placed at the road edge to prevent vehicular access.
Beach access paths should have a solid base of either wire-mesh or duckboards leading from the car park.
Two parks are recommended, one near the post office for 10–15 vehicles and one, for a similar number,
to the south beyond the end of the blown-sand area.
95
A number of temporary caravans are parked in the area and it would be preferable if more permanent
accommodation, in the form of chalets, were developed in the township. The provision of camping and
caravanning facilities in the area is not recommended and is further discussed in Chapter 6.
Summar y
The beach complex at Opinan is by far the most degraded in the area with wide expanses of bare sand
with only an intermittent plant cover. However, the complex is working towards an equilibrium state by the
provision of sand from the beach and recycled material from the blown-sand areas. This has been aided by
planting on the machair surface in the past few years. Hence further planting and fertilisation is
recommended in an attempt to stabilise the machair surface and limit the amount of sand blowing.
These and other measures seek to hasten the restoration of equilibrium and improve the recreational amenity
of the complex.
Plate 19
Opinan – a period of instability and sand blow is being replaced by one of natural stabilisation and
shoreline progradation but artificial measures of conservation are required.
96
Plate 20 Opinan – wooden fences erected to collect sand in a deflation gully stretching from the backshore to the
road. Some deposition is occurring but more permeable structures installed nearer the beach are preferred.
Plate 21
Opinan – extraction of sand from the “dune” both decreases the sand reservoir and increases the number
of unstable faces.
97
Figure 5.15
Opinan
98
5.16
Redpoint Nor th
General Setting
The beach complex of Redpoint North is moderately accessible from the end of the B8056 which terminates
at the outer edge of the machair.
The complex has evolved at the north-west end of an elongate depression stretching from Redpoint South
beach. The depression, separating the rocky “island” of Redpoint from the mainland, has been infilled with
fluvio-glacial deposits of sands, gravels and shingle. This infill has been washed-over during periods of
higher sea level and the fines transported seawards. At present the surface is masked by a cover of peat,
especially in the hollows where a high water table exists. Only parts of this surface are covered with sand
now stabilised as machair. The seawards edge of the infill has been eroded by the action of waves during
high sea levels and has led to the formation of an embayment. Within this embayment sand supplied from
the erosion of the infill and the cap of till on the higher ground, and especially supplied from the nearshore,
has accumulated in the form of large dunes covering an area of 15 acres making it one of the largest
dune-fields in the area.
Beach
The beach is exposed to wave and swell activity in The Minch and consequently the lower beach has a
uniform 3° gradient and the medium sand is transported up-beach during “summer” conditions and
deposited as a berm on the upper beach. The steep slope break – 10° – gives some protection to the
narrow backshore and coastal edge. However, in “winter” conditions the berm is degraded, and the sand
carried down-beach so that the under lying beach shingle is exposed, and the coastal edge is trimmed by
the waves. For the most part sufficient sand remains in the backshore area to protect the dune front from
direct wave attack except in the areas where the streams have lowered the level of the beach surface, but
this amount is insufficient to repair the wind and wave damage on the dune front.
Providing that the backshore area is maintained the dune front should become increasingly stabilised by
plant growth, but the supply directly from the nearshore sector has to be supplemented by material recycled
by the streams from the erosion of glacial and aeolian landforms.
Dunes
The dune forms are atypical of those elsewhere in Wester Ross as they rise steeply from the beach to form one
large dune surrounded by smaller dunes and undulating sand spreads. In the past vast amounts of sand have
been supplied for their formation and the stability of the forms depends on the maintenance of this material.
There are five major causes of instability within the system:
(i) The reduction of sand supply from the backshore;
(ii) The effects of wind and wave attack on the dune face;
(iii) The eddying of the wind induced by the dune forms causing deflation both on the landward and
seaward faces and across the cols;
99
(iv) The passage of the southern stream causing undercutting on the outer side of the meander curve;
(v) The concentration of access paths and therefore trampling at the highest and least stable parts of
the dunes.
Sand has been redistributed by the wind into the leeward area where areas of low dunes have formed
between stable ridges of machair, and at the northern end where embryo dunes with a dense surface
vegetation have evolved to protect the deflation face. Apart from these two areas and the new crescentic
ridges on the bar immediately north of the southern stream the dune-building grasses which cover the dunes
are relatively old.
In the southeast corner, beyond the stream, deflation has occurred, exposing underlying weathered glacial
deposits. The sand is removed inland onto a previously stable sand-covered raised shoreline ridge.
Machair
During the earlier stages of evolution when a greater amount of sand was in circulation, large quantities
were carried landward and deposited on the sub-horizontal surface of the raised shoreline terrace. Only at
the seaward edges of this machair does any instability occur. Here sand redistributed within the dunes by
deflation processes has encroached onto the machair.
The Redpoint North beach complex represents a late stage in the evolution of a dune field where the main
restraints are limited sand supply and topography. The only activity within the system is the redistribution of
sand from deflation areas onto previously stable aeolian flats where low dunes have formed and where the
southern stream has undercut the surrounding aeolian landforms and carried sand seawards.
The greater part of the sand now deposited on the upper beach and backshore areas has been transported
from offshore and this supply is inadequate to maintain a prograding shoreline. Much of the material
appears to have been transported southwards alongshore and reworked by the wind to form a dune-covered
spit above the high water mark. This has caused the stream to migrate southwards towards the rock and
drift-based southern shore of the bay and the stream gradient has therefore decreased in turn reducing its
capacity for carrying sand from the dunes and machair to the beach. Although the dune-covered spit is
continuing to build southwards and at the same time becoming increasingly stable, the stream has lowered
the beach sufficiently to permit waves to reach further inshore than previously and hence the shoreline in this
area has receded some 50–70 yards during the past decade.
On the whole the complex remains relatively stable but unless the supply of material to the backshore is
maintained, waves and subsequently winds will attack the dune face and shoreline recession and
sand-blowing will occur on a large-scale.
Vegetation
Marram, fescue and lyme grasses dominate the yellow dunes but in the more stable areas particularly by
the stream, bracken and heath communities are present. The eroded dune face has been recolonised by
marram grass.
100
The machair surface is dominated by a thick grassy sward, but where the sand is thin heath plants dominate
and in the lower-lying area wetland species associated with peat are abundant. On the steeper sandy
slopes bracken occurs with an undercover of grasses.
The southern limit of the common grazings of the Mealveldearg township includes the whole complex and
this abuts with farmland to the south. Sheep and cattle graze the area but the intensity is low. The greater
part of the machair area is used for permanent grazing.
The greatest value of the complex is its visual attractiveness. A viewpoint, with a feature indicator, has been
erected by the car park about half a mile north-east of the beach. This car park is well placed and
constructed to accommodate 10 cars and has wooden seats, adequate litter receptacles and the viewpoint
indicator. From this point a signpost leads tourists across the partially drained peatland to the beach.
However, easier access is achieved by walking down the tarred road for about 350 yards and thence along
a gravel track which leads to the beach complex within a half mile of the car park. Some tourists prefer to
drive to the road end and park their cars on the stable machair surface behind the beach, whilst others park
in a field belonging to Redpoint Farm for a fee of 5p. Few people approach the beach from the formal car
park and most use the informal parking area on the machair. Passage to the beach from here involves
crossing the fragile dune forms. Many tourists prefer to look at the beach from the viewpoint rather than walk
to it and the lack of shelter acts as a considerable deterrent to the use of the beach for family recreation.
A clearly defined path has developed traversing the complex and adds to the natural instability by lowering
the surface and causing the vegetation to die back.
