the beaches of scotland. report no. 109 - bbc...
TRANSCRIPT
C O M M I S S I O N E D R E P O R T
For further information on this report please contact:
Alistair RennieScottish Natural HeritageINVERNESSTelephone: 01463 706450E-mail: [email protected]
This report should be quoted as:
Ritchie, W. and Mather, A.S. (1984). The beaches of Scotland. Commissioned by theCountryside Commission for Scotland 1984. Reprinted 2005 by Scottish Natural Heritage asCommissioned Report No. 109.
This report, or any part of it, should not be reproduced without the permission of Scottish Natural Heritage.This permission will not be withheld unreasonably. The views expressed by the author(s) of this report shouldnot be taken as the views and policies of Scottish Natural Heritage. Please note that all statistics, lists ofSites of Special Scientific Interest, etc are given in the appendix in the project report and some of them mayhave changed.
© Scottish Natural Heritage. First published CCS 1984.
Commissioned Report No. 109
The beaches of Scotland
Background
Beginning in 1969 and ending in 1981, all the sand beaches of Scotland, along with their associateddunes, links and machair areas (thereafter referred to as a beach unit or beach complex), were surveyed forthe Countryside Commission for Scotland. Eighteen regional reports were published, and their boundaries,along with dates of completion, are shown in the accompanying outline map.
Each survey consisted of a physical inventory of the location, dimensions, morphology, materials, vegetationand land use of the beach complex areas. Additional information was recorded on ownership and access.Particular attention was paid to those aspects of the environment that related to recreation and amenity.Wherever possible, some account was given of trends in physical stability as could be deduced during thebrief period of fieldwork. The effects of the current types and levels of use were also assessed. The minimumsize of beach unit was set arbitrarily at a coastal length of 100m. For some of the vast beach and duneareas such as occur in parts of Scotland, subdivision into more manageable units was necessary. In total,647 units were surveyed. With the completion of the surveys of the 466 beach units in the Highlands andIslands, a comprehensive report (The Beaches of the Highlands and Islands) was published in 1977. From1978–1981, the remaining beaches of Lowland Scotland were surveyed.
This report on the beach complexes of both the Highlands and Islands and Lowland beach units is dividedinto two main sections which correspond to the remit of the sponsoring body, the Countryside Commissionfor Scotland. These are the distribution and physical characteristics of the beach and associated blown sandsurfaces, as well as the background factors that have created the resource, and the utilisation of these areas,with special emphasis on the discussion of environmental impacts, accessibility and value for recreation andconservation. The purpose of the report is not to make detailed recommendations: rather it is a quantifieddescription of many aspects of one of Scotland’s most widespread and varied natural resources.
The beaches of Scotland
Commissioned Report No. 109Contractor: W. Ritchie and A.S. MatherReprint: 2005 (originally published 1984)
C O M M I S S I O N E D R E P O R T
Summary
For further information on this project contact:Alistair Rennie, Scottish Natural Heritage, Inverness. Tel: 01463 706450
For further information on the SNH Research & Technical Support Programme contact:The Advisory Services Co-ordination Group, Scottish Natural Heritage, 2 Anderson Place, Edinburgh EH6 5NP.
Tel: 0131–446 2400 or [email protected]
Area covered by Beach repor ts
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Acknowledgements
The fieldwork that preceded this report was made possible by the financial support of the CountrysideCommission for Scotland who also provided valuable guidelines for the direction and content of both theregional survey work and the compilation of this report. Nevertheless, the authors alone are responsible forthe factual content and views contained in this publication.
The authors would like to record their gratitude to Professor R.E.H. Mellor and the late Professor K. Walton,and for the general support of the Department of Geography, University of Aberdeen. Dr. J.S. Smith,Mr. R.S. Crofts, Mr. N. Rose and Mr. R. Wright were co-authors of several of the regional reports, and theirassistance is gratefully acknowledged.
The facilities of the Computing Centre of the University of Aberdeen are also acknowledged, as is theassistance of many members of the technical and secretarial staff of the Department of Geography.
Special thanks are due to Mrs. J. Calder and Miss A. Croucher for typing difficult manuscripts.
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Contents
Summar y
Acknowledgements
Summar y Map
1 DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEACH RESOURCE 1
2 THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE 92.1 The development of beaches, dunes and related surfaces 92.2 The dimensions of beach and dune systems 152.3 Machair and links relief patterns 232.4 Bare sand areas – erosional and depositional 272.5 Beach materials 352.6 Vegetation and habitats 41
3 CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE 503.1 Accessibility 503.2 Ownership and tenure 523.3 Scenic quality 553.4 Nature conservation 573.5 Land use 593.6 Recreation 63
REFERENCES 69
Appendix 1 – Calculation of wind roses 70Appendix 2 – Beach names – Key for figure 1.1 73
List of f iguresFigure 1.1 Distribution of beaches 2–5Figure 1.2 Boundaries of local authorities 6Figure 2.1 Model of beach/dune system 9Figure 2.2 Beach system flow diagram 10Figure 2.3 Wind roses for selected meteorological stations 12Figure 2.4 Mean Spring tidal ranges in metres 14Figure 2.5 Sketch block diagram near pipeline landfalls 26Figure 2.6 Histogram of median sand diameters 37Figure 2.7 Histogram of sand calcium carbonate content 37Figure 2.8 Typical vegetation profile 47
List of platesPlate 1 Aberdeen 48Plate 2 Traigh Cille Ionnaig, Coll 48Plate 3 Balmedie, near Aberdeen 49Plate 4 View from Ben Hough, Tiree 49
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
1 DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
Sandy beaches are distributed unevenly around the shores of Scotland. They are completely absent fromlong stretches of coastline, while elsewhere most of the coastline is composed of beaches and dunes. Thedistribution of beach units, as defined in this study, is illustrated in Figure 1.11. Perhaps the main feature ofFigure 1.1 is the large number of beaches on the islands off the west and north coasts. Over half of thebeach units are on islands, which account for under 40% of the coastline. Another striking feature is thecontrast in distribution between the east and west coasts of the mainland; the majority of beach units are onthe east and southwest coasts and there are relatively few units on the north and northwest coasts. The innerfirths and estuaries are poorly endowed, while the outer firths and parts of the northeast shoulder of Scotlandare characterised by large numbers of beaches.
Table 1.1 indicates the overall size (in terms of length) of the beach resource and shows clear disparitiesbetween the major administrative areas whose boundaries are shown on Figure 1.2. In total, beach lengthextends to around 760km. This figure compares with a total length of coastline of just under 12,000km ifmeasured to the tidal limit, or around 9,500km if measured to the points where estuaries narrow to 1km.Beaches therefore comprise just under 8% of the coastal length, excluding the inner estuaries.
1 Appendix 2 lists the names of beaches shown in Figure 1.1
Table 1.1 Distribution of the beach resource
Region or islands area Beach length as Coastal length percentage of coastal
Beach length1 km length of each(a)2 (b)3 region or island area
km (a) (b)
%
Borders 2.8 33 33 8.5 8.5
Central 0.0 30 98 0.0 0.0
Dumfries and Galloway 35.4 390 447 9.1 7.9
Fife 43.2 165 201 26.2 21.5
Grampian 107.4 309 369 34.8 29.1
Highland 111.8 2378 3290 4.7 3.4
Lothian 37.3 121 121 30.8 30.8
Strathclyde 181.4 2453 2578 7.4 7.0
Tayside 23.6 102 130 23.1 18.2
Orkney 59.8 836 890 7.2 6.7
Shetland 14.6 1150 1513 1.3 1.0
Western Isles 145.2 1428 2039 10.2 7.1
762.5 9395 11709 8.1 6.5
1 Sum of beach units as defined in this study.2 Excluding estuaries less than 1km wide.3 To tidal limit.
In terms of relative length of sand beach, three distinct groups of regions and islands areas may berecognised. The first of these is the east coast group of Grampian, Tayside, Fife and Lothian, where thebeach length is over 20% of coastal length. This percentage is nearly three times the Scottish average.
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
1
2
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 1.1.1 Distribution of beaches
3
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 1.1.2 Distribution of beaches
4
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 1.1.3 Distribution of beaches
5
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 1.1.4 Distribution of beaches
6
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 1.2 Boundaries of local authorit ies
On the other hand, Central and Highland Regions and Shetland have less than 4% of their coastlines in theform of sand beaches (less than half of the national average). The remaining group – Strathclyde, Dumfriesand Galloway, Borders, Orkney and Western Isles – approximate to the national average, with percentagesof between 6 and 9.
Within each region, an uneven pattern of distribution occurs. In the Western Isles from Harrissouthwards, the beaches and machairs of the west coast contrast strongly with the rocky east coast. In Fifeand Lothian, most of the beaches are concentrated in the districts of North east Fife and East Lothian. InStrathclyde, Kyle and Carrick District contains 18% of the region’s beach length, but only 3% of the region’scoastline. Another example of the irregularity of distribution is the contrast between the inner parts of firthssuch as the Firth of Clyde, Forth, Solway and Tay and their outer stretches. Beaches are almost completelyabsent in the inner sections, but are numerous in the outer. Uneven distribution also extends to the localscale. On islands such as Mull or Islay, for example, clusters of beaches on some parts of the coastlinecontrast with rocky shores on other parts. In Grampian Region, sand beaches extend continuously for over20km between Peterhead and Fraserburgh and also between Aberdeen and a point north of Ythan Estuary,while the coastline between these segments and to the west and south is composed almost exclusively ofbold cliffs.
Distribution depends on a number of factors, of which one of the most important is the availability of a suitablesupply of sediment. Glacial deposits on the seabed have probably been a major source of supply in manyareas, but it is also noticeable that beaches are scarce (and usually poorly developed) where certain rock typesoccur. For example, there are few sand beaches on the basalt areas of Skye and Mull. Another factor whichinfluences beach distribution is exposure. On some parts of the coastline, such as the inner firths and sea lochs,wave energy may be inadequate to transport sand for beach development, while on the most exposed coasts,such as part of the west mainland of Orkney, the energy level is so high that most of the beaches are composedof boulders and cobbles. Local topography is also important. On some parts of the coastline, such as eastCaithness and Kincardineshire, the coastal slope is so steep that there are almost no sites where sand mayaccumulate, even if other conditions were favourable for beach development.
The distribution of beach types is almost as varied as the distribution of beach units. This topic is discussedmore fully in Section 2.2, but as a broad generalisation two main types may be recognised. In much of thelowland area, the typical beach is long and straight, with a prominent dune ridge and an area of links whichmay rest on a raised beach whose inner margin is defined by an abandoned sea cliff. This type of extensivebeach unit is also found in the Eastern Highlands (especially in Sutherland) and, without the raised beachand abandoned cliffline, in Orkney, the Western Isles, and Coll and Tiree. Whereas the typical lowlandbeach occupies an open coast, the upland type is more usually found in a bayhead. Typical examples occurin northwest Sutherland and Wester Ross, in parts of Argyll and to some extent in Galloway and the easternpart of Lothian and Borders Regions. These upland beaches are typically enclosed between bold rockyheadlands, and in many instances their associated areas of blown sand are small and more stronglyinfluenced by the sub-sand topography than their lowland counterparts, which frequently contain extensiveareas of links or machair.
Uneven distribution therefore characterises almost all aspects of the beach resource; beach locations, beachlengths, beach types, and forms and extents of blown-sand deposits are distributed very irregularly aroundthe country. Some parts of the coastline are composed almost solely of sand, while other parts are almostdevoid of beaches.
7
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
2 THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
2.1 The development of beaches, dunes and related surfaces
Beaches, dunes, links and machair1 may be regarded as a unified system whereby sand is transferred bywave action from nearshore sediment banks to the beach. Under certain conditions the wind carries sandlandwards and, if conditions are suitable, dunes may form and, in time, become stabilised by vegetation(Figure 2.1). Sand may also spread further inland to form links or machair surfaces. For any form of coastalmanagement it is necessary to appreciate the main factors that influence the development of dunes, machairsand links from the sand supply that is provided by suitable beach accumulations.
Figure 2.1 Model of beach/dune system
Many factors may alter the rate at which the system operates. Sand supply, wave energy and tidal levelsare crucial to the physiographic development of the beach; wind energy and other climatic factors(especially in their control of the development of vegetation) largely determine how and where dunes andrelated landforms are formed. Like most natural systems, the linkages between different elements may bedirect or indirect (Figure 2.2).
These natural coastal processes can be easily disrupted, particularly by external factors such as land-usechanges or removal of sand from the system. Since the beach is normally part of a wider coastal environment,changes occurring beyond the boundaries of the beach system can produce considerable modifications tobeach and dune systems, especially if the supply of sand to the nearshore sediment bank or beach is altered.