Tourists have been permitted to park caravans on the edge of the machair (3 caravans at the time of survey).
Although this has not caused any physical degradation, the amenity of this site is reduced. Furthermore, as
no facilities are provided such informal caravanning should not be encouraged.
It is essential that the complex should remain, as far as possible, in its natural state. The operation of certain
natural processes which might lead to instability cannot be ruled out, and the beach complex should thus
be utilised with great care. The importance of maintaining the backshore area has been stressed and it may,
therefore, be worthwhile to encourage sand accumulation in this sector by the discreet emplacement of
netting and/or brushwood in the hope that an artificial fore-dune will gradually develop.
With the inevitable increase in recreational use of the area it would be advisable to carry out planting in
the large deflation hollows before instability is spread further by natural and anthropic causes. Any other
areas where incipient sand blowing is evident should be planted but the provision of particular access paths
is thought to be unnecessary at this stage.
The beach has a high amenity value and recreational activity should be kept at its present level; hence no
further parking provision is advocated. At the same time caravanning and camping should not be
encouraged but be relocated elsewhere in accordance with the proposal to discourage caravans from the
Gairloch-Redpoint road.
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Summar y
The natural equilibrium state which has been achieved at Redpoint North is in a very delicate balance and
the recommendations for increasing the volume of sand on the backshore and for planting in the deflation
hollows seek to retain this equilibrium state.
The beach is ideally situated, like its neighbour to the south, for low intensity beach recreation during
the day-time.
Plate 22
Redpoint North – view from car park above beach to low intensity beach complex dominated by high
fragile dune forms.
102
Figure 5.16
Redpoint (Nor th)
103
5.17
Redpoint South
(Figure 5.17)
General Setting
The beach complex at Redpoint South is less accessible than the other beaches of the Gairloch group and
therefore the problems of induced instability by public pressure are minimal. However, the natural stability
of the complex must be judged in the context of greater accessibility and pressure if the proposed road
between Diabaig and Redpoint is constructed.
The beach complex has developed in a slight shoreline indentation between the Redpoint peninsula and the
upland mass to the east. The rock base consists of Torridonian Sandstone strata which outcrop on the
Redpoint peninsula and on the flanks of the Shieldaig uplands. Between the two it descends to a low
altitude, possibly to near sea level. The low-lying area between the two bays, lying north-east and south-east
of the peninsula, has been infilled with bedded sand, gravels and shingle to a height of about 70 feet O.D.
The upper surface of the infill is very regular with peat accumulation in the surface hollows. The present
surface is a combination of peat, particularly in the west, and machair sand in the east. The bedded
sediments form the base of the complex and have influenced its sediment budget and topographic
development. The sediments have been reworked along the shore and a fossil cliff, probably representing
a high post-glacial sea level stage, limits the development of the aeolian landforms.
Beach
The beach is composed predominantly of moderately sorted, fine/medium sand but the backshore sector
along the western half consists of a degraded shingle ridge, whilst in the extreme west the whole inter-tidal
area is covered with a boulder lag interspersed with shingle. Hence the supply of material to the foreshore
and dunes is limited in the west. In the east there is sufficient material carried from the nearshore and lower
beach to stabilise the coastal edge, although there is no suggestion of shoreline progradation.
The beach exhibits a normal “summer” type profile with the sand deposited as a beach berm acting as a
source of nourishment for the formerly eroded bare sand face of the coastal edge.
Dunes
The dunes comprise about 20% of the complex area above high water mark, and consist of two main
components. The coastal edge is backed immediately by a single line of predominantly stable yellow dunes
without any foreshore zones. Deflation only occurs either where seasonal streams cut through the ridge
towards the beach or where the leeward slopes have been damaged by deflation. Although a phase of wave
erosion has undercut the coastal edge to a height of 10–15 feet, in general the supply of sand from the upper
beach and backshore has been adequate to permit the partial revegetation and healing of the face.
Behind the stable ridge is an area of low mobile dunes which, although having a low density vegetated
surface, have few signs of current deflation. Indeed in the large deflation hollow immediately inland from
Eilean Tioram, stabilisation is underway with fresh sand encouraging the development of stabilising
vegetation. These dunes have climbed up the lower slopes of the fossil cliff but their form has gradually
declined due to limitations in the supply of sand and machair becomes dominant.
104
Machair
A narrow zone of machair exists at the extremities of the complex behind the sand and shingle beach.
Due to the absence of sand supply from the beach west of the Allt Loch nan Gillean stream exit no sand
deposition by the wind exists apart from an area less than 20 yards wide at the cliff-foot. The main
development is behind the dune zone where sand supply has been and remains more abundant. Here the
machair sweeps up the fossil cliff-face in a regular manner and has been deposited over the regular
sand/gravel/peat surface for a distance of 300–350 yards from the cliff-top. Currently only the cliff-slopes
are receiving sand increment but here the overall surface is extremely stable. However, two types of surface
instability do occur. In a narrow zone along the cliff-top a low deflation face occurs over a distance of about
250 yards. At present the deflation is not serious but with continuing development the face will increase in
size and the sand released will be spread over the otherwise stable surface.
Two major deflation gullies have evolved, aligned in a north/south direction from the upper machair surface
to the cliff-base. Their evolution is probably the result of natural and anthropic factors but their continued
existence and indeed their extension is intensified by sheep and tourist trampling. Furthermore they act as
channels along which sand is blown inland and deposited onto the otherwise stable machair surface.
The development of the beach complex is related to sediment supply and exposure. Modern erosion of the
sedimentary infill by stream action and by debris slides, gullying and soil creep down the fossil cliff-face only
supplies relatively coarse material. Little material finer than gravel is found in the stream bed and hence the
system is dependent on material supplied from the beach and hence ultimately from the nearshore zone.
Therefore any increase in instability in the dunes and machair either naturally or by man’s intervention will
mean a net loss of sand which the marine catchment area is unable to replenish. The low sorting coefficient
of the beach sand suggests that direct wave activity at present is less influential in the evolution of the
complex than the ocean swell which dominates the coast at this point. Hence the dominantly quartz sand
of the system is replenished by this agent transporting material from the nearshore zone. Current supply from
this source has been sufficient to maintain a narrow backshore area which not only protects the previously
eroding coastal edge but has also enabled the edge to prograde sufficiently to permit stabilisation of the
slope and the redevelopment of a marram grass cover (about 50% cover) over the past 2–3 years.
The disposition of the inter-tidal and nearshore rock and coarse sediments, particularly on the two islands of
Eilean Tioram and Sgeir a’Bhuic, together with the narrow fetch zone, limits direct wave activity. However,
the most valuable section of the coastal edge is protected only by a small area of shingle and an ephemeral
summer berm, whilst its orientation makes it more vulnerable to direct wave erosion. As the supply of material
for stabilising and protecting the coastal edge at this point has been adequate in recent years the stability
of the shoreline is assured.
The course of perennial streams through the least stable dune area has resulted in continued deflation but the
material directly eroded by the streams remains in the system as it is added to the upper beach backshore sector.
Currently therefore a stabilised coastal edge has developed and there is little cause for concern that this
situation cannot re-establish its equilibrium naturally, although it may be interrupted from time to time.
105
Vegetation
The dune surface has a vegetation characteristic of its mobility with no ground cover and a dominance of
Ammophila arenaria. The more stable low dunes at the cliff-base, although still consisting of tussock-grass
species have a stabilising ground cover of mosses and low flowering plants. The machair surface is
essentially stable with low grasses and flowering plants but in areas where the underlying coarse sediments
are close to the surface heath species, in particular bracken and gorse, become dominant.
On the cliff-face where blown-sand is absent, heath species dominated by bracken occur, whilst on the flat
upper surface the vegetation is determined by ground water conditions with Eriophorum, Calluna and
wetland species in the high water-table areas between the hillocks of coarse sediment and throughout the
area west of the stream course.
The beach complex forms part of the rough grazings of the tenanted sheep farm of Redpoint.
Sheep grazing is at a moderate density and no disturbance of the surface on the level upper machair has
resulted. The sharp convexity of the cliff-top, particularly along the machair east of the stream, has resulted
in surface instability both along the cliff-top edge and especially southwards down the cliff-slope. This has
enabled the wind to gully the surface and intensify sand-blow. Elsewhere along the cliff-face continued
trampling by sheep has degraded the grass cover but as yet no break has occurred. But the main problem
of grazing is the free access to the unstable dune area where naturally induced deflation is accentuated and
regeneration reduced.
On the stable upper machair surface rabbit burrowing is concentrated on the low hillocks but as yet the
resultant damage is of low order.
The track from Redpoint township to the old salmon fishing station has a very stable but degraded sward.
The activities of the salmon fishers has resulted in increased deflation and the accentuation of downcutting
through pre-existing hollows in the dune crest. With the closure of the station a few years ago stability will
be gradually restored.
Although access to the beach requires a walk of between 3/4 and 11/2 miles, depending on whether the
formal car park at Redpoint or the informal car parking arrangement at Redpoint Farm (costing 5p per car
payable to the farmer) is used, the track is gravel based throughout and the terrain is very even. However,
the incentives to visit the beach depend on prior knowledge of its existence, although it is marked on
larger-scale maps. The Redpoint North beach can be seen from the official car park and the pathway is
signposted. Hence the majority of tourists tend to visit it. The intensity of utilisation at present is therefore low.
But the area of maximum instability forms the main access to the beach from the road (Figure 5.17).
Greater intensity of tourist use will not only maintain this corridor of instability but would probably induce the
formation of similar features down the cliff-face.
106
The attraction of the beach lies in its surroundings rather than its own characteristics – the panorama stretches
from the Torridon mountains in the east to Applecross, Raasay and Skye in the south and west. Furthermore,
the low utilisation and the incipient instability of the access area would demand that the area remains in its
present state.
Management of the beach and adjacent area depends on the accessibility of the area. If, as the writers
would recommend, accessibility by walking from Redpoint Farm is maintained then a minimum of
management is required.
The beach complex is capable of a greater utilisation than it currently experiences, both to relieve the
pressure at the more unstable sandy beaches further north at Redpoint North and especially at Opinan, and
to allow those tourists willing to leave their cars to utilise a lower density recreational resource. It is impossible
to estimate the optimum carrying capacity of the beach but with any increase in utilisation certain measures
aimed at stabilising the natural environment and therefore retaining the amenity of the area both for
recreation and sheep farming are recommended. The major problem is the instability of the access point.
There are two possible solutions. One solution is to prohibit access via the deflation gullies or over the cliff
to the east of the stream and therefore direct tourist traffic to the west of the stream along a gravel-based or
duckboard path with wooden steps down to the beach. This would permit natural recolonisation of the gullies
and an increase in plant density over the cliff-slope as a whole, although initially some planting of stabilising
grasses may be necessary. Alternatively a duckboard or mesh-based track could be constructed from the
main access track across the sandy cliff to the beach, whilst simultaneously carrying out or allowing natural
recuperative measures in the gullies and inherently unstable cliff sand surface as suggested above. The
former offers the best solution as the visitor is channelled entirely away from the area of maximum instability.
The informal parking arrangements made by the Redpoint farmer also need to be formalised both to relieve
pressure on the small formal car park and viewpoint by Redpoint North beach and to permit greater
utilisation of this more stable beach resource.
It has been proposed by Ross and Cromarty County Council in their Development Plan and by the Scottish
Tourist Board Gairloch Study that a link road joining the Torridon/Diabaig road with the B8056 at Redpoint
should be constructed. Regional considerations apart (see Chapter 6), this artery could increase the
recreational utilisation of the beach to a level similar to that of the majority of other beaches in Wester Ross
with the attendant problems of decline in natural stability and the erosion of the amenity of the area.
The Gairloch Study (pp.90–91) states that neither of the Redpoint beaches should be developed but this
would be inevitable if the proposed road were to be constructed. The authors are of the opinion that the
beaches should be retained at their present scale of utilisation, and that no action should be undertaken to
increase tourist use.
Summar y
The amenity of the Redpoint South beach lies in its relative isolation compared with the other beaches of the
area and its low density of utilisation. The recommendations made seek to maintain the amenity whilst at the
same time increasing the utilisation to an optimum level and instituting certain management tactics. These
recommendations and the amenity of the area are inconsistent with development of the road between
Diabaig and Redpoint.
107
Figure 5.17
Redpoint South
108
5.18
Applecross
(Figure 5.18i, ii)
General Setting
Applecross Bay is the only readily accessible beach complex on the Applecross peninsula.
The bay is symmetrical in shape and of large proportions with a chord length of 1,650 yards and a beach
width of over half a mile. The shape was initially determined by the line of the Applecross fault which
reaches the coast along the river valley, and has been accentuated by marine, glacial and fluvial erosion.
The most recent processes affecting the bay have been depositional. Fluvio-glacial processes supplied
coarse sediment to the bay which was subsequently reworked by higher sea levels. The remaining terraces
now contribute to the supply of coarse sediments carried to the beach by the river, particularly when it is in
spate. A further contribution is made from the slopes on the north side where continuing instability in the form
of debris slides and rock falls carries material to the upper beach sector. As a result of the preponderance
of coarse sediment in the supply areas a large sector of the upper beach comprises very mixed sediments
with sand predominant only in the south-east corner.
Beach
The beach is by far the most extensive in the region but the high proportion of unsorted sediments,
particularly cobbles with weed cover, and the abundance of standing water on the sandy lower beach
throughout the low-tide period reduce its visual amenity.
The supply of material to the beach is currently in a balanced state, the coarser sizes representing a relatively
immobile lag deposit from which the finer sand grains have been removed down-beach by wave action or
onto the narrow machair by the wind, whilst some material is redistributed along the river channel.
The beach has an irregular profile although the overall gradient remains very low. The lower beach consists
of a permanent series of ridge-and-runnels indicative of the generally constructive action of waves. The high
sorting coefficient of the sand compared with its coarse grain size confirms this. The irregularity of the beach
surface, which reduces the impact of wave energy, the frictional resistance imposed by the very coarse
sediments along the bay sides, the lack of wave undercutting along the machair edge, the formation of
saltmarsh along the upper beach around the river mouth, and the lack of particle rounding and smoothing
are all indicative of the low wave energy regime of the bay. The width of the beach and the bifurcation of
river channel courses across the beach suggests that river discharge and tidal currents are the main agents
of sediment transport.
Dunes and Machair
The predominance of coarse-grained sediments at the surface on the upper beach, the high degree of
surface wetness and the proximity of the water-table to the surface on the lower beach and on the sand
areas of the upper beach have limited the amount of sand blown inland. In consequence dunes are absent
and only a narrow machair belt covering about 10 acres in area is present along the bayhead. The surface
is of variable stability, and especially around the river mouth wave washover and river erosion have stripped
109
off the upper vegetated layer. Only recently have low salt-tolerant grasses and flowering plants recolonised
this area. The coastal edge throughout the bayhead is stable or prograding and the low gradient of the
adjacent beach suggests that washover, rather than coastal edge retreat, is the major deformation process
acting on the machair.