In the ideal model, sometime after their initial formation, dunes should reach and remain in a state ofbalance, in that sand added to the beach zone just replaces the quantities that are lost by the wind carryingsand beyond the links and onto the surrounding landforms. This balance cannot be achieved quickly as ittakes considerable time, perhaps centuries, for sand to pass through all the stages of nearshore sand banks,beaches, dunes, links and, finally, marginal surfaces. During this long period, short term fluctuations inevitably
1 Machair is a term used in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to describe the short grass pasture to the landwards of thecoastal dune ridges. In other parts of Scotland the term links is more common. In general, machair and links can be regardedas more or less synonymous. (For a fuller discussion, see Ritchie, 1976.)
8
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
occur, especially in the crucial zone at the junction of the upper beach or nourishment zone and the face ofthe frontal dune or coastal edge. This sensitive zone is normally the best indicator of contemporary duneforming processes. If there is abundant sand on the upper beach, the frontal dune is usually vegetated; thedunes show signs of recent growth in height and are possibly advancing seawards. Dune vegetation isvigorous and may contain pioneer species. Erosion forms are rare and slope angles tend to be low. In contrast,if sand supply is deficient or there is a change in the nature of wind or wave attack, the coastal edge becomesa steep dune-cliff. The coastal edge is usually bare of vegetation and erosion forms are evident. There isnormally a sharp break of slope between the unvegetated upper beach and the frontal dune slope.
Figure 2.2 Beach system flow diagram
With small short term natural fluctuations in, for example, wave energy or tidal water levels, the upper beach-coastal edge may alternate between retreat and advance. To illustrate this point, the effect of storm wavesattacking the face of the dune may be considered. Wave backwash pulls sand from the dune onto thebeach. This sand is added to the beach and reduces its gradient, thereby increasing its resistance to waveattack and reducing the frequency of direct wave erosion of the dune face. In contrast, if these changes arenot short-term and fluctuating, but relate to longer, more persistent or permanent changes in sand supply, inwave energy or in water levels, then the dunes respond by either retreating by a series of erosional events,or, in contrast, if sand supply continues to be available (or wave conditions are more constructive or sealevels are lower) by advancing seawards; a process described as progradation. Normally, such pro-gradation is characterised by a series of parallel dune ridges advancing seawards.
Vegetation is the best single index of stability and contemporary processes. The density, vigour and relativedominance of the tall dune grasses – Marram, Sea Lyme and Sea Couch Grass – are excellent indicators ofsand deposition and redeposition and, to some extent, soil and drainage conditions. In the extreme case, theabsence of vegetation inevitably means that the surface is unstable and liable to rapid morphological change.Although pioneer species on the upper beach – eg Sea Rocket – usually indicate backshore accretion and anabsence of short term erosional processes, such occurrences should be confirmed over the wider beach zoneas it is not uncommon to find areas of local accretion in a beach that is suffering net retreat. Further inland,the general appearance and species composition of the links and machair areas reveal something of seasonalchanges, especially winter flooding and, to the experienced eye, some idea of stability and soil conditions.
In addition to vegetation the study of slope angles, combined with a careful evaluation of the various typesof break of slope can provide valuable information about the relative activity of beach and dune processes.
9
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Mature, stable dune and links surfaces tend to be level or low angle features. Steep slopes are signs ofyouthful development and, if coupled with areas of bare sand, indicate recent or continuing movement ofsand by the wind. The most important slope is the front of the foredune where undercutting by the sea, andwind erosion on the one hand are easily contrasted with stability, progradation and growth on the other.
There are other diagnostic landforms further inland such as ridges with distinctive escarpment features whichnormally indicate the edge of some kind of deflation surface. Low vegetated sand hillocks or hummocks mayusually be interpreted as recent depositional forms. Flat areas at or near the water table are almost invariablyold deflation plains where wind erosion has been halted naturally by the dampness of the sand. Some of thebest examples of such surfaces are found in the Outer Hebridean machair plains. Corridor and V-shapeddepressions in dune ridges indicate concentrated wind erosion to which the general term blowouts is applied.Blowout forms vary in height, depth and penetration, but reach their optimum development in the main coastaldune ridge. Large scale erosion forms are widespread but spectacular examples are found at Machrihanish(Kintyre), Eoligarry (Barra), Dunnet Bay (Caithness) and Rattray Head (Buchan). Blowouts may be active orcompletely stabilised. In the lee or landward side of most blowouts are hillocks, ridges and secondary duneforms formed by deposition of the eroded sand. Again, these may be active or fossil features. Blowouts oftengive a good indication of the direction and possible severity of wind erosion. The amount of blowout activityalong with other geomorphological evidence is a good indicator of the general stability of the area. Closerstudy of such erosion forms can also reveal the possible causes, natural or induced, of such instability.
Many of these natural features are modified by the direct and indirect activities of man. Drainage, sandremoval and overgrazing tend to be the main disruptive factors but, in places of heavy recreational use, thereis often direct impact by trampling and the movement of vehicles. In contrast areas of afforestation have beenmajor stabilising influence on some dune systems eg Culbin (Moray), part of Morrich More (Easter Ross). Otherareas of stability are the semi-natural dune and links areas that are carefully managed golf courses or coastalparks and amenity areas for nearby urban areas. A special form of modification is the construction of beachdefences such as sea walls, piers, groynes and other forms of beach stabilisation measures. Coastal defences,dating from the early 1940s, especially anti-tank blocks (ie concrete cubes one or two metres high and up toone metre in width) are still present on parts of the lowland coastlines of the east of Scotland – eg BurgheadBay (Moray), Tentsmuir (Fife), Largo Bay (Fife). The effects of these and other beach/dune constructions arediscussed in Chapter 2.7, but it is worthwhile to note here that as well as their visual impact they can alsoaffect such processes as wave and wind action and thereby modify part of the beach-dune-links system.
Beach and dune evolution is ultimately controlled by weather conditions. Wind strength and direction not onlycontrol the general drift of sand from beach to dune, but also from dune to links and machair surface. Windsalso shape the size and orientation of dune and other forms of sand deposition. Figure 2.3 shows wind rosesfor a selection of coastal meteorological stations, and indicates the dominant and subsidiary directions of windattack. This information must be used with caution since local effects might create wind vectors that are quitedifferent from those provided by the nearest meteorological station. In many beach areas, particularly in theHighlands of Scotland, mountains and plateaux may run close to the coast and offer considerable shelter fromspecific directions. On a smaller scale, dune systems have their own local climates whereby frontal dunesmodify the wind flow that impinges on more landward features, and blowouts and other erosional hollowsoften have wind speeds considerably above that produced by regional and local winds.
Wind is also responsible for determining the angle and amount of wave energy crossing the nearshore zone
and beach, and occasionally attacking the coastal edge directly. Again, there are complex regional and local
factors to consider. A few coastlines, such as the west side of the Outer Hebrides, Shetland, the Orkneys and
a few sectors of mainland coastline, receive both long period, high energy swell which has developed across
10
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
11
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 2.3 Wind roses for selected meteorological stations
the open Atlantic and locally generated wind waves. Other coasts, eg within the inner firths or sheltered by
islands or peninsulas receive short-period waves of low height and energy. The North Sea coastlines tend to
occupy an intermediate position with regard to incoming marine energy. At the local level, however, these
broad patterns are modified greatly by offshore gradients, bathymetry and the size and texture of sea bed
materials, to an extent where only the most generalised statements have any degree of validity.
Tides, which only rarely affect beaches directly as forces producing sediment movements, nevertheless by
their rise and fall alter the vertical distribution of wave energy between extreme low and high water.
Exceptionally, as along the North Sea littoral, storm surges can produce catastrophic effects on beaches and
dunes, even to the extent of producing the direct overwash of dune barriers. Recent examples of overwash
have been noted on the Nairn Bar at Culbin (Moray) and at St. Cyrus (Kincardine). The general pattern of
tidal ranges around Scotland is shown in Figure 2.4. These tidal ranges are also important in that they
determine the length of time for which specific beach widths are exposed for drying and therefore become
potential source areas for aeolian transport further onshore.
Insolation, temperature and precipitation patterns obviously exert some control on the growth of vegetation
which, in turn, affects dune building processes. The incidence of precipitation is also of direct importance
to the movement of sand from the upper beach to the dunes, and in blowouts and other bare sand surfaces
in the transport of sand onto adjacent surfaces, as wet or damp sand requires much higher wind velocities
to initiate sand movement. Although this is related to the amount of rainfall and the average number of rain
days it is far from a simple relationship and it would therefore be a major task to produce a comprehensive
analysis of this moisture factor since so many other factors would have to be considered.
Another factor, relating to beach and dune development, is sand supply. Like weather and wave conditions
regional generalisations must be qualified by local conditions and circumstances. If one considers that there
are four possible sources of beach sand ie shells, river sediment, cliff erosion and nearshore or onshore
glacial/fluvioglacial deposits, and that these sources may be active or fossil then the complexity of this
fundamental factor is readily apparent. There are dune sands in Scotland which lie beneath archaeological
remains that are more than 5,000 years old and within this timespan sea level has probably risen or fallen
at different regional rates thereby covering or exposing potential sediment sources.
From the foregoing it is apparent that to try and produce a comprehensive analysis of the range of natural
processes that create and affect the beaches and dunes around the Scottish coastline cannot be attempted
due to the variability of settings and the large number of possible combinations of relevant factors.
Nevertheless, it is possible to produce a basic checklist which can be used as a first step in the explanation
of the existence and evolution of the basic characteristics of most beach and dune areas as follows:
Natural background conditions which permit or constrain natural processes(Some of these have reciprocal relationships with each other)
1. Sediment budget, source, type and rate of supply.
2. Wider topographic surroundings.
3. Local topographic setting, including nature of sub-sand surfaces.
12
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
13
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 2.4 Mean Spring tidal range in metres
Processes
(a) Marine
1. Tidal range distribution of energy and variability of beach exposure.
2. Possibility of exceptional rise in level of sea surface eg surge tides, to produce the possibility of directwave attack on the dunes.
3. Pattern and amount of wave energy.
4. Possibility of salt spray affecting vegetation and stability.
(b) Climatic
1. General weather conditions as a control of physical and biological activity, especially the type andvigour of vegetation.
2. Wind directions, strengths and seasonal changes at both regional and local level.
3. Precipitation as a control on the movement of sand.
(c) Other local processes
1. Direct slumping and slope failure of dune and sand hill slopes.
2. Local stream action as a direct factor of erosion and/or deposition.
In the final analysis, and omitting the range of modifications that are introduced by the presence of Man,most of the factors and conditions that are listed above interact with each other; a process moulds a form,but the form subsequently modifies the process. This concept applies to all types of landform evolution, butthe unconsolidated and fragile nature of coastal dunes systems at the interface of three environments the sea,the atmosphere and, to a lesser extent, the land gives this concept added significance and makes the beachand dune environment particularly vulnerable to relatively rapid and extensive change.
2.2 The dimensions of beach and dune systems
Areas and other dimensions
This section of the report attempts to set out quantitative information relating to areal and linear dimensionsof the beach and dune systems in Scotland. Inevitably a number of problems arose in the collection of thisdata. For example many of the more extensive physiographic units such as Aberdeen to Collieston(Grampian), the west coast of South Uist, Irvine Bay (Firth of Clyde), Tentsmuir (East Fife) and many otherswere studied in the field as a series of subdivisions many of which correspond to topographic, land use ordistinctive functional elements. For example the beach and dunes between Aberdeen and Collieston is asingle physiographic system, subdivided by the outlets of the River Don and the River Ythan. This area alsocontains, in the south, the beach of Aberdeen City and, in the north the National Nature Reserve of Forvie.As a consequence of this need to subdivide some of the statistical information contained in subsequenttabulations should not be regarded as having great precision but rather as a general indices from which
14
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
valid generalisations can be made. This introductory qualification is applicable to the statistics for averagebeach length where the longest beaches are found in the Outer Hebrides, especially the Uists, and on theMoray and North Sea coastlines north of Aberdeen. The shortest beach lengths are in Shetland and theOrkneys with the west mainland of the Highlands also having many relatively small beach units.
The general average emerges as being around 1km in length with the lowland beaches of both the Firth ofClyde and the North Sea littoral being substantially longer, In general, the use of a mean value is deceptivein that in most regions there are a few very large units and a great number of small units. A closerexamination of the actual values of beach lengths reveals that the great majority of the beach lengths (likethe areas of beaches, dunes, machair and links) are small, a fact that is illustrated on the distribution map(Figure 1) where the great number and wide scatter of beaches that are less than 1km long are clearlyidentified
Another problem in collating data, again a difference between Lowland and Highland and Island beaches,is the difficulty of delimiting the transitional areas where the blown sand of links and machair gives way toother landform surfaces. Several reasons account for this difficulty. Most of the lowland links rest upon someform of raised beach terrace or surface and, although this was not uncommon in parts of the Highlands andIslands, this difference between the two regions is nonetheless quite striking. Further, the raised beaches tendto be composed of sand, and it is on the evidence of surface appearance almost impossible to distinguishthe landward limit of wind blown sand. Another reason for the lack of confidence in defining the landwardlimit of blown sand areas in lowland Scotland is the encroachment of houses, recreational areas and otherman-made features onto the landward part of the links.
An equally common problem in defining the blown sand boundary is the spread of improved and relativelyintensively modified agricultural fields beside and on blown sand areas. In many Highland areas the limitof cultivation is a particular fence or dyke that is normally a sensitive indicator of the nature of the soil andunderlying landform, but this is not possible in the extensive lowland plains along the Moray coast,Aberdeenshire, Fife and Ayrshire where high quality farmland often extends onto old links type surfaces. Anadditional problem in particular areas in the lowland series of beaches is afforestation. About 5.6% of thebeach units are classified as having some form of afforestation, and these tend to be big units, such asCulbin or Tentsmuir. The significance of forestry as a land use in dune areas is described later (Section 3.5),but it poses problems for the definition and description of the underlying landform patterns.
Notwithstanding these difficulties of definition and measurement an attempt is made to provide mean valuesof the average size of all the dune and beach areas in Scotland. Although there is a measure of doubtrelating to specific absolute values there is greater confidence in the percentage ratios that reveal substantialdifferences between regions and in relation to national average values. This information is presented in Table2.1. For the three basic landform units the total percentage ratios for all Scottish beaches are BEACH;DUNE; LINKS or MACHAIR, 36.4; 7.0; 56.6 or rounded to 5:1:8. The value of 7% for dunes is aremarkably small figure and reveals how the most dynamic and fragile zone of the total system is normallyonly a small part of the whole. Thus as a proportion of the land surface, coastal dunes are relatively rarelandforms. At the regional level only in those parts of Strathclyde in the Highlands and Islands, in HighlandRegion and in the Western Isles do they constitute approximately 10% of the total beach complex area. Inabsolute size the smallest dune areas are in Shetlands, Orkneys, Strathclyde (Lowlands), Dumfries andGalloway, and Lothians and Borders. Combining absolute and relative provision, although having fine
15
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
beaches Dumfries and Galloway Region is poorly endowed with coastal dune forms, a fact which givesimportance to the only large, complete system at Luce Bay. The need to look at both absolute andpercentage figures is well illustrated by Tayside and Fife where the presence of single, relatively narrowcoastal dunes at the coastal edge of very large blown sand areas eg Barry Links, Tentsmuir, Largo Bay, isworthy of note.
Table 2.1 Areas
Mean values in hectares
No.of Beach Dunes Machair or Links TotalUnits % % %
Strathclyde in H. & I. 136 23.7 37.9 7.0 11.2 31.8 50.9 62.5
Strathclyde in Lowlands 40 23.6 42.4 4.0 7.2 28.0 50.4 55.6
Highland 110 29.6 50.9 5.2 8.9 23.4 40.2 58.2
Western Isles 98 36.4 34.1 9.1 8.5 61.3 57.3 106.8
Orkney 84 9.0 31.1 2.2 7.6 17.7 61.2 28.9
Shetland 41 2.4 32.9 0.5 6.8 4.4 60.3 7.3
Grampian 36 62.9 27.4 16.8 7.3 150.0 65.3 229.7
Tayside and Fife 37 51.7 28.9 8.4 4.7 118.7 66.4 178.8
Lothian and Borders 33 32.8 43.3 4.6 6.1 38.4 50.6 75.8
Dumfries and Galloway 32 47.9 36.4 2.9 3.9 23.2 31.4 74.0
TOTAL 647 32.0 36.4 6.1 7.0 49.7 56.6 87.8
Total area of Sand (Beach + Dunes + Links/Machair) in each Region
Total Area (Hectares) % Scottish Total
Strathclyde (Highlands and Islands) 8,500 17.0
Strathclyde (Lowland) 2,224 4.4
Highland 6,402 12.8
Western Isles 10,466 21.0
Orkney 2,428 4.8
Shetland 299 0.6
Grampian 8,269 16.5
Tayside and Fife 6,616 13.2
Lothian and Borders 2,501 5.0
Dumfries and Galloway 2,368 4.7
TOTAL 50,073 100.0
NOTE: These figures do not include transitional areas of blown sand which can be extensive, especially in Highlands and Islands.
In summary, taking the total areas of sand embodied in beach, dune and machair/links, but excludingtransitional surfaces, the Western Isles Region contains about one fifth of all the sand of the Scottish coastline.Shetland has very few areas of sandy coastline. The east coast from Inverness to the north side of the Firthof Forth contains about 30% of all the beach and blown sand areas, a fact that could be related to theextensive lowland nature of the general coastal hinterland, sedimentary bedrock and an abundant sandsupply from glacial and perhaps more important fluvio-glacial sources.
16
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Dune types
Although coastal dunes form only 7% of the total beach complex area ie beach plus dunes plus links or
machair they tend to be the focus of interest of most user and management groups. In response to this interest
a closer analysis of the statistics for beach, dune and links or machair areas for all 647 beach units was
made. The results of this analysis is made in Table 2.2. During fieldwork a distinction was made between
coastal dunes with tall dune grasses and recent or active evolution, and other types of coastal sand ridges
which are similar to dunes but on the basis of form and vegetation are actually extensions of a links or
machair surface to the coastal edge. Very mature, stable and inactive coastal dunes would also come into
this category. Thus, four situations are used to describe the nature of the coastal ridge as follows – no dunes
of any type, normal dunes, machair or links dunes, and a few areas where buildings or coastal works have
altered the natural environment to a substantial degree.
Table 2.2 Tyes of dunes
No Dunes Normal Dunes Machair/Links Dune covered“Dunes” or removed
Region % % % %
Strathclyde 70 39.8 87 49.4 18 10.2 1 0.6
Highland 45 40.9 55 50.0 10 9.1 0 0
Western Isles 24 24.5 58 59.2 16 16.3 0 0
Orkneys 40 47.6 39 46.4 4 4.8 1 1.2
Shetland 28 68.3 10 24.4 3 7.3 0 0
Grampian 1 2.8 33 91.7 1 2.8 1 2.8
Tayside and Fife 2 5.4 23 62.2 0 0 12 32.4
Lothian and Borders 2 6.1 26 78.8 5 15.1 0 0
Dumfries and Galloway 14 43.8 7 21.9 11 34.4 0 0
NATIONAL FIGURES 226 35.0 338 52.2 68 10.5 15 2.3
District % % % %
Caithness 5 23.6 13 76.4 0 0 0 0
Sutherland 10 33.3 17 56.7 3 10.0 0 0
Argyll and Bute 53 42.1 59 46.8 14 11.1 0 0
Cunninghame 6 27.2 14 63.6 1 4.5 1 4.5
Banff and Buchan 1 5.6 17 94.4 0 0 0 0
Gordon 1 16.7 5 83.3 0 0 0 0
Angus 0 0 4 50.0 0 0 4 50.0
N.E. Fife 1 5.0 15 75.0 0 0 4 20.0
East Lothian 1 4.2 19 79.2 4 16.7 0 0
Kyle and Carrick 11 39.3 14 50.0 3 10.7 0 0
Wigtown 11 50.0 5 22.7 6 27.3 0 0
NATIONAL FIGURES 35.0 52.2 10.5 2.3
17
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
The Western Isles, Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside and Fife and Grampian Regions have values that aresignificantly different from the national pattern, whereas Strathclyde and Highland Region approximate closeto the national values. A further subdivision by District for selected areas is given in Table 2.2 to highlightdifferences at another regional scale.
These figures reinforce the great variety of dune formations in Scotland and the difficulty involved in makingbroad general statements, particularly with regard to regional patterns. Further, these initial tentative studiesprovoke some basic questions, such as what should be understood by the term dune system and what areits essential components?
The setting of the beach complexes
The Beach complexes of Scotland have a wide variety of physiographic settings. Tabulation 2.3 shows thefigure for the Highlands and Islands along with the equivalent percentages for all the beach complexes. Whenthe same circulation is repeated for all beaches by Region, a different series of values is obtained (Table 2.4).
Table 2.4 requires some further explanation on the method of construction. The “bayhead” category (thelargest and most widely distributed group throughout Scotland) describes a curved beach set betweenheadlands. Such beaches are usually deeply set and as a result of their shape are not subject to substantiallateral or alongshore changes in beach morphology. If the headlands are spread more widely, or if thecurvature lessens, or if it is less set-back, then the beach is placed in the “open coast” category. The othercategories are self explanatory except for “intersecting minor bays”. This type is common along many partsof the West Coast and Inner Hebrides and describes small beaches that link together at low water, but areotherwise separated by rock outcrops, minor headlands and ridges. The “other” category is largely used forsmall islands, such as the Monach Islands off North Uist, where the entire area was studied as a unit. Thedistinction between “spit” and “isthmus” is one of scale and origin, the former being smaller eg mouth ofRiver Don in Aberdeen is a spit, but Balnakeil in Northwest Sutherland is an isthmus.
Table 2.3 Setting: Percentage of all beach complexes
Highlands and Islands All Scotland
Bayhead 48 45
Intersecting Minor Bays 13 12
Open Coast 12 16
Marginal Strip 9 10
Island Grouping/Other 5 5
Isthmus or Peninsula 4 3
Foreland 4 5
Loch Head 3 2
Spit 2 2
The distribution of types shows an above average number of bayhead units in parts of Strathclyde (includingthe larger Inner Hebridean islands), Orkney and Shetland, and Dumfries and Galloway. Lowest values are alongthe east coast of the mainland where open coast situations are most common. This reflects the lack of indentationand the lowland nature of the coastal hinterland. It also correlates with the prevalence of raised beaches (seeend column of Table 2.4). Above average totals of intersecting minor bays are found in the Highland Region,in some of the Inner Hebrides and in Argyll and Bute District. Beaches formed on peninsulas are most commonin the Outer Hebrides and Shetland, and those on spits are most common in Wigtown District.
18
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
19
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Tab
le 2
.4Se
ttin
gs
of
bea
ch c
om
ple
xes
and
dis
trib
utio
n o
f ra
ised
bea
ches
Bayh
ead
Loch
head
Mar
gina
lO
pen
Fore
land
Inte
rsec
ting
Isth
mus
Spit
Oth
erW
ithSt
rip
Coa
stM
inor
Bay
Peni
nsul
aRa
ised
Beac
hnr
. C
oast
Regi
on%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%
Stra
thcl
yde
8648
.99
5.1
2212
.59
5.1
52.
836
20.5
42.
32
1.1
31.
784
.1
Hig
hlan
d50
45.5
21.
87
6.4
1311
.88
7.3
1816
.41
0.9
21.
89
8.2
39.1
Wes
tern
Isle
s38
38.8
11.
03
3.1
2222
.45
5.1
1111
.28
8.2
33.
17
7.1
0
Ork
ney
4553
.60
013
15.5
1720
.21
1.2
11.
24
4.8
11.
22
2.4
0
Shet
land
2765
.94
9.3
37.
31
2.4
00
12.
43
7.3
00
24.
90
Gra
mpi
an6
16.7
00
25.
616
44.4
25.
65
13.9
12.
82
5.6
25.
694
.4
Tays
ide
and
Fife
1335
.10
09
24.3
616
.24
10.8
12.
70
00
04
10.8
70.3
Loth
ian
and
Bord
ers
1030
.30
02
6.1
1339
.43
9.1
13.
00
01
3.0
39.
184
.8
Dum
fries
and
Gal
low
ay15
46.9
00
26.
35
15.6
26.
35
15.6
00
39.
40
078
.1
Dis
tric
ts
Arg
yll,
Bute
, C
unni
ngha
me
6946
.69
6.1
2114
.22
1.4
53.
433
22.3
42.
72
1.4
32.
0
Banf
f, Bu
chan
, G
ordo
n5
20.8
00
28.
310
41.7
14.
23
12.5
14.
21
4.2
14.
2
East
Loth
ian
625
.00
02
8.3
1145
.83
12.5
00
00
14.
21
4.2
Kyle
and
Car
rick
1760
.70
01
3.6
725
.00
03
10.7
00
00
00
Wig
tow
n10
45.5
00
29.
15
22.7
14.
51
4.5
00
313
.60
0
Isla
nd
s
Shet
land
Mai
nlan
d11
57.9
315
.82
10.5
00
00
00
210
.50
01
5.3
Wes
tray
969
.20
00
03
23.1
00
00
00
00
17.