The river has had a major impact on the beach complex by supplying the coarser sediments now acting as
the beach base and more recently by changes in the position of the channel as it crosses the shoreline.
The channel has swept over a lateral distance of 250 yards removing machair sand, halting saltmarsh
accumulation and causing a recession of the shoreline position. It is likely that this situation will continue and
the paucity of sand available for machair development is reflected in the existence of a shingle beach.
The channel is gradually migrating southwards across the upper beach and this has necessitated the
construction of a short sea wall to protect the road.
The disposition of beach sediments, the inadequacy of wind to transport sand and the balanced state of
beach nourishment show that the complex is in a very stable natural situation.
Vegetation
The saltmarsh around the river mouth has a dense sward of Armeria and Glaux species developed on a silty
substrate over the basal beach shingle. The backshore sector south of the river has been stabilised by the
development of a close grass sward over both sand and shingle. North of the river the machair has been
partly water-washed and deflated and only a 20–30% vegetation cover has developed, consisting of low
grasses and flowering plants. However, on the higher older surfaces these low machair-type species cover
over 80% of the surface.
Elsewhere the vegetation is dependent on moisture conditions and land utilisation; hence the poorly drained
flats are dominated by Juncus species, whilst the drier areas form improved pasture. The slopes on the north
side have a rough grass cover with many wetland species whilst mixed woodland fringes the bayhead
between the river and the pier.
Although the greater part of the coastal belt of the Applecross peninsula forms crofters’ common grazings,
the land around Applecross Bay comprises part of the home farm of the Applecross Estate. This area of inbye
land is now used for mixed livestock farming and woodland but the machair zone remains unused.
A limited amount of gravel is extracted from the upper beach and has no detrimental effect on beach stability
but any increase in the quantity extracted could cause a further degradation of the shoreline.
The amenity value of the beach complex is low in visual terms; only Little Sand had a lower attractiveness
index. The complex has the greatest number of habitats in Wester Ross. However, its location at the end of
the 101/2 mile long mountain road from the main west coast route (A896) at Loch Kishorn, together with the
110
continuous road around two-thirds of the shoreline make the bay a suitable stopping place for tourists arriving
in Applecross. Although there are a number of tarred estate roads serving the home farm area around
Applecross House the estate does not permit access by tourist vehicles. There are proposals to extend the
public road northwards along the coast, but at present only a gravel track exists and is not used by tourists.
The road south from Applecross village gives access to Camusteel (Chapter 5.19), Camasterach, and
Toscaig – a total distance of almost 5 miles but throughout there are no major beach complexes.
The narrow machair zone separates the road from the beach and its smooth low surface provides no
physical restrictions for car access. This area, particularly south of the river where the landward woodland
gives shelter and aids visual attraction, is intensively used by picnickers. The machair sward is very stable
and no detrimental effects were observed from this pressure. However, north of the river the area is naturally
unstable and here vehicles reduce the vegetation cover and diminish the rate of plant recolonisation after
natural and anthropic damage.
Although the estate owners permit the machair area to be used by day-time tourists no overnight stays by
campers or caravanners are permitted.
Applecross Bay is the only sandy beach directly accessible by road on the peninsula and therefore the
pressures are greater than elsewhere. However, the overall natural stability of the complex, despite the
fragility of parts of the machair, and the short stay of visitors in the area, do not demand major management
measures at this stage. The peninsula as a whole is essentially a day-trip area from Torridon, Shieldaig,
Loch Carron and further afield, and its attraction for the tourist is the journey over the mountain road and the
overall landscape rather than the beaches.
It is therefore recommended that management should aim to encourage day-visitors to the beach area and
the peninsula in general but discourage overnight visitors who bring their own accommodation. Within this
framework it is suggested that the current picnicking areas around the bayhead be retained, but where
instability is apparent or incipient access should be regulated by the siting of gravel-based laybys and
litter receptacles.
Although the surface and alignment of the mountain road have been considerably improved in recent years
the gradients are still severe and the bends sharp. Heavy vehicles must use this route to service the
Applecross communities but it has been proposed that trailer caravans should be prohibited ‘’… on a number
of narrow, dead-end roads” and that the “Kishorn to Applecross road is entirely unsuitable for caravan
traffic” (Scottish Tourist Board, 1969, p.25). The lack of suitable sites for caravan stops enforces this
viewpoint. The authors therefore strongly recommend that the Applecross peninsula be a caravan-free area
and suggest that overnight stays on the beach complex should not be permitted.
Summar y
Applecross Bay forms a small oasis limited in access by the mountain road from the main tourist route.
Its particular attraction and that of the peninsula as a whole is the relative isolation from tourist pressure.
Therefore any development aiming at increasing the utilisation of the area by large numbers of tourists would
be detrimental; hence the prohibition of caravan access and of overnight stays is strongly recommended.
111
Figure 5.18i
Applecross (Nor th)
112
Figure 5.18ii
Applecross (South)
113
5.19
Camusteel
(Figure 5.19)
The village of Camusteel is situated at the head of a small inlet which follows the general north/south
structural trend of the Torridonian Sandstone series. The beach is hardly a tourist amenity as it consists of
largely unsorted or poorly sorted sediments with only a small wholly-sand area on the lower beach, whilst
the gradient is steep. The beach is backed immediately by the small crofting township where the houses and
sheds form a haphazard settlement whose dominating visual feature is the rusty corrugated iron roofs on the
stone sheds. The surrounding sandstone cliffs especially to the west of the township display differential
etching of the sand structures, but otherwise the scientific interest is low despite the diversity of habitats.
Camusteel together with the adjacent crofting townships of Camasterach and Toscaig have a tourist potential
for the supply of limited overnight accommodation in an area where the demand for such exceeds the
supply. Otherwise they do not represent a tourist resource and in terms of beach management do not
demand specific measures. Indeed a survey of mineral resources and exploitation in Wester Ross for the
Scottish Development Department suggests that the Camusteel beach could be a priority area for sand and
gravel extraction. The beach is very stable and sheltered from intensive direct wave action by the headland
to the west and the peninsula to the south and south-west, and there is no physical or amenity reason to halt
the extraction of material from the beach providing that the natural protection the township has from the sea
in the form of the steep shingle upper beach is not totally removed.
114
Figure 5.19
Camusteel
115
6.
Conclusions and Recommendations
6.1
General Obser vations
Beach stability and resilience vary very widely. Some beaches are of a high natural stability, and may be
physically suited to relatively high intensity use. Others show great pro-pensity to instability and erosion, and
are unsuitable for recreational use at intensities above a negligible level.
The main factors influencing the stability and resilience of a beach complex are its composition, in terms of
sediment type, and the stage of development which its evolution has reached. Where the sediment calibre
is coarse, as in shingle beaches, blown-sand accumulation in the form of dunes and machair does not occur,
and hence these particularly fragile environments are not represented. Thus the physical capacity of a shingle
beach is relatively high, although it is unlikely to prove as attractive as a sandy beach. Because of their high
resilience and modest degree of attractiveness, shingle beaches have not received detailed examination in
this study, which focusses on sandy beaches. The physical ability of a mud-flat or saltmarsh shore to resist
recreationally-induced erosion is also high, although it is of course possible that trampling might have
detrimental effects on plant life.
Evolutionary stage is the second main factor influencing beach stability. Some of the beaches in Wester Ross
have reached fairly advanced stages of development, in which the areas of dunes, which represent the most
fragile environment, is relatively small. Hence the capacity of these “senile” beaches tends to be relatively
high. Many other beaches, however, are at a younger stage of development, in which the fragile dune zone
is larger, and potential instability is greater.