7
Ork
ney
Mai
nlan
d9
56.3
00
318
.83
18.8
00
00
16.
30
00
0
Lew
is/H
arris
2050
.01
2.5
12.
56
15.0
25.
03
7.5
410
.02
5.0
12.
5
Uist
s/Be
nbec
ula
410
.00
01
2.5
1537
.51
2.5
512
.50
01
2.5
37.
5
Col
l and
Tire
e18
51.4
25.
70
02
5.7
00
1131
.41
2.9
00
12.
9
Islay
950
.01
5.6
15.
60
02
11.1
527
.80
00
00
0
NAT
ION
AL
TOTA
L29
044
.816
2.5
639.
710
215
.830
4.6
7912
.221
3.2
142.
232
4.9
47.0
Beach areas
Several quantified variables about beaches were obtained during field surveys. These include beach width,length and area, with the last item being subdivided into inter and supra tidal areas. This is an importantdistinction as it is the upper beach, above high water mark, that provides the main source for sand movementonto adjacent dunes. It is also the area that protects the coastal edge from direct wave attack. The beachgradient and type of sediment were also recorded during fieldwork.
The ratios of backshore to intertidal beach by Region are given in Table 2.5, along with average beachgradient in degrees and average distance from high water mark to the 5-fathom isobath. All the variablesin Table 2.5 show wide but relatively predictable differences. There is clearly a relationship with tidal range(see Figure 2.4 and Table 2.5) in that wider beaches should be exposed with greater tidal range as longas beach gradients are similar, and Table 2.5 shows little variation in average beach gradient, being leastin Strathclyde Region and highest in Grampian Region. The second part of Table 2.5 shows the frequencyof different gradients by Regions and further reinforces the pattern as described above. Shetland has narrowbeaches and, as indicated by the distance to the 5-fathom isobath, the steepest offshore gradient.Strathclyde and Orkney also have relatively steep offshore gradients. The long distance to the 5-fathomdepth contour for the Western Isles might appear surprising in that all these beaches are open to the AtlanticOcean, but the sea bed that extends westwards from the Outer Hebrides is essentially an ancient rockplatform surface of low gradient and shallow depth.
Referring to Table 2.5, the Regions with the widest average areas above high water mark are LowlandStrathclyde, Highland, Western Isles and Lothian and the Borders Regions. In these areas there appear tobe many beach areas with wide nourishment zones of dry sand on the upper beach available for transportonto the coastal dune ridge. Conversely those upper beach zones appear to be severely restricted inDumfries and Galloway and Orkneys Regions. In addition to their importance for dune development, narrowbackshore areas do not provide the same protection to the toe of the dune ridge against exceptionally highsea elevations.
If there are shingle ridges at the upper limit of beaches, then the important exchange process wherebysand may be transferred to the beach from the base of the dune to the beach cannot take place and, asdiscussed in Section 2.4, about 6% of all beaches have substantial shingle ridges above high water markand about 4% have some form of artificial construction on the upper beach. Regions having aboveaverage percentages of either shingle or artificial constructions are parts of Strathclyde, especially aroundAyr Bay, and in the Inner Hebrides, Tayside and Fife, and in Lothian District. Orkney has a high number ofshingle ridges. This supplementary information modifies the generalisations that are made about thesignificance of backshore widths to the natural processes associated with the transfer of beach sand tocoastal dune ridges.
A special type of coastal edge which is of considerable ecological importance is saltmarsh, and where theseareas occur in association with beach, dunes, machair or links they have been noted. Usually this form ofsaltmarsh has a high sand content in the soil profile and has therefore been described as sandy saltmarsh.Table 2.6 shows the distribution of sandy saltmarsh by Region and clearly reveals the relatively frequentoccurrence of this ecologically important zone. The high value for Grampian is partly explained by severalsmall saltmarsh areas that are associated with the lower courses of minor streams and drainage channels
20
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
21
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Tab
le 2
.5B
each
wid
ths,
gra
die
nts
and
dis
tanc
es
Ave
rag
eD
ista
nce
Ave
rag
eD
istr
ibu
tio
n o
fBa
cksh
ore
Inte
rtid
al
% B
ack
sho
reRe
gio
nSp
rin
g T
ide
to 5
fa
tho
mBea
chBea
ch G
rad
ien
tsW
idth
(m
)w
idth
(m
)w
idth
to
mea
nRa
ng
e (m
)lin
e (m
)G
rad
ien
t°N
o.o
f C
ase
sM
ean
Mea
nin
tert
ida
l w
idth
0°
1°
2°
3°
4°
5°
>6
°
Stra
thcl
yde
(Low
land
)2.
783
32.
5721
.114
6.9
14.4
232
8331
185
6
Stra
thcl
yde
(H.
& I.
)2.
610
582.
0012
.614
9.6
8.4
Hig
hlan
d4.
011
402.
066
3837
1211
51
18.8
187.
210
.0
Wes
tern
Isle
s3.
617
852.
480
2032
2913
40
30.8
160.
319
.2
Ork
ney
2.9
840
2.29
318
3217
113
04.
012
5.2
3.2
Shet
land
1.8
439
2.56
14
179
100
010
.048
.220
.7
Gra
mpi
an3.
412
303.
440
07
1410
41
12.1
130.
87.
8
Tays
ide
and
Fife
4.6
1817
3.51
09
136
12
616
.223
3.4
6.9
Loth
ian
and
Bord
ers
5.0
1600
Valu
es n
ot a
vaila
ble
24.7
262.
54.
2
Dum
fries
and
Gal
low
ay5.
426
001.
289
616
10
00
4.5
––
NAT
ION
AL
AVER
AG
E21
127
237
119
7422
14
that cross the dunes and links areas. In Orkney saltmarshes tend to be associated with impounded
areas behind linear coastal constructions; in Dumfries and Galloway, they are associated with the general
saltflat character of part of the Solway Estuary. Elsewhere, there are various reasons for their occurrence,
including tidal inundation of low links and machair areas. A few areas might be remnants of earlier more
extensive systems.
Table 2.6 Sandy saltmarsh occurrences
No.of % of totalRegion Cases beaches Examples
within Region
Strathclyde 24 13.7 Killinallan (Islay)
Highland 11 10.0 Morrich More
Western Isles 20 20.4 Vallaquie Strand
Orkneys 7 8.3 Waulkmill Bay
Shetland 1 2.4 Pool of Virkie
Grampian 11 30.6 Strathbeg
Tayside and Fife 6 16.2 St. Cyrus
Lothian and Borders 4 12.1 Belhaven Bay
Dumfries and Galloway 8 25.0 Mersehead Sands
2.3 Machair and l inks relief patterns
The non-dune areas of the beach complexes consist of machair or links areas. There is no geomorphological
difference between machair and links and the terminology is simply a reflection of regional language, with
machair being a Gaelic word meaning a plain or level surface. Within these
often extensive areas of blown sand, there are considerable regional and local differences in
morphological patterns. In the regional beach reports, this information is conveyed on morphological
maps with supplementary photographs and text description. Since it is not possible to reproduce here
this type of detailed information in cartographic form, an alternative but inferior approach is to
tabulate the percentage areas of links and machair that are plain, hilly (including hillside
deposition), hillocky, undulating or have other varied relief features (see Table 2.7 for a definition of these
terms) and use these ratios as an indication of variation in relief. These percentages, are as shown on
Table 2.7, with beach complexes without significant areas of machair or links being excluded. The national
average figures show that plain and undulating surfaces are, as expected, dominant, totalling 70% of the
surface areas of all links and machair areas. Hillocky forms are rare with only the Western
Isles and Lothians and Borders having slightly above average values. Areas with higher than average areas
of plains are in Strathclyde and in Orkney. Hilly and hillside forms of blown sand accumulations
account for about one-fifth of the total areas in Scotland, with the Shetland Islands having a particularly high
incidence of such forms. Hilly forms are most unusual in Lothian. The relatively high values for
some areas in the “other” category have various explanations, including marshy areas, rock or other
non-sand outcrops or severely modified surfaces due to agriculture, recreational use, quarrying, military use
and buildings. In a few cases, allocation to the ”other” category was due to afforestation making
classification difficult.
22
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Dune height and maximum vertical extent of blown sand
The maximum height of the coastal dune ridge was recorded for all beach areas and is given in Table 2.8.
The national figures for all 647 beach units are 5.7m for the average maximum height of coastal dunes and
15.6m for the average maximum height of blown sand.
The highest average dune elevations are in the Western Isles and in Grampian Region, with the lowest
average heights occurring in the Orkneys and Shetland. Other areas are close to the national average. With
respect to maximum blown sand heights, it is useful to look at maximum heights as given in Table 2.8 since
the altitude to which blown sand can reach is a complex interaction of high wind speeds, shelter and the
slope and position of marginal landforms. It is rare for the maximum altitude of blown sand to be the same
as the maximum dune altitude. Nevertheless, in Grampian and lowland Strathclyde Regions this appears to
be the situation and there is little difference in the two maxima in Tayside and Fife. In these four regions this
undoubtedly reflects the low lying nature of the coastal plains upon which most dunes and links have
developed and where relatively few high surfaces, such as abandoned clifflines, approach close to the
zones of active sand movement. A few such exception are along sections of the Banff coastline, St. Cyrus
(Kincardine) and some beaches south of North Berwick.
Table 2. 7 Relative morphology by percentage area of machair/links areas
Plain Hilly Hillocky Undulating OtherRegion % % % % %
Strathclyde 47.4 10.4 4.9 32.6 4.6
Highland 26.3 19.4 4.5 46.1 3.4
Western Isles 31.1 28.1 5.4 31.2 4.4
Orkneys 57.4 18.3 1.3 22.0 0.5
Shetlands 22.6 43.0 4.8 13.8 15.0
Grampian 44.1 8.8 3.8 34.8 8.4
Tayside and Fife 38.0 8.6 2.8 38.1 12.5
Lothians and Borders 40.4 1.3 6.1 37.3 15.0
Dumfries and Galloway 44.6 19.8 5.0 29.8 0.2
NATIONAL AVERAGE 39.2 17.5 4.3 31.8 7.1
Definitions
Hilly: usually larger, variable features with considerable relief variation. Hillside machair or link isincluded in this category.
Hillocky: distinctive, uniform pattern of small dune features. They are usually less than 3m high and 10min length
Undulating: an uneven surface which lacks the regularity of pattern and size that are diagnostic for thehillocky category.
23
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Table 2.8 Mean maximum dune height and mean maximum blown sand height (al l units)
Max. Dune Height (m) Max. Blown Sand Height (m)Region
Average Maximum Average Maximum
Strathclyde (Highlands and Islands) 5.3 35.0 13.1 60.0
Strathclyde (Lowland) 4.8 20.0 6.4 20.0
Highland 5.7 35.0 20.2 > 100.0
Western Isles 8.0 35.0 28.5 > 100.0
Orkneys 3.7 20.0 10.3 61.0
Shetlands 2.1 12.0 13.2 45.0
Grampian 11.4 45.0 19.1 45.0
Tayside and Fife 5.6 29.0 10.2 31.0
Lothian and Borders 6.2 15.0 8.8 40.0
Dumfries and Galloway 5.0 16.0 7.6 25.0
NATIONAL AVERAGE 5.7 15.6
Table 2.9 Drainage of dune and machair/links areas
Dry Marshy Dry with Marshy Little orRegion >10% Area* Stream >10% Area no blown
with stream sand% % % %
Strathclyde 44 25.0 4 2.3 101 57.4 14 8.0 13 7.4
Highland 21 19.1 5 4.5 53 48.2 18 16.4 13 11.8
Western Isles 46 46.9 3 3.1 36 36.7 10 10.2 3 3.1
Orkneys 25 29.8 5 6.0 21 25.0 24 28.6 9 10.7
Shetlands 6 14.6 5 12.2 14 34.1 8 19.5 8 19.5
Grampian 14 38.9 1 2.8 18 50.0 3 8.3 0 0
Tayside and Fife 24 64.9 0 0 13 35.1 0 0 0 0
Lothian and Borders 15 45.5 1 3.0 15 45.5 1 3.0 1 3.0
Dumfries and Galloway 8 25.0 2 6.3 7 21.9 5 15.6 10 31.3
NATIONAL AVERAGE 203 31.4 26 4.0 278 43.0 83 12.8 57 8.9
* Area refers to Blown Sand Area.
Invariably, the highest levels to which blown sand reaches depend on the proximity of rising land close to
the dune, machair and links areas, such as are found in the Inner Hebrides, Shetland and parts of the
Highland mainland, especially in the extreme north and west mainland. In these areas there is a high
incidence of shell sand and the admixture of lime-rich particles to the acid soils of these areas is of
considerable benefit to grazing. In addition, the blown sand may produce significant changes in vegetation
and associated wildlife around the margins of the beach and blown sand complexes.