Stability and resilience appears to decrease in the direction shingle beach → senile sandy beach → active
sandy beach. Within a given beach complex the direction of stability decrease is from the beach through
machair to dunes, with the most critical zone occurring at the coastal edge or interface between dunes
and beach.
As has been briefly discussed in Chapter 3, the numerical expression of a beach’s carrying capacity is
fraught with difficulty unless encumbered by numerous qualifications. It may be suggested, however, that
capacity will vary directly with size, stability and stage of evolution. The relationship may not be linear,
however, especially where size is concerned. Although the capacity of a large beach is obviously larger
than that of a similar smaller beach, the clustering tendency of recreationists is likely to prevent the full
utilisation of the whole beach area. Thus the rate of capacity increase is likely to be slower than the rate of
size increase. Various carrying capacity formulae could be suggested incorporating factors such as size,
stability and stage of evolution, with individual factors being raised or lowered to various powers according
to the postulated importance of the factors in question. As has been indicated, however, the concept of
carrying capacity is surrounded by intractable problems. Whilst its numerical expression would undoubtedly
be welcomed by planners, it is feared that such expressions would at this stage be of very limited value,
and might engender false senses of security in some beach complexes.
The results of investigations of the relationships between indices of attractiveness and of instability suggest
that there is no evidence that potential tourists are discerning of beach stability in their preferred beaches.
On the contrary, it may be very tentatively suggested that there appears to be an inverse relationship
between stability and attractiveness (see Appendix 3).
116
The investigations documented in this report serve to underline the fact that very little is known about the
objectives, expectations and fulfilments of beach recreationists, and it is concluded that “demand” studies,
in the broadest sense, would be the natural complement to studies of the physical characteristics of
beach resources.
During the course of the study, it has become increasingly clear that the optimal utilisation of the limited
beach resources, and the equally limited resources which can be allocated to their management, can only
be achieved by using each beach for the purpose for which it is best suited. It has also become clear that
the planning of beach use must take place at various scales, from that of the nation as a whole down to
that of the local area. Planning considerations at various levels are thus outlined in the ensuing parts of
this chapter.
117
6.2
The Planning of Beach and Coast Use – The National Scale
Pressures on the Scottish coastline are inexorably increasing, both in the Highland and Lowland parts of the
country. It is suggested that in order to avoid the recurrence of English coastline problems in Scotland, careful
consideration should be given to the formulation of a policy for coastal development and conservation
before large sections of the coastline are developed for recreational, industrial or residential use. In many
ways the present planning process operates on a piecemeal or ad hoc basis: development is largely
confined to localities where enterprise is forthcoming. Especially in the Highland context, the potential
conflict between the wish to conserve a certain stretch of coastline and the wish to promote local economic
development may be strong. It is suggested that the emergence of a clear coastal policy could assist in the
resolution of these potential conflicts, by specifying the parts of the coastline worthy, in the national or
regional context, of conservation. It is tentatively suggested that the Countryside Commission for Scotland
might be the most appropriate body to consider the possibility of formulating a coastal policy, which could
provide valuable guidance to local planning authorities.
The planning of recreational developments, and indeed also industrial and residential developments, must
be considered at various levels. At one level, such planning should take into account the national distribution
of beaches and demand for beach recreation, and at the other end of the scale the local planning of
developments on an individual beach complex must take into account local variations in stability and other
beach properties.
A strong case can be advanced for the classification of beaches, and indeed stretches of coastline,
for planning purposes. Concepts such as “Heritage Coasts” and “coastal belts” are already well established
in England, and while it may not be appropriate to adopt identical designations for the Scottish situation,
it is suggested that it would be invaluable to make tangible recognition of variations in coastline quality.
The need for some sort of classification is perhaps greatest in sandy beach areas, which have been
demonstrated to be fragile, easily damaged environments. Such a classification would attempt to allocate
each beach to the use for which it is best suited, and at the same time identify a range of recreation-resource
types including beaches for both high and low recreational intensity.
The range of intensity-type beaches recognised in each area must depend on the national distribution of
beaches and beach types, as well as physical characteristics and local demand. In many areas there is a
strong demand for the development of coastal caravan sites functioning at very high intensity of use. While
this type of development might be to the short-term economic advantage to the area, it is highly doubtful if
this represents the optimal use of scarce resources. Many of the beaches in Wester Ross are potentially very
unstable, and are not physically suited to intensive developments of this nature. From the viewpoint of
conservation of visual amenity, as well as of physical conservation, intensive caravanning developments do
not seem suited to the Wester Ross coastline. There is ample evidence that caravans detract from the
perception of scenic beauty or attractiveness (the beaches with the lowest attractiveness indices were those
on which caravans were prominent features), and the Wester Ross coastline is characterised by high scenic
value. Approximately 49, 35 and 14% of the coastline length falls within Areas of Special Scenic Attraction,
national park proposals areas and Areas of Great Landscape Value, respectively (Figure 6). These figures
give some indication of the high scenic quality of the coastline, and it can be strongly argued that coastlines
of this quality should be carefully protected against possible visual despoliation. Also on the national scale,
it can be argued that the Highland coastline is not particularly suited climatically or from the viewpoint of
entertainment provision for intensive caravanning developments.
118
It is suggested that from the national viewpoint, the coastline, and especially the beaches, of Wester Ross
should be retained as far as is possible in an “undeveloped” condition, with a minimum of built facilities.
Non-residential use should be permitted, with the provision of basic facilities such as car parks and toilets
at the more accessible beaches. It is further suggested that no encouragement should be given to the
increased recreational use of the other less accessible beaches, and certainly no efforts should be made to
open up beaches by the construction of new roads. Remote, inaccessible beaches are rare nationally, and
even in the Highland context, and it is felt that it would be a serious mistake to destroy the remoteness of
the remaining inaccessible beaches.
Thus at the national level, it is suggested that the optimal use of the Wester Ross beaches should take the
form of day-time use, of a relatively low intensity, in surroundings which remain as “natural” as possible.
It is recommended that no further caravanning or other intensive developments be permitted along beach or
coastal areas, on the grounds of susceptibility both to physical erosion and general environmental
deterioration.
119
Figure 6
Conser vation Areas
120
6.3
The Planning of Beach Use – The Sub-Regional Level
While it can be argued on the macro-scale that the most valuable role of Highland beaches is as “natural”,
undeveloped recreational areas, the fact must be faced that characteristics of stability, location and
recreational demand within Wester Ross beaches are very variable. Some beaches are relatively stable;
others are so situated as to attract large numbers of passing tourists. It is unrealistic to expect that the majority
of passing tourists can be diverted to the high capacity beaches: at the same time it is imprudent to cater
for intensive use at beaches which are patently unsuitable for such use.
The ensuing conclusions and suggestions have assumed that the Wester Ross beaches will not be subject to
further residential-type tourist developments, although on certain beaches (outlined subsequently) conditions
would not be unsuitable for limited chalet developments. It is considered unrealistic to expect that the present
intensive caravanning activity at existing sites (noticeably Little Sand) could be terminated.
The beaches of Wester Ross can be sub-divided into three main groups - the Achnahaird group in Coigach,
the main cluster around Gruinard Bay, Lochs Ewe and Gairloch, and the small Applecross group. Of these
three groups, the main problems centre around the large group lying between Loch Gairloch and Gruinard
Bay. In this group accessibility is easiest, and the existing intensity of recreational use is greatest.
A well-defined gradient of accessibility exists in the beaches on the shores of the central Wester Ross lochs.
The main A832 passes the heads of the embayments, and actually fringes sandy beaches at Gairloch and
Gruinard. By way of contrast to these highly accessible beaches, those lying near the headlands of the
embayments are much less accessible, and in the case of some such as Redpoint South, are not accessible
by car. It is thus suggested that these variations in accessibility be exploited in order to provide a range of
beach types of varying intensity of use. The readily accessible beaches at the head of the embayments
should receive the greatest intensity of management, with the provision of instability controls such as paths
and planting, and the construction of large car parks and public conveniences. On the other hand, the
management effort and intensity of recreational use should be kept lower at the more remote beaches which
should be retained for those tourists seeking a measure of solitude.
The gradient of management and intensity of use need not slope unwaveringly from bayhead to headland,
but can be locally modified in the light of the conclusions outlined in Chapter 5. In general terms, however,
a range of high and low intensity use beaches should be provided for the use of the tourist.
On Gruinard Bay, the main intensity of use and the main management effort should be concentrated at the
bayhead, in accordance with the recommendations outlined in Chapter 5. Gruinard South has the highest
day-time use intensity and measures to induce greater stability are necessary to permit the present level of
use to continue without further deterioration of stability and amenity. Beaches suited to a lower intensity of
use occur at Gruinard North and Mungasdale, and it is suggested that they be retained as relatively lightly
used beaches, at least for the foreseeable future. Mellon Udrigle on the west side of the bay is much less
accessible and also much less stable. It is suggested that it be retained for very low intensity use pending
the implementation of rehabilitative measures, but it is appreciated that the application of controls to intensity
of use will not be easy. If such controls are successfully carried out the beach should be able to withstand
slightly higher use intensities than those envisaged for the early stages of rehabilitation.
121
In Loch Ewe the main concentration of recreational activity is outwith the areas of sandy beaches and
therefore the accessibility gradient acts as a physical control to use intensity. The present intensities of
day-time recreational use at Slaggan, Mellangaun, Mellon Charles and Cove should be allowed to continue
but with certain immediate rehabilitative measures at Mellangaun. The concentration of overnight
accommodation in the Inverewe-Poolewe and Aultbea-Mellon Charles areas could be increased and help
to reduce the “wild camping and caravanning” along the more isolated and fragile coastal areas.
The most intensively used area in Wester Ross is the Loch Gairloch sub-region. Here the recreational use
intensity gradient can be applied to best effect providing that certain physical measures for rehabilitation
(see Chapters 5 and 6.4) are given high priority. The beach at Gairloch has a variety of recreational uses
which are to some extent incompatible. The high accessibility resulting from the proximity of the A832 and
the large car park suggest that recreational use will increase, in which case some restriction on the area of
the golf course, particularly at its northern end, may be advisable. This action could be compensated by the
construction of a further course at Poolewe as earlier suggested by the Parnell report. The two beaches of
intermediate accessibility – Opinan and Little Sand – require certain management controls to induce
stabilisation and control tourist access and recreational intensity. Only if such measures are taken can these
sites tolerate their present intensities. The remaining three beaches at Seana Chamas, Redpoint North and
Redpoint South have varying degrees of inaccessibility due to the terrain at the former and the position of
the road at Redpoint. The present recreational use is compatible with physical characteristics and amenity
considerations and sub-regional management should aim to retain this low intensity of use.
The Applecross area presents few problems as intensity is low and stability high. Minimal management
controls at the Applecross beach would permit a higher intensity of use than at present. The new road around
the northern part of the peninsula to Shieldaig will open up new coastal areas but few problems are likely
to result as the area will be largely used by passing traffic.
In Coigach, the beach resources consist of one very large, unstable beach complex at Achnahaird, and a
number of very small but stable units. Both the ecological and the scenic values of the area are high
(see Figure 6) and it is strongly urged that the utmost care should be devoted to the planning of recreational
developments. On grounds of physical conservation, scientific interest (the area lies close to a National
Nature Reserve) and general amenity considerations, the authors would recommend that the development of
residential tourist facilities should not be permitted. They contend that it would be deprecable to permit the
type of developments which have occurred on the Stoer coast to the north to spread to the south side of
Enard Bay, and suggest that provided adequate caravanning facilities are offered in the Ullapool and
Lochinver areas, there is no need for new coastal sites in Coigach.
In many ways, given the size and stability characteristics of the Coigach beaches, the present situation, vis
à vis recreational use, is not unsatisfactory, and it is advocated that the present pattern of use be permitted
to continue in accordance with the recommendations suggested in Sections 5.1–5.3
122
6.4
The Planning of Beach Use – Local Tactics
Whilst the recommendations at the national and regional levels should form the basis for the planning of the
local tactics at an individual site, many measures can, and indeed must, be carried out at the local level as
soon as possible. These local tactics are dictated by the physical characteristics and recreational and
non-recreational use of the individual beach and as such should be brought into operation regardless of the
higher level management objectives.
The local tactics have one basic objective, to retain the amenity of the area for recreational use at a given
intensity. This objective has three components. These are the rehabilitation of the beach complex to an
equilibrium state by artificial measures, the restriction or prohibition of those activities which are detrimental
to physical stability, scientific interest and recreational amenity and the provision of certain facilities which
would not only increase the recreational status of the site but would not damage its attractiveness for tourists.
Although one of these components is negative in the sense that it seeks to curtail or restrict such activities as
“wild caravanning and camping” it has been recommended that provision be made for an increase in
accommodation at the sub-regional level.
Detailed management objectives and tactics have been suggested for each beach in Chapter 5 and these
are summarised here. The fragile nature of many of the beach complexes, particularly those with extensive
dune areas and highly eroded machair zones, demands that artificial measures for increasing physical
stability be made operational immediately or in the very near future. The measures vary with the local
situation. The most fragile part of the beach complex is the coastal edge and at many beaches in the area
immediate action is required, for example at Gruinard South. The establishment of vegetation, particularly
marram and sea lyme grass, beneath a thatched surface of brushwood or reeds may be sufficient in certain
cases but elsewhere a new foredune must be built artificially. In these cases wicker fences, and/or fine-mesh
nets could be installed at the time of planting as recommended for Gruinard North, Mungasdale and
Redpoint North. Widespread deflation has occurred at a number of sites and immediate attention is required
especially at Mellon Udrigle and Opinan. Here planting of mixtures of creeping fescue, marram and agrostis
species together with the application of fertilisers is recommended. Areas with moderate/high intensity uses
have developed blow outs along paths, particularly where those paths cross the dune ridge, and in these
situations, as at Little Sand and Gairloch, and in natural deflation hollows and channels, as at Redpoint
North, grass planting and fertiliser application is necessary.
These measures are insufficient in themselves to give the desirable stability and must be accompanied by
access controls. Formal and informal camping and caravanning on the beach complex is not desirable, and
steps should be taken to prohibit these activities at Mellon Udrigle, Mellangaun, Opinan and Redpoint
North, whilst at Little Sand the extent of the camping area should be restricted. Furthermore vehicular access
to any of the complexes should be forbidden.
Having recommended these access controls it is necessary to make provision for the day-visitor to the
individual beach. The tactic here takes two forms. Firstly, the provision of car park facilities should be in close
proximity to, rather than on, the beach complex. The size of the car park should be directly related to the
proposed use intensity of the beach and be accompanied by toilet facilities at the larger complexes.
Secondly, the provision of channelled access is necessary to the complex and especially to the beach.