24
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
25
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 2.5 Sketch block diagram near pipeline landfalls
Flooded and marshy areas
Many machair and links areas contain marshy or flooded areas. Frequently such flooding is seasonal and lowlying slacks or hollows may be up to a metre deep in fresh water for the winter part of the year. Such seasonalflooding was not studied in detail during the surveys, but information is available for the dune areas north ofPeterhead (Ritchie,1981) where complete flooding to create a “winter loch” is recorded from about midOctober to early May (Figure 2.5). This flooding is important to the type of vegetation and wildlife in the area,including roosting and feeding of migratory birds and, in a few places, for access and use. Since fieldworkfor the beach survey programme was normally done in summer, it was necessary to interpret such floodingindirectly from morphological and vegetation patterns, since most of the areas that flood in winter become quitedry in summer. Nevertheless, as shown on Table 2.9, an attempt was made to estimate the degree of floodingand marshiness along with a record of the presence of stream drainage within the blown sand area.
As expected, the overwhelming majority of dune and machair areas are dry and the greater proportion ofsuch areas have some form of stream. About one in six of all dune and machair areas are classified ashaving greater than 10% of their areas as marshy (with or without streams). The areas with greaterproportions of marshiness are in Orkney, in Shetland, and in Dumfries and Galloway. In the Northern andWestern Isles, many of these marshy areas include areas of ground that are adjacent to fresh water lochsthat have been impounded by blown sand or by such constructive forms as bars and spits. There is evidenceto suggest that many marshy areas in dunes, links and machair areas would be more extensive were it notfor substantial drainage works arising from agricultural improvements. In a few areas artificial drainage hasalso been introduced to improve surface conditions for building use. A special case of such artificialdrainage occurs on golf courses.
2.4 Bare sand areas – erosional and deposit ional
Most sand dune systems contain areas of bare sand. These surfaces may be extensive as at Forvie andFoveran (Grampian) where they are major landform elements. Bare sand surfaces within the dune andmachair/links area are potentially unstable and are normally zones of sediment transport. Around theScottish coast these surfaces are mainly produced by erosion and as such can be regarded as unstablelandforms, particularly where instability has been produced or aggravated by some external factor such asvehicle tracking, excessive rabbit populations, sand quarrying, overgrazing or some form of uncontrolledrecreational use. Nevertheless, deposition can produce equally unstable surfaces. Sand accretion is theprocess by which dunes are created and, in time, these sand accumulations are fixed by vegetation. Theredeposition of sand that has been excavated from erosion features, such as blowouts, creates similarfeatures of accretion. Thus bare sand areas are produced by apparently opposing processes, erosion anddeposition, but the surface has the common attribute that it is potentially mobile; sand can encroach ontoadjacent vegetated surfaces and, as such, are unstable.
Arguably, by the main process of their evolution, sand dune systems require a number of bare sand areas,especially near the coastal edge, so that the essential process of transferring sand from the upper beach andforedunes inland can be accomplished. Further, in a young accreting system the proportion of bare sandwill be high whereas in an old mature system there should be little or no mobile bare sand areas. For anyindividual beach/dune system it is comparatively easy in the field to distinguish between erosional anddepositional sand surfaces. It is also possible to distinguish between natural erosion and erosion that hasbeen triggered or aggravated by some external factor. To aggregate these different types of bare sandsurfaces for all the dune systems of Scotland it is necessary to avoid terms like eroding area or redepositionalarea and simply produce a measure of the average size and relative percentage of the blown sand area
26
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
that is bare of vegetation. This produces a figure of 2.5% (ie total bare sand area as a percentage of thetotal area of dunes plus links/machair). However, 321 of the 647 beach units in Scotland have little or nobare sand areas, and if these areas are removed from the calculation then the mean percentage area ofbare sand in the remainder is approximately 3%. Some of the larger dune and machair areas in Scotlandthat have particularly large percentages of bare sand are Balephetrish1 in Tiree (24%), Sanaigmore in Islay(23%), Invernaver (21%) and Clachtoll (27%) (Sutherland) and Achnahaird Bay (22%) in Wester Ross, Brekinin Shetland (29%) and Allasdale (24%) in Barra. Opinan (Wester Ross) has an exceptionally high area ofbare sand but most of this is in the extensive transitional area inland from the machair. Sandwick in Uist isalso a small beach unit with a very large percentage of bare sand surfaces.
Table 2.10 Localit ies with large bare sand areas
Name Bare sand area (ha.) Bare sand area %
Eoropie (Lewis) 11 13
Barvas (Lewis) 13 9
Traigh Bagh (Tiree) 14 10
Sorobaidh (Tiree) 12 9
Machrihanish (Kintyre) 16 5
Dunnet Bay (Caithness) 11 1
West Coast Berneray 14 3
Balranald (N. Uist) 11 3
Kirk (N. Uist) 13 9
Baleshare (N. Uist) 13 3
Eochar/Dremisdale (Uist) 15 2
Eoligarry (Barra) 19 16
Allasdale (Barra) 11 24
Varlish (Barra) 13 60
Culbin (Moray) 15 1
Strathbeg (Grampian) 21 10
Rattray Head (Grampian) 12 16
Rattray Bay (Grampian) 23 13
Sands of Forvie (Grampian 35 8
Foveran and Drums (Grampian) 26 15
Menie and Petens (Grampian) 20 7
Balmedie (Grampian) 25 11
Montrose (Tayside) 15 8
Barry Sands (North) (Tayside) 26 5
1 Balephetrish is the best example to illustrate an aspect of the measurement (by electronic planimeter) of the bare sand areawhich is explained in detail on p. 25 of the Beaches of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (Mather and Ritchie, 1977).A difficulty occurs where a section of the coastal edge has been eroded by the wind to an extent that it is a substantialdistance landwards of the highest tide level, thereby creating a bare sand surface on the seawards side of this section ofthe dune front. These surfaces are a continuation of the beach zone but are not normally within the sweep zone of waveseven during storm conditions. Accordingly, they are included in the measurement of the landward bare-sand acreage.A similar type of bare sand area on the seawards side of the coastal edge is found at Eoligarry in Barra where two orthree large blowouts have coalesced and produced a large bare sand area, contiguous with the upper beach zone.
27
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Table 2.11 Percentages of bare sand in dune systems by region
(Excludes all units with erosion coefficient equal to zero)
Erosion Bare Sand Links/Machair Dune Area No. ofRegion Coefficient* Area (ha.) Area (ha.) (ha.) Cases
Strathclyde 3.5 2.0 48.3 9.6 84
Highland 4.8 1.9 32.8 6.4 59
Western Isles 4.2 3.9 80.0 11.3 71
Orkney 2.3 0.8 29.9 5.2 22
Shetland 20.0 1.0 4.6 0.4 11
Grampian 3.4 6.7 178.7 19.9 30
Tayside and Fife 1.7 3.5 189.7 12.9 22
Lothian and Borders 1.0 0.6 52.4 6.2 24
Dumfries and Galloway Bare sand areas are of negligible extent
*Ratio of mean bare sand area to mean area of dunes plus machair/links
Table 2.12 Bare sand ratios – selected islands and districts
Mean of Bare Total Bare Sand Localities with verySand % ratios Area in Hectares extensive bare sand ratios
ALL CASESSELECTED ISLANDS
Lewis 23.5 57 Bosta, Mangersta, Mealasta
Coll and Tiree 4.2 68 Port and Saoir, Balephetrish
Islay 5.2 56 Sanaigmore
Mainland Shetland 4.1 2 Scousbugh
Mainland Orkney 3.4 3 Sandside Bay
Harris (inc. Sound of) 4.9 42 Mheilein
Uists and Benbecula 3.1 104 Rosinish
Barra Group 14.7 71 Varlish, Uidhe, Sandray, Allasdale
ALL CASESSELECTED DISTRICTS
Caithness 11.6 37 Melness, Coldbackie, Sannick
Cunninghame 0.8 4 Stevenston
Kyle and Carrick 0.1 2 –
Wigtown 0.0 0 –
Moray 0.7 22 Findhorn
Banff and Buchan 5.9 64 Banff Bay, Rattray Head
Gordon 7.0 87 Foveran and Drums
East Lothian 2.3 11 Canty Bay, Seton and Longniddry
Angus and Dundee 10.0 76 Carnoustie, Broughty Ferry
Northeast Fife 0.2 2 Elie Woodhaven
Kirkcaldy 1.4 1 Pettycur
28
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
The fact that the calculation of the bare sand percentage is a ratio leads to some difficulties of interpretation
in that several areas with very large areas of bare sand have relatively small percentage ratios because of
the great extent of dunes and machair or links. These areas are listed in Table 2.10. The distribution shown
in Table 2.10 highlights two main areas, viz. Barra and the Uists where the areas tend to be produced by
the aggregation of several blowout, deflation and coastline retreat areas and the North Sea coast of
Grampian Region where there are not only several large blowout features eg at Rattray Head, but also
several great mobile sand sheets as at Balmedie, Foveran and Forvie.
In order to give a broad regional picture, Table 2.11 lists both percentage ratios and absolute areas of bare
sand for all beach units that have a measurable area of bare sand. These regional values may be set against
the national value which could also be used as a yardstick for either individual or specified groups of dune
systems. Table 2.12 gives more localised examples.
An alternative approach to the identification of bare sand areas that are considered to be equivalent to
areas of instability is to use qualitative field judgements. During fieldwork the amount of bare sand area that
was perceived as erosion damage on dunes, links and machair was assessed on a scale of high, medium,
low and negligible. Table 2.13 gives all the beach units having high perceived erosion damage. Listed on
Table 2.13, for comparison, are those areas that have bare sand areas that have a calculated ratio of more
than 20% of the total area of dunes, machair or links and transitional landforms. The figure of 20% is an
arbitrary cut off value and the table includes very small beach units where measurement errors are possibly
high. Transitional areas are also included since there are some areas where the erosion is taking place there
as well as in the dunes and machair/links areas. Although the amount of discrepancy between the two
tables (there are only 17 units common to both lists) can be partially explained by problems of definition
and calculation of the percentage ratios there is also the knowledge that in coming to a judgement about
erosion the observer is influenced by his viewing position. The location of the erosion features is also
important, particularly if they are concentrated in a specific zone eg the main coastal dune ridge. Further, if
erosion features are located near the usual point of access, or are visible from some recognised popular
viewing position then the subjective assessment of erosion tends to be influenced adversely. Conversely, if
the bare sand areas are produced by active sand quarrying then the surveyor consciously ignores this as
perceived erosion damage since the reason for the existence of a bare sand area is obviously not wind
erosion. Another difference is that a specialist field surveyor can also distinguish between bare sand areas
that are produced by accretion and deposition and therefore not deemed to be adverse. Another reason for
the difference between perceived erosion and measured bare sand areas is the knowledge that the
impression produced in the mind of the viewer by numerous small erosion features which do not in fact
aggregate to a significant total area, produces an image of greater erosional severity than actually exists.
However, in the subjective interpretation of the significance of bare ground in dunes and machair the key
word is “damage” and it is this factor that largely explains the differences between the two lists; it is a
difference of human value judgement set against impersonal quantitative techniques.
29
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Table 2.13 Perceived erosion damage
Beaches with high perceived erosion damage Beaches with bare sand ratios greater than 20%
Dalmore CrossMangersta DalmoreGarry BostaCul Na Croise MangerstaMorar Mealasta IslandPort An T Saoir GarryTraigh Tuath Achaidh MhorCladdich MorarSanaigmore Samhnan InsirTralee Bay Port An T SaoirSango Bay BasapollKervaig Bay Corpach CoastOldshoremore SanaigmoreClachtoll CarskeyAchmelvich MachariochAchnahaird Bay SannoxGruinard South MachrieMellon Udrigle SannickOpinan InvernaverSand of Meal ColdbackleKirk Sand MelnessSandwick Unst Traigh Allt ChailgeagLundawick SheigraRosinish OldshoremoreEoligarry ClashnessieBagh A Dheas ClachtollFindhorn AchmelvichRattray Head Traigh na TeampuillUgie/Lunderton Achnahaird BayFoveran/Drums MungasdaleBalmedie Gruinard NorthColdingham Bay Gruinard SouthGullane Mellon UdrigleGosford Bay MellanguanMontrose OpinanBarry Sands (East) Sand of MealMonifieth Brekin
Balta IslandSandwick UnstLundawickSandside BayScrimpoRosinishAllasdaleSandrayVarlishBanff Bay
30
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Erosion of the coastal edge
During the period of fieldwork careful note was made of the coastal edge in order to estimate whether the
coastline was prograding, neutral or eroding or having elements of each condition, and Table 2.14 lists the
results under nine headings.