Access should be limited to the most stable areas and where necessary artificial bases for paths –
123
duckboards, sleepers or wire-mesh – should be installed, and where the coastal edge is unstable, flights of
steps should be provided.
At certain sites animal grazing is thought to have adverse effects on an already unstable natural situation
and hence a reduction is called for in the rabbit population at Gruinard North and in the sheep population
grazing on the Mellon Udrigle complex.
Many of the beaches are covered by regional legislation – A.G.L.V., national parks proposals, etc., but only
one site – Achnahaird – has sufficient scientific merit for a Site of Special Scientific Interest to be proposed.
The local tactics recommended require implementation as soon as possible if the instability of the beaches
concerned is not to deteriorate further. This is particularly essential at Mungasdale, Mellon Udrigle and
Opinan. However, it must be realised that these measures are medium- and long-term and without careful
management after their initiation, they will not have the desired beneficial effect.
These recommendations are made at the local level and can be carried out independently of regional
management objectives.
124
Appendix 1
BACKSHORE
Glossar y
Zone of beach between high water neap tide mark and coastal
edge, subject to intermittent wave wash-over and plant colonisation.
BEACH RIDGE
Ridge of beach sand migrating up-beach by wave and tidal action.
BEACH ROCK
Beach sand concreted into hard, rock-like substance by percolation
of lime-rich water.
BERMS
Ridge(s) of beach sand developed at successive high water marks
often from beach ridge(s).
BLOW OUT
Erosion gully, channel or depression in dune or machair surface
caused by wind scour.
COASTAL EDGE
Zone marking landward limit of wave activity and may be stable,
prograding or retreating.
DEBRIS SLIDE
Mass movement of drift downslope due to slope failure (slump).
DEFLATION
General term describing the removal of sand by wind action.
DRIFT
General term for all unconsolidated material including sand and till.
DRIFT-LINE
Area of debris accumulation, usually dead vegetation and
seaweed, on backshore.
EMBRYO DUNE
Small dune usually on backshore over drift-line debris and fixed by
pioneer vegetation, either perennial grasses or annuals.
ERRATIC
Particles of gravel to boulder size carried by ice from their source
area and deposited in area of different bedrock.
FETCH
The amount and direction of open water in front of any specified
point along the coastline.
FLUVIO-GLACIAL
Process of water erosion, transport and deposition in conjunction
with an ice cover.
FORESHORE
Zone of beach between mean low water mark and mean high
water mark and normally consisting of the lower and upper beach
sectors.
GNEISS
A metamorphic rock.
125
IGNEOUS ROCK
Rock formed from molten sources beneath earth’s crust and injected
below surface, eg granite, or on surface, eg basalt.
LAG DEPOSIT
Residual particles coarser than average from which finer material
has been removed.
MACHAIR/DUNE PASTURE/LINKS
Relatively smooth or gently undulating sand surface stabilised by
formation of sward of short grasses and herbs.
METAMORPHIC ROCK
Rock formed by transformation of pre-existing igneous or
sedimentary rocks under heat and pressure.
PROGRADING COAST
Where coastal edge is building seawards.
RAISED SHORELINE
Feature representing period of sea level higher than present in form
of erosional rock platform or depositional terrace of sands and
shingle.
RIDGE-AND-RUNNEL
Sequence of beach ridges with intervening hollows (runnels) formed
around low water neap tide level and migrating up-beach.
ROCK PLATFORM
Bedrock surface of smooth and regular shape resulting from wave
planation.
SANDSTONE
Sand grains cemented together to form a rock.
SCHIST
A metamorphic rock.
SKERRY
Small offshore rocky island.
TILL
Unsorted sediment ranging from clay to boulders deposited by ice.
126
Shelter Index4
Aspect
Mean
na
2
11
0.19
N
3.20
31.7
40
Applecross
10
4
3
16
1.61
W
2.17
53.1
50
Badentarbat
<1
na
5
9
0.30
S
1.90
65.4
30
Little Sand
68
3
3
12
2.18
SW
1.87
69.1
325
Camusteel
–
5
5
13
1.76
S
–
–
30
21/2
4
14
1.78
W
4.11
21.2
}10
na
3
12
1.20
W
3
4
9
2.85
N
} 2.84
} 47.0
Inverasdale
–
41/2
4
9
0.38
E
Mellangaun
33
3
4
12
0.48
NE
2.39
43.2
20
Mellon Charles
33
4
4
9
–
SW
2.20
50.7
5
Mellon Udrigle
27
21/2
2
14
0.44
NE
2.17
44.9
21
8
3
2
11
1.15
W
2.92
32.7
9
58
2
2
12
0.40
W
2.74
28.3
60
Redpoint North
53
21/2
3
14
0.96
NW
3.61
53.2
13
Redpoint South
67
3
4
12
0.23
SW
3.37
27.2
4
Reiff
<1
na
5
10
0.43
S
2.21
49.2
23
Seana Chamas
<1
5
5
10
4.54
W
3.59
30.0
0
Slaggan
<1
21/2
4
13
1.73
W
3.85
22.4
9
Gairloch
Gruinard North
Gruinard South
Mungasdale
Opinan
–
–
Tourist Population6
Coefficient of variation
Habitat Range3
85
Attractivity Index5
Subjective
Achnahaird
Stability Index2
Objective
Beach Complex Parameters
Approximate Size1 (Acres)
Appendix 2
0
80
}
25
0
Notes:
1. Size refers to the whole beach complex above high water mark ordinary spring tides, ie backshore,
dunes and machair. It must be emphasised that precise measurement is not possible, since rarely is the
complex sharply defined by linear boundaries. Also the area of upper beach varies according to
weather conditions. Thus the figures can be regarded only as indications.
2. Calculated according to the following schedule:
Begin with 5 points. Deduct
1/
2
point for each of the following:
(i)
no accretion; backshore less than 10 yards wide;
(ii)
undercutting of coastal edge;
127
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
wind erosion of dune system (other than localised “normal” erosion);
wind erosion of machair;
biotically-induced wind erosion of machair;
anthropically-induced wind erosion of machair;
rotation of beach-skewness over 60%;
C:P index greater than 7.
N.B. This parameter is not applicable in certain situations.
The subjective index in all cases was assessed independently before the objective index was calculated.
3. Based on the number of habitats as defined in Appendix 4.
4. Based on percentage slope measurements from high water mark on mid-point of beach to eight compass
points. The measurements were then used in the construction of a rose, whose area is quoted in square
units. The larger the index, the greater is the area of the rose, and the greater is the shelter of the beach.
The indices should be taken in conjunction with aspect.
5. See Appendix 3.
6. Mean mid-afternoon (3pm) recreational population on beach complex. These figures must be regarded
with caution since they reflect to some extent prevailing weather conditions during the period of survey.
128
Appendix 3
Indices of Attractiveness
An attempt is made to quantify the attractiveness of the beaches of the region according to the method
outlined in Chapter 4. If the many assumptions made in the use of the technique can be accepted, some
interesting conclusions emerge.
The means of the scores of a sample population of 174 are set out in Appendix 2, together with an
expression of the amount of disagreement in scoring as indicated by the coefficient of variation. Most of the
mean values lie between 2 and 4 points (maximum individual score is 5). The amount of agreement over
scoring in any one beach, however, varies considerably. This degree of unanimity or divergence of opinion
is expressed in terms of the coefficient of variation, which is calculated by dividing the standard deviation
(a measure of distribution of scores about the mean value) by the mean value itself, and multiplying by 100.
An example of a beach with a low coefficient of variation (21%) is Gairloch, while Little Sand has a much
higher coefficient of 69%. The distribution of scores for the examples of these two beaches is set out below.