At the national level, 39.5% of all the coastal edges of sand beach systems are “eroding” or “eroding and
neutral” compared with 22.4% that are wholly “neutral” and 11% that are “prograding” or “prograding and
neutral”. From Table 2.14 it can be seen that prograding coastlines are comparatively rare, and erosion is
found in some form in more than half of the blown sand coastlines of Scotland.
Regional differences are quite pronounced. Areas with an above average of prograding units are found in
Strathclyde, in Orkney and in Highland Regions, but the values do not exceed the national average greatly.
Progradation is rare in the Western Isles and negligible in Grampians, Lothian and Borders, and Dumfries
and Galloway Regions. Eroding coastlines are substantially above the national average in Highland and in
Shetland Regions. There are no wholly eroding units in Lothian and Borders. Strathclyde has more than twice
the national average number of beach coastlines that are classified as “neutral and prograding”, whereas
Highland, Orkney, Shetland and Dumfries and Galloway have very low or negligible beaches in this
category. One of the most striking departures from the national average is Dumfries and Galloway, where
43.8% are classified as “neutral and eroding” cf. national average of 16.2%. The Western Isles also has a
high value at 29.6%. Areas having a significantly higher occurrence of various forms of erosion are found
in Western Isles, in Shetland and in Dumfries and Galloway. For the other types of coastal edge, the amount
of manmodification is highest in Tayside and Fife, where 27% of the coastline is affected, followed by
Lothian and Borders (9.1%) and Grampian (5.6%).
Erosion: in general
The general impression that is gained from both the analysis of coastal erosion and dune and machair
erosion is that the stage of primary dune building and coastal progradation is generally absent from the
majority of the beach, dune and machair/links areas of Scotland. There are pronounced local and regional
variations, but the general pattern seems undeniable and from a geomorphological point of view the
implications of retreat and reworking are apparent. No simple explanation can be offered. Isostatic change
might be a factor but a more cogent reason could be the singular lack of sand supply to the majority of
Scottish beaches now that the legacy of glacial and fluvio-glacial sediments on the coastal and nearshore
margins has been reworked shorewards.
31
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
32
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Tab
le 2
.14
Typ
e o
f co
ast
al
edg
e b
y re
gio
n
Neu
tral
Prog
radi
ngEr
odin
gN
eutr
alN
eutr
alPr
ogra
ding
Neu
tral
,Sh
ingl
eA
rtif
icia
lan
dan
dan
dPr
ogra
ding
Ridg
eor
Prog
radi
ngEr
odin
gEr
odin
gan
d Er
odin
gM
odif
ied
%%
%%
%%
%%
%
Stra
thcl
yde
(Low
land
)8
20.0
12.
512
30.0
37.
58
20.0
25.
03
7.5
00
37.
5
Stra
thcl
yde
(H.
& I.
)31
22.8
1611
.825
18.4
2014
.712
8.8
64.
412
8.8
1410
.30
0
Hig
hlan
d36
32.7
76.
435
31.8
21.
814
12.7
54.
54
3.6
43.
63
2.7
Wes
tern
Isle
s12
12.2
11.
026
26.5
44.
129
29.6
1010
.213
13.3
33.
10
0
Ork
ney
3035
.76
7.1
1821
.42
2.4
44.
86
7.1
44.
814
16.7
00
Shet
land
1434
.12
4.9
2048
.80
04
9.8
00
00
12.
40
0
Gra
mpi
an0
00
06
16.7
12.
88
22.2
822
.211
30.6
00
25.
6
Tays
ide
and
Fife
616
.22
5.4
25.
42
5.4
924
.32
5.4
410
.80
010
27.0
Loth
ian
and
Bord
ers
00
00
00
26.
13
9.1
927
.316
48.5
00
39.
1
Dum
fries
and
Gal
low
ay8
25.0
00
721
.90
014
43.8
00
00
13.
12
6.3
145
22.4
355.
415
125
.336
5.6
105
16.2
487.
467
10.4
375.
723
3.6
Tab
le 2
.15
Occ
urre
nce
of
bea
ch m
ate
ria
ls
12
34
5 6
78
9
Sand
onl
ySa
nd w
ithG
rave
llyM
ixed
Rock
Com
bina
tion
Sand
with
Sand
with
Sand
with
Back
shor
eSa
ndSa
ndfl
atPl
atfo
rmof
thr
eeRo
ckar
eas
ofar
eas
ofSh
ingl
ew
ith S
and
Mat
eria
lsO
utcr
ops
Mud
/Silt
Ston
es/
Patc
hes
Shin
gle
%%
%%
%%
%%
%
*Stra
thcl
yde
(H.
& I.
)73
53.7
3324
.36
4.4
21.
58
5.9
1410
.30
00
00
0
Stra
thcl
yde
(Low
land
)10
25.0
25.
00
00
016
40.0
37.
55
12.5
00
410
.0
*Hig
hlan
d55
50.5
3330
.38
7.3
109.
23
2.8
00
00
00
00
*Wes
tern
Isle
s57
58.2
3535
.71
1.0
11.
02
2.0
22.
00
00
00
0
*Ork
ney
1517
.951
60.7
00
56.
013
15.5
00
00
00
00
*She
tland
1025
.024
60.0
512
.51
2.5
00
00
00
00
00
Gra
mpi
an13
36.1
513
.90
01
2.8
38.
34
11.1
822
.21
2.8
12.
8
Tays
ide
and
Fife
1437
.82
5.4
00
12.
710
27.0
513
.51
2.7
38.
11
2.7
Loth
ian
and
Bord
ers
13.
00
02
6.1
13.
03
9.1
1648
.57
21.2
39.
10
0
Dum
fries
and
Gal
low
ay2
6.3
39.
40
010
31.3
13.
13
9.4
00
00
1340
.6
NAT
ION
AL
AVER
AG
E25
038
.818
829
.122
3.4
325.
059
9.1
477.
321
3.3
71.
119
2.9
NO
TE:
Col
umns
7,
8 an
d 9
wer
e no
t inc
lude
d in
the
surv
ey o
f Hig
hlan
ds a
nd Is
land
s be
ache
s w
here
they
wer
e su
bsum
ed u
nder
one
of t
he o
ther
cat
egor
ies.
The
reg
ions
so
affe
cted
are
mar
ked
with
an
aste
risk(
*).
33
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
2.5 Beach materials
Many beach areas with or without associated dunes have varying amounts of sand in both the intertidal and
supratidal positions. Many are little more than sand patches on extensive rock platforms. In contrast, some
beaches have large areas of gravel and shingle superimposed on the sand surface. It is also common to
have shingle storm beaches above high water mark. The general distribution of the various combinations of
beach surface sediments are listed in Table 2.15.
This table contains a particular problem of interpretation in that during the survey of the beaches of the
Highlands and Islands (Regions identified by an asterisk in Table 2.15), the data for columns 7, 8 and 9
(sand with rock outcrops, sand with mud/silt patches, sand with patches of surface stones and shingle) were
not recorded separately but subsumed under other headings, normally “sand only” or “sand with backshore
shingle”. Although this makes analysis difficult and means that the discussion of the table has to be done
under two broad regional headings – ie Highlands and Islands and Lowland – the absolute numbers
involved in the Lowland areas are not so large as to invalidate comment on the national distribution where
only about 40% of the beaches could be described as pure sand and perhaps as many as a third have
some form of shingle or cobble storm beach or deposit above high water mark. The geomorphological
implications of such a high frequency of active backshore shingle are considerable. For example, it is less
likely that an extensive backshore high sand platform which will act as a nourishment zone for dune building
can exist in such circumstances. At the most, the area of sand that is likely to dry out sufficiently for wind
transport will be a narrow zone between the toe of the shingle feature and high water mark. Another
consequence is the fact that the presence of a shingle ridge will protect the dune slope from direct contact
with all but the highest water levels as produced by high tides and high wave set-up. Many shingle ridges
are nevertheless a product of coastal erosion whereby raised beach materials are incorporated into the total
beach sediment budget. This is common in areas as far apart as Tiree and Findhorn.
Another general observation is the relatively high proportion of beaches which consist of sand and other
sediments on top of rock platforms. This is most common in the Lowland beaches, but also occurs in Orkney
and one is tempted to associate this with the outcrop of sedimentary rock formations giving rise to extensive
rock platform features along the coastline.
Within the Highlands and Islands there are wide variations in almost every category of beach sediments.
“Sand only” is most common in the Western Isles; “Sand with backshore shingle” is most common in the
Northern Isles; “Gravelly sand” is only significant in Shetland.
For the lowland beaches, Dumfries and Galloway Region is notable for the high proportion of beaches
with lag stones and shingle patches which might reflect mainly low energy conditions which are unable to
move and sort heavier calibre materials. Pure sand beaches are least common in the Lothian and Borders
Region where diverse combinations of materials are most characteristic. Tayside and Fife Regions have
a very high proportion of rock platform areas. For the east coast in general, about a third of all beaches
have either rock platforms or significant rock outcrops associated with the beach areas, but this figure is
exceeded by lowland Strathclyde which has more than half its beach units associated with rock features,
especially rock platforms.
34
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
In addition to the geomorphological implications, this table (ie Table 2.15) of differences in beach sedimentsand other characteristics has ecological implications in that a beach with extensive rock platforms ispotentially a richer and more varied intertidal habitat than a pure sand beach. Similarly, a beach withcontrasting rock outcrops is often more scenic than a uniform sweep of sand.
Composition of sand
Sand samples were collected from almost every beach in Scotland during the course of fieldwork. Thesample was not less than 500gm and was removed from the approximate high tide level in the centre ofthe beach area. Additional samples were taken from dunes, links and machair, as appropriate. The sampleswere sieved by standard methods and a single statistic, the median diameter, was used to characterise eachsample.
Examining all the beach sands by size produces a histogram (Figure 2.6) that shows the relative absenceof sand in the coarser grades. The mean size of all beach sands is 370 microns.
In general, about three quarters of the beach sands of Scotland are in the fine–medium category(ie 150–350 microns). The histogram (Figure 2.6) shows a secondary peak in distribution towards the upperend of the medium grade (ie over 650 microns). These coarser sands come from widely scattered beachesand there is no pattern in the distribution. In some cases the use of the statistic of the median causes problemswhere the sand sample contains an admixture of fine gravel into the sand matrix. The effect of this is to shiftthe median to a coarser level, and many of the samples in the 600–650 micron range are of this type. Thevery coarse sands relate to particular areas with local sources as, for example, the Coral Beaches (Skye),Ardnamurchan Point, Ardtoe (Moidart), Back of Keppoch, Elswick, Reawick, Carradale (Kintyre), Brodick(Arran), Marwick (Orkney) and the Whilk (near Ballantrae). These are widely scattered localities, but thereis a tendency for the northwest Highland Mainland and the Northern Isles to have more examples ofbeaches with a significant proportion of coarse-grained materials. The East Neuk of Fife also hascomparatively coarse sands. The beach sands of the Outer and Inner Hebrides and Lowland beaches arealmost invariably in the fine–medium size ranges (Table 2.16).
Sand sizes are a result of the combination of two factors – the original source and the history and mode oftransport to their site of collection. In Scotland the possible sources range from glacial and fluvio-glacialdeposits to local bedrock outcrops. The complexity of the patterns of glaciation and deglaciation need notbe emphasised here, but the net result is to produce a situation where it is almost impossible to suggest theultimate origin of beach materials. Indeed, those few areas where the beach sands can unambiguously berelated to a specific source, such as a local cliff or river outlet, are quite exceptional.
The history of sediment movement is also complex since it involves not only wave action and long shorecurrents, but also the possibility of wind transport. Where there is recent or past interchange between thebeach and the dune, then textural characteristics will be derived from both sedimentary environments.
35
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
36
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Fig
ure
2.6
His
tog
ram
of
med
ian
sand
siz
e o
f b
each
sa
nds
Fig
ure
2.7
Ca
lciu
m c
arb
ona
te l
evel
s in
bea
ch s
and
sa
mp
les
(Ex
clud
es c
ase
s w
ith
zero
per
cent
ca
lciu
m c
arb
ona
te)
37
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Tab
le 2
.16
Mea
n o
f m
edia
n si
zes
of
bea
ch s
and
sa
mp
les
by
reg
ion
100–
150
150–
200
200–
250
250–
300
300–
350
350–
400
400–
450
450–
500
500–
550
550–
600
600–
650
Ove
r 65
0Re
gion
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
Stra
thcl
yde
3.7
63.