Mean
Coefficient of Variation
Number of persons awarding each score
1
2
3
4
5
Gairloch
4.11
21.2%
0
10
27
67
70
(174)
Little Sand
1.88
69.1%
84
52
23
13
2
(174)
The amount of agreement appears to be related to the degree of attractiveness of the beach. In other words,
there is more agreement over beaches having a high attractiveness index than over one with a low index,
and a statistically significant relationship is demonstrable. Thus while most people will agree that certain
beach types are attractive, there is likely to be considerable disagreement over other beaches, which some
find much more attractive than others.
A second interesting conclusion which appeared to emerge was that the perception of an unstable or eroding
beach is not necessarily unfavourable in the eyes of the potential tourist. On examination of the statistical
relationship between indices of stability and attractiveness, it was found that a strong negative correlation
existed. In other words, the greater the potential instability of the beach, the more favourable was its
perception. At this stage in the investigation, however, it is dangerous to place over-emphasis on this apparent
finding. Not only are the basic data on which it depends somewhat unsatisfactory, but also it is quite possible
that the variable influencing perception is not instability in itself but some other factor closely related to
stability. It can be concluded, however, that there is no evidence to suggest that the symptoms of instability
have an adverse effect on perception of the beach, although this is not of course saying that a beach which
is badly damaged by recreational over-use is of necessity more attractive than one in a pristine condition.
The index of attractiveness also appears to be correlated with habitat diversity (see Appendix 4). The greater
the variety of habitat types, the more attractive the beach appears to the potential recreationist, but this
129
relationship is less strong (in statistical terms) than that between attractiveness and instability (r = -0.80
instability:attractiveness, r = +0.52 habitat diversity: attractiveness).
The main purpose of the testing of perception of beaches was not to seek general relationships between
beach type and tourist perception but primarily to produce a set of data for each beach unit, from which
planners and others concerned with the development of tourism and recreation could reach independent
conclusions. The technique itself suffers from many deficiencies, the most important of which is the assumption
that the beach landscape can be adequately reproduced photographically. Despite the numerous failings
and limitations of the method, however, it indisputably enjoys the major advantage of simplicity, and it
measures actual reaction to a particular piece of landscape, in contrast to the numerous synthetic methods
of scenery classification which have been developed. Some of the relationships between attractiveness and
other beach parameters have proved to be of considerable interest, and while it would be dangerous to
over-emphasise them at this stage, it is certainly to be hoped that they can be followed up by projects
employing a wider range of beach types and more sophisticated techniques. If the apparent relationship
between instability and degree of attractiveness can be accepted, however, the implications for the
recreational use of beach resources are rather serious. The most active and potentially most unstable units
are those perceived as being the most attractive, so that in the lack of positive planning these beaches are
likely to suffer the greatest intensities of use (assuming that other factors, such as accessibility, are equal).
130
Appendix 4
Habitat Diversity
Habitats →
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 SSSI
Achnahaird
✔ ✔
Applecross
✔ ✔
✔ ✔
Badentarbat
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔
Little Sand
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Camusteel
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Gairloch
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Gruinard North
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Gruinard South
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Inverasdale
✔
✔ ✔
Mellangaun
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Mellon Charles
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Mungasdale
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Opinan
✔
✔ ✔
Redpoint North
✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
Redpoint South
✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
Reiff
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Seana Chamas
Slaggan
✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Creeks and drainage channels
Lagoons
Intermittently Flooded
Foreshore mud
Foreshore sand
Foreshore shingle
Foreshore rock
Saltmarsh and brackish marsh
Shingle beach lows
Sand dune slacks
131
✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
Permanently Flooded
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Notes:
1
2
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
Mellon Udrigle
✔
s
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔
✔
✔
Terrestrial
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Earth and cliff embankment
Sand dune and sandy beach
Shingle beach
Rock-cliff and sea wall
Coniferous plantation
Deciduous woodland/scrub
Cultivated land
Dry heather moor
Wet moor (including mire, blanket bog)
Grass heath (not on sand)
Machair (regardless of CaCo3 content)
Freshwater marsh or swamp
SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) – s = suggested
Habitats 1–13 from “Nature Conservation at the Coast”, Countryside Commission Special Study Report,
vol. 2.
132
Appendix 5
Sediment Characteristics
Beach
Colour (dry)
Mean Size (mm)
Sorting
Carbonate %
Achnahaird
5YR
6/3
light reddish brown
0.22
0.57
13.74
Applecross
7.5YR
6/4
light brown
0.18
0.33
1.59
Little Sand
7.5YR
6/2
pinkish gray
0.30
0.56
20.73
variable
1.62
2.07
4.79
Camusteel
Gairloch
pinkish gray/brown
0.35
0.43
10.75
10YR
6/3
pale brown
0.25
0.47
3.78
5YR
6/3
light reddish brown
0.28
0.50
1.89
5Y
7/1
light grey
0.24
0.47
64.48
Mungasdale
5YR
5/3
reddish brown
0.24
0.60
4.12
Opinan
5YR
6/3
light reddish brown
0.31
0.37
3.55
Redpoint North
5YR
5/3
reddish brown
0.34
0.45
2.29
Redpoint South
5YR
6/3
light reddish brown
0.26
0.63
6.26
Gruinard
Mellangaun
Mellon Udrigle
7.5YR 5.5/2
Reiff
10YR
7/2
light grey
0.25
0.58
40.69
Seana Chamas
10YR
6/2
light brownish grey
0.33
0.31
16.86
Slaggan
2.5Y
8/4
pale yellow
0.52
0.72
56.53
COLOUR
Colour notation refers to the “hue” and “chroma” as classified by the Munsell
Soil Colour Charts.
MEAN SIZE & SORTING
Units derived from application of formulae of R. L. Folk and W. C. Ward, Jnl.
Sedm. Petrol., 27, 1957, 3–26. Mean is computed mean grain size of the
sample (mm.) and the sorting is a measure of the deviation of grain sizes
around the mean:
<0.35 very
0.35–0.50
0.50–1.00
1.00–2.00
2.00–4.00
CARBONATE
well sorted
well sorted
moderately sorted
poorly sorted
very poorly sorted
Percent CaCo3 of total beach sand sample calculated using a Collins’ Calcimeter.
133
Bibliography
CARTER, M.R.
1971
A method of analysing patterns of tourist activity in a large
rural area: the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
Regional Studies, 5, 29-37.
COUNTRYSIDE COMMISSION
1969
Coastal recreation and holidays. Countryside Commission,
Coastal Preservation and Development, Special Study
Report, vol. 1.
COUNTRYSIDE COMMISSION
& NATURE CONSERVANCY
1969
Nature Conservation at the Coast. Ibid, vol. 2.
DIXON, J. H.
1886
Gairloch. Edinburgh.
MACPHERSON, T. I.
1967
The parish of Gairloch. Unpub. M.A. thesis, Department
of Geography, University of Aberdeen.
SALISBURY, E. J.
1952
Downs and Dunes. London.
SCOTTISH TOURIST BOARD
1968
Gairloch and Poolewe. S.T.B. Planning Project, No. 1,
ed. B. K. Parnell.
1969
Caravanning and camping in Scotland. S.T.B. Special
Studies, 8.
1970
Beach protection and dune conservation. Unpub. report,
Ross and Cromarty County Council.
SKINNER, D.
Old and New Statistical Accounts of Parishes.
134
Geomorphological Symbols
135

Beaches of Wester Ross - Scottish Natural Heritage

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