05
19.0
3131
.351
11.7
1916
.627
1.8
31.
22
2.4
40.
61
1.8
36
711
163
Hig
hlan
d0
06.
15
35.2
2923
.019
12.2
106.
15
4.9
43.
63
1.2
10
9.7
884
Wes
tern
Isle
s0
044
.625
10.7
621
.412
8.9
51.
81
7.1
43.
62
01.
81
056
Ork
ney
1.4
11.
41
18.8
1336
.225
11.5
85.
84
8.7
61.
41
8.7
60
2.9
22.
92
69
Shet
land
00
3.2
135
.511
16.1
56.
52
19.4
66.
52
3.2
10
09.
73
31
Gra
mpi
an0
06.
32
21.9
734
.311
12.5
46.
32
9.4
30
03.
11
6.3
232
Tays
ide
00
10.3
317
.25
31.0
910
.33
10.3
36.
92
6.9
23.
41
3.4
10
29an
d Fi
fe
Loth
ian
00
028
.68
17.9
525
.07
7.1
214
.34
3.6
13.
61
00
28an
d Bo
rder
s
Dum
fries
and
0
03.
31
26.7
816
.75
16.7
516
.75
13.3
43.
31
00
3.3
130
Gal
low
ay
1.3
71.
16
15.5
8128
.715
017
.893
12.8
676.
333
5.0
263.
820
0.8
41.
58
5.2
2752
2
38
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Tab
le 2
.17
Perc
enta
ge
calc
ium
ca
rbo
nate
in
bea
ch s
and
s (N
umb
er o
f ca
ses
by
Reg
ion
– a
ll c
ase
s)
OTr
. –
1010
–20
20–3
030
–40
40–5
050
–60
60–7
070
–80
80–9
090
–100
Regi
onN
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
No.
%N
o.%
Stra
thcl
yde
137.
497
55.1
105.
73
1.7
52.
85
2.8
137.
47
4.0
74.
07
4.0
95.
1
Hig
hlan
d14
12.7
3430
.920
18.2
98.
25
4.5
65.
55
4.5
43.
68
7.3
32.
72
1.8
Wes
tern
Isle
s36
*36
.71
1.0
22.
04
4.1
44.
19
9.2
1212
.216
16.6
99.
25
5.1
00
Ork
ney
1922
.617
20.2
00
56.
01
1.2
78.
31
1.2
33.
67
8.3
1517
.99
10.7
Shet
land
1024
.48
19.5
24.
95
12.2
37.
31
2.4
512
.21
2.4
37.
32
4.9
12.
4
Gra
mpi
an1
2.8
2363
.97
19.4
38.
32
5.6
00
00
00
00
00
00
Tays
ide
and
Fife
00
1643
.23
8.1
38.
12
5.4
00
410
.84
10.8
410
.80
01
2.7
Loth
ian
and
Bord
ers
26.
112
36.4
721
.25
15.2
515
.21
3.0
13.
00
00
00
00
0
Dum
fries
and
Gal
low
ay2
6.3
2578
.13
9.4
26.
30
00
00
00
00
00
00
0
NAT
ION
AL
TOTA
L97
15.0
233
36.0
548.
339
6.0
274.
229
4.5
416.
335
5.5
385.
932
4.9
22
3.4
* Re
lativ
ely
larg
e nu
mbe
r of
uns
ampl
ed b
each
es in
rem
ote
islan
ds a
nd o
ther
loca
tions
.
Where there is unimpeded movement of material, coarser material should be found in higher energylocations assuming that a supply of coarse material was available in the original sediment source. Much ofthe Scottish coastline consists of beaches that occur in zones of impeded sediment movement, such as inbayheads, in estuary margins and in sea lochs (see Chapter 2.2), and the necessary conditions forsediments to acquire textural characteristics that reflect fully the mode of transport are therefore not available.Within individual beach units there are differences in sediments reflecting patterns of energy, but this wasnot a topic that was examined in any detail during the course of beach survey work.
Throughout Scotland, but especially in the Western and Northern Islands, the main source of sand forbeaches is comminuted shells of many types and species of marine organisms. Attempts to correlate thephenomenon of high shell sand content with other variables such as beach and offshore gradient, exposure,bedrock geology and other factors have produced little of any value or consequence. There is a generaltendency for the abundance of shell-derived sands to be associated with extensive rock platforms. This isespecially true of the Outer Hebrides, Tiree and a few isolated examples elsewhere as, for example, theEast Neuk of Fife. It must also be remembered that a high percentage of shell sand may reflect not only arichness of marine organisms within the catchment zone of the beach, but also a dearth of alternative sourcessuch as suitable rock outcrops (eg conglomerates, sandstones, grits), glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits orstream outlets.
Statistics relating to lime content (which is equated with shell content) are given in Table 2.17 which givesan indication of distribution by Region. Figure 2.7 shows the histogram for all beaches with a lime contentgreater than zero.
Table 2.18 Shell sand content within Strathclyde Region
Percentage calcium carbonate – number of casesDistrict
or 0 or 0–10 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–60 60–70 70–80 80–90 90–100Island missing
Coll 5 1 0 0 0 1 5 2 1 1 0
Tiree 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 2 4 9
Mull and Iona 3 5 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 0
Colonsay 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Jura 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Islay 1 5 0 0 3 3 4 1 1 0 0
Bute, Arran 0 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0and Cumbraes
Argyll and Bute 13 47 10 3 5 5 13 7 7 7 9(mainland only)
Cunninghame 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kyle and Carrick 0 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The distribution shown on Figure 2.7 for the 550 samples with a calcium carbonate content greater thanzero is a good indication of the importance of shell addition to the sediment supply of Scottish beaches.From an ecological point of view, even a few per cent of lime makes a significant difference to dune soilsand vegetation. As the percentage of lime increases, pH values rise quickly and in the Outer Hebrides valueshigher than 8.5 are not unusual. The histogram (Figure 2.7) also shows that there are more than fifty beaches
39
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
which are almost entirely composed of shell sand. These beaches occur in Mull, Coll, Tiree, Sanday andStronsay (Orkney), in several parts of the Outer Hebrides and in isolated beaches as, for example, Sannickin Caithness, Achmelvich in Sutherland, Balta Island, Saviskaill in Orkney, and Crail in Fife.
Table 2.17 clearly illustrates the dominance of shell sand in the Hebrides and Northern Isles, whereas theNorth Sea coast (except the East Neuk of Fife) is characterised by low values. Since Strathclyde containsislands, such as Tiree, with high values and Districts, such as Cunninghame, with low values, a further Table(2.18) gives a more detailed analysis. On the basis of Tables 2.17 and 2.18, Dumfries and Gallowayalong with the Districts of Kyle and Carrick and Cunninghame are seen to be areas with very low shell sandcontent in the beach sediments. Combining this information with the values for the islands and east coast ofKintyre, the greater Firth of Clyde littoral emerges as the main area of shell sand deficiency in Scotland.
2.6 Vegetation and habitats
Habitat diversity
The Nature Conservancy Council has compiled the following checklist as an appropriate, pragmatic wayof describing the habitats present in a coastal area:
Permanently flooded
1. Creeks and drainage channels
2. Lagoons
Intermittently flooded
3. Foreshore mud
4. Foreshore sand
5. Foreshore shingle
6. Foreshore rock
7. Saltmarsh and brackish marsh
8. Shingle beach lows
9. Sand dunes slacks
Terrestrial
10. Earth and cliff embankment
11. Sand dune and sandy beach
12. Shingle beach
13. Rock cliff and sea wall
14. Coniferous plantation
15. Deciduous woodland/scrub
16. Cultivated land
17. Dry heather moor
18. Wet moor (including mire, blanket bog)
19. Grass heath (not sand)
20. Machair
21. Freshwater marsh or swamp(Based on “Nature Conservation at the Coast”, Countryside Commission Special Study Report, Vol. 2, H.M.S.O.)
40
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
41
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Tab
le 2
.19
Ha
bit
at
div
ersi
ty s
core
s b
y re
gio
n
0–5
67
89
1011
1213
1415
and
over
Regi
on%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
Stra
thcl
yde
21.
114
8.0
2614
.827
15.3
3721
.018
10.2
2212
.514
8.0
63.
45
2.8
52.
8
Hig
hlan
d7
6.3
65.
513
11.8
76.
422
20.0
1210
.918
16.4
1110
.06
5.5
65.
52
1.8
Wes
tern
Isle
s1
1.0
1212
.223
23.5
2525
.520
20.4
1111
.25
5.1
11.
00
00
00
0
Ork
ney
67.
214
16.7
2428
.625
29.8
67.
16
7.1
11.
22
2.4
00
00
00
Shet
land
49.
77
17.1
922
.09
22.0
512
.25
12.2
12.
40
00
01
2.4
00
Gra
mpi
an1
2.8
1027
.85
13.9
513
.92
5.6
616
.72
5.6
12.
82
5.6
00
25.
6
Tays
ide
and
Fife
821
.67
18.9
718
.91
2.7
718
.92
5.4
513
.50
00
00
00
0
Loth
ian
and
Bord
ers
26.
02
6.0
412
.17
21.2
39.
15
15.2
515
.22
6.1
26.
10
01
3.0
Dum
fries
and
Gal
low
ay1
3.1
13.
12
6.3
515
.64
12.5
721
.95
15.6
515
.61
3.1
00
13.
1
325.
073
11.3
113
17.3
111
17.2
106
16.4
7211
.164
9.9
365.
617
2.6
121.
911
1.8
By scoring for these categories on a simple presence or absence basis some index of diversity at beachcomplexes can be gained in that the higher the number of categories present, the greater the probableecological richness of the area. The average value for all 647 units is 8.79 and for the Highlands andIslands 8.84. The average for areas with the statutory designation of Site of Special Scientific Interest is 9.41.
Table 2.19 shows the distribution of habitat diversity scores by region. In general, Orkney, Shetland andGrampian have below average habitat diversity scores. This suggests a relative monotony of terrainconditions within and near the beach areas. Fife and Tayside Regions have the lowest scores, with morethan half the beach units having a score of less than 7, and there is no beach unit with a score greater than11. These low scores indicate not only relative uniformity of terrain, but also reflect the comparatively largenumber of areas that are built-up or modified as, for example, by afforestation or golf course construction.
Regions with higher than average scores are Highland and Dumfries and Galloway. Lothian and BordersRegions also have slightly above average habitat diversity scores.
Individual beach units with scores greater than 15 are given in Table 2.20 and are therefore the areas inScotland with the greatest variety of habitats in or adjacent to the beach and blown sand areas.
Vegetation
The main vegetation types for the idealised beach unit are shown on Figure 2.8. Pioneer species are foundon the upper beach and their presence is the main criterion for assessing progradation of the coast. Asdescribed in Chapter 2.4, coastline accretion is uncommon around the Scottish coast and extensive areasof pioneer species, including the main dune grasses (which grow well on the upper beach if they are notinundated by sea water) are not common. Many beach areas, including eroding coastlines, have patchesof pioneer vegetation colonising localised zones of exceptional sand accumulation. Such areas are usuallytransient and are removed by the next period of elevated water levels during storm or surge tide conditions.
Table 2.20 Habitat diversity – highest scores
Area Region Score
Knockvoligan (Mull) Strathclyde 15
Loch Buie (Mull) Strathclyde 16
Killinallan (Islay) Strathclyde 16
Bridgend (Islay) Strathclyde 17
Tralee Bay (Argyll) Strathclyde 18
Coul Links (E. Sutherland) Highland 15
Applecross (W. Sutherland) Highland 16
Luce Sands (Wigtown) Dumfries and Galloway 15
Strathbeg (Banff and Buchan) Grampian 15
Sands of Forvie (Gordon) Grampian 16
Aberlady Bay (East Lothian) Lothian and Borders 15
Considering the main dune ridges a record was made in the survey of the main vegetation categories.A distinction made is between the two most characteristic dune building grasses, Marram (Ammophilaarenaria) and Sea Lyme (Elymus arenarius). As shown on Table 2.21, Sea Lyme tends to be more important
42
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
along the North Sea coast and in Orkney. It is rare in the Inner and Outer Hebrides and the northwestHighland mainland. It is also found along the Firth of Clyde coastlines, especially as discontinuous butvigorous patches along the backshore-foredune zone. There appears to be scope for further research intothe factors that control the distribution of these two species which are both of vital importance for the creationand development of coastal dunes. As an example of the peculiarities of the occurrence of Sea Lyme grass,consider the coastline between Aberdeen City and Strathbeg where geomorphological and pedologicalconditions are broadly similar, but Sea Lyme is totally absent from some areas for example St. Fergus, yet itis dominant in another – Ugie Beach, and it occurs as extensive patches elsewhere – for example Bridge ofDon. And why is it so overwhelmingly dominant in many Orcadian beaches? It has been suggested thatSea Lyme is favoured by sulphur-dioxide pollution, and if this is true then its expansion in several localities –eg Firth of Forth littoral, Aberdeen City beach, between Largs and Ayr – might be related to an aboveaverage content of this gas in the local atmosphere. Coastal edge grazing might be another factor. InOrkney its presence might be associated with the amount of seaweed on the upper beach. On the otherhand, similar masses of seaweed accumulate on Outer Hebridean beaches. Is its lack of growth there dueto an absence of seed sources?
Other aspects of Table 2.21 include the importance managed vegetation in formal play areas, gardens,cultivated land parkland near the beaches of Strathclyde (but almost entirely along the Firth of Clyde), andTayside and Fife. The relatively high value in this category for Orkney is a reflection of a number of caseswhere the coastal dune fringe gives way within a few metres landwards to cultivated land.
Areas where there is little by way of the normal long dune grasses in the coastal vegetation is indicated bycolumn 4 (Table 2.21) where 16.8% of all cases are so classified. Shetland, Western Isles and parts of thenorthwest Highlands have above average numbers of these truncated systems.
Trees, in the form of plantations, or small groups of patches of scrub are found as a form of ground coverin many dune, machair and links areas. Extensive tree cover, however, is uncommon in the Highlands andIslands of Scotland. Where they exist, they are often experimental plantings – eg at Dunnet Bay – or naturalcopses of birch and rowan on the margins of the blown sand area – eg Torrisdale Bay. Elsewhere, smallgroups of trees may be found on the landward margin of the blown sand area or as a small copse in asheltered hollow, valley floor or, occasionally, as a shelter belt in the transitional area. Such occurrences arerecorded in Kintyre, Cowal and Arran. More unusual is the patch of willow-dominated vegetation such asis found in dune slacks. Coul Links is one of the better examples of this type of natural scrub association.
In Lowland Scotland, extensive afforestation as well as the presence of relatively large stands of deciduousand mixed woodland are more common. More than 40% of all lowland beach units have some areas oftrees in, or very close to, the dune and links areas. Some distinction has to be made between extensiveconiferous forests – such as Culbin, Burghead Bay, Spey Bay (all in Moray), Tentsmuir (Fife) andRavensheugh (East Lothian) – compared with small coniferous plantings as occur, for example, at Strathbeg(Grampian) or Barry Links (Tayside). Another situation is found at Shell Bay in Fife where an extensiveconiferous plantation lies on blown sand more than one kilometre inland from the beach. Elsewhere there isa range of situations that have been recorded as having trees of some description on the dunes or linksareas. Wooded hillsides adjacent to beaches occur in several parts of the coastline of the Solway Firth andin East Lothian and deciduous woodland is found on the headland margins of some of the beaches of Fife.Planted Sea Buckthorn scrub is found at Tentsmuir and Gullane (East Lothian) and other scrub species are
43
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
44
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Tab
le 2
.21
Bro
ad
veg
eta
tio
n ty
pes
by
reg
ion
Unc
lass
i-M
arra
mSe
a Ly
me
Mac
hair
/M
arra
mN
o bl
own
Park
sSe
a Ly
me
Sea
Lym
eSe
a Ly
me
fied
Link
s/M
arra
mLi
nks
only
sand
Cul
tivat
edon
lyLi
nks/
and
Regi
onM
acha
irLi
nks/
only
Form
alM
acha
irot
her
Mac
hair
mod
ifie
dG
arde
ns
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
Stra
thcl
yde
080
45.5
2212
.526
14.8
63.
413
7.4
2413
.60
42.
31
0.6
Hig
hlan
d2
1.8
4641
.819
17.3
2522
.70
1110
.06
5.5
00
10.
9
Wes
tern
Isle
s3
3.1
7071
.40
2222
.40
33.
10
00
0
Ork
ney
020
23.8
2529
.814
16.7
22.
49
10.7
78.
35
6.0
11.
21
1.2
Shet
land
07
17.1
717
.116
39.0
12.
48
19.5
24.
90
00
Gra
mpi
an0
1336
.118
50.0
01
2.8
12.
80
00
38.
3
Tays
ide
and
Fife
25.
41
2.7
2567
.61
2.7
01
2.7
513
.50
02
5.4
Loth
ian
and
Bord
ers
03
9.1
1545
.50
39.
12
6.1
26.
10
08
24.2
Dum
fries
and
Gal
low
ay0
1546
.91
3.1
515
.60
1031
.31
3.1
00
0
71.
125
539
.413
220
.410
916
.813
2.0
589.
047
7.3
50.
85
0.8
162.
5
found associated with most of the beaches between Gullane and Longniddry. Mature deciduous woodlandis found at the beaches west of Edinburgh and in the coastal park at Silversands in Fife. For various reasonsdifferent amounts and types of tree cover occur in many beach areas and give an added dimension to thescenic appearance, to the ecological interest and, in some instances, provide shelter and protection to thedune and links surfaces. Although all stages of the evolution of coastal dunes and adjacent blown sandsurfaces are intimately related to different types of vegetation cover which range from pioneer colonisers ofthe backshore zone to scrub woodland and heath further inland, this survey, as summarised in Table 2.21,has to be confined to broad generalisations.
45
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
46
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Figure 2.8 Generalised landforms and vegetation
Rich backshore vegetation at Sands of Evie,Orkney.
Grazed machair grassland with higher ridgesand steeper slopes retaining a cover of
Marram grass.
Sea Lyme, Marram and Orache on theforedune ridge in Stronsay. Note marshy area
inland of this narrow dune ridge.
47
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Plate 1. Aberdeen – an intensively used urban beach.Beaches with high levels of use are relatively rare in Scotland, and are mostly concentrated around the Firth and Clyde coasts.
Plate 2. Traigh Cille Ionnaig, Coll.Numerous beaches in the Scottish islands are almost unused for recreational purposes.
48
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Plate 3. Balmedie, near Aberdeen.The complexity of the dune environment is well illustrated here. Almost all dune elements are represented, from embryo dunes to
various forms of erosion. The effects of small streams on dune topography are also apparent. The dune system merges with a lowraised beach surface.
Plate 4. View from Ben Hough, Tiree.The rocky slopes of the hill lead down to level, enclosed croftland, with unenclosed grazed machair to the seaward of the crofts,
and the fringe of coastal beaches in the middle distance.
3 CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE
3.1 Accessibil i ty
Accessibility (at a variety of scales) is perhaps the major influence on existing recreational use and the mainconstraint on potential use. If a beach is inaccessible, then its usefulness as a recreational resource isseverely restricted. It may be prized by the seeker of solitude who is able to overcome its remoteness or otherdifficulties of access, but it will have little recreational value for the general public. Conversely, the accessiblebeach is likely to be used intensively for recreation almost irrespective of its other attributes.
Although Scotland is well endowed with beaches, their distribution is quite different from that of populationand recreational demand. More than half of the Scottish beach resource lies on islands, and around 20%of the beaches are on islands lacking regular car ferries (Table 3.1).
Table 3.1 Location of beaches
Number Percentage
Mainland 304 47.0
Islands with car ferry 216 33.4
Islands with passenger ferry only 86 13.3
Islands with no regular ferry 14 2.2
Uninhabited islands 27 4.2
As a result of their distribution at the national scale, a very substantial proportion of the beach resource isinaccessible from the viewpoint of recreational demand. However attractive the island beaches may be,their inaccessibility in terms of cost and difficulty of travel is a major constraint on use. Most of the demandfor beach recreation is met by mainland beaches which number less than half of the total. Beaches are alsounevenly distributed within the mainland. Most of the beaches lie on moderately exposed outer coasts, whilethe main centres of population are on or near estuaries. While the east coast cities are well located forbeach recreation, the main urban centres of west-central Scotland are up to 50km distant from extensivebeaches. The disparity between distribution of population and distribution of beaches is reflected in thelength of travel involved in beach trips. According to Duffield and Long (1977), the average return distancetravelled on a beach trip is 70km, and only 18% of beach trips are under 8km in length. Compared withmuch of England and mainland Europe, however, Scotland’s population has easy access to beaches.
The major arteries of tourism, such as the A74, the A82 and the A9, are distant from coastal beaches alongmost of their lengths, and of the other significant tourist routes, only the A1 and the A75 and the A92 followcoastlines on which sand beaches are common. The distribution of holiday accommodation and its usagealso differs from that of beaches. Of the ten leading tourist locations (in terms of total bednights), only three(Aberdeen, Ayr and St. Andrews) are strongly associated with beaches (Duffield and Long, 1976). Beachesare major and indeed even prime tourism resources in some localities, but not in Scotland as a whole.
Only a small number of beaches are directly accessible by public transport, notably along the Clyde coastand to the east of Edinburgh. Some beaches in Tayside and Fife can be reached by public transport, butin the other regions the use of a private car is almost essential if beach recreation is to be enjoyed.
49
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
In Scotland as a whole, a survey in 1972 indicated that 62% of beach trips are made by private car. Busesand trains account for a further 26% (Duffield and Long, 1977). The same survey revealed that, incomparison, 59% of all (day) recreation trips are made by private car and 22% by public transport.It seems, therefore, that beaches and recreational resources in general are approximately equally accessibleby public transport.
People usually do not walk long distances from their cars (or public transport) to recreation sites, and hencethe local aspects of access are important determinants of recreational use. lf the scale of examination isswitched from the national to the local, Scotland’s beaches are found to be surprisingly accessible. Althoughmany beaches are on small islands or in remote, sparsely populated parts of the country, around 40% arewithin 100m of a public road, and over 50% are within 200m. Only 15% are more than 1km from such aroad. These proportions apply to island beaches and to mainland beaches alike. Physical accessibility iseven easier if motorable tracks are considered, irrespective of whether they are public or private.Approximately two thirds of all beaches and over 70% of mainland beaches lie within 100m of motorabletracks and less than 10% are more than 1km from potential vehicular access.
In a few cases the convenience of proximity of road and beach is offset by the vertical distance whichseparates them, culminating in some cases in near-vertical cliffs. Such cases are comparatively few. Morethan three-quarters of the beaches are within 10 vertical metres of the nearest road, and the vertical distanceexceeds 25m in under 10% of the beach units. The position of beaches in relation to roads and tracks istherefore generally convenient from the viewpoint of the visitor, as long as he is able to reach the parts ofthe coastline which contain beaches. For the tourist or casual visitor with no prior knowledge of the existenceor location of beaches, the distribution is less favourable. Almost 40% of the beach units are not visible froma public road, and of the remainder approximately 10% are visible only across sea lochs or straits.Furthermore, the nearest road is frequently a minor dead end carrying only very light traffic, with few touristsor casual visitors. The nearest road type for approximately 40% of the country’s beaches is unclassified orC-class dead-end roads, and A-class through roads are the nearest for only 20% of all beaches.
When the various limitations on accessibility are superimposed, few beaches are found to be well situatedfor casual recreational use. For example, only 41 beaches out of the national total of 647 (6.4%) are 100mor less from A-class through roads on the mainland. Without prior knowledge or information about thedistribution of beaches, the potential visitor is greatly restricted in his choice of recreational beaches. Manyunits which are otherwise suitable for recreational use are little used except where their locations arepublicised by guidebooks or information services.
At the local scale, access to beaches is also influenced not only by location in relation to the roadnetwork, but also by the presence and nature of any barriers to access. One potential barrier is a lack ofcar parking space. Formal car parks are found in the vicinity of 10% of all beaches and 20% of mainlandunits, but cars can be parked informally close to many other beaches. Less than one-quarter of the mainlandbeaches lack car-parking facilities in any shape or form, and in general terms parking problems are foundonly near a minority of beaches. Nevertheless, such problems may be acute in a few localities, especiallyat peak periods when the capacities of formal car parks may be inadequate. Where formal car parks arenot provided, roadside parking may cause traffic congestion at times, and parking restrictions have had tobe applied near some rural beaches (such as Ardneil Bay on the Firth of Clyde) as well as at some townbeaches.
50
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Beaches where cars can be driven almost to the coastal edge are highly valued for informal family recreation,especially where dunes or machair offer attractive settings for picnics. These ‘drive-on’ links or machairs areassociated with approximately 20% of the beaches. On beach car parking can in certain circumstances beeven more convenient than parking on links or machair, but is less practised in Scotland than in somemainland European countries. Where practicable, it offers a convenient solution to some parking problems,and avoids the problems of damage to vegetation which are often experienced as a result of parking on linksor machair. But it may be possible only during low tide, and major problems of safety (especially of children)may arise unless the practice is strictly controlled. Beach parking is carried on at only a small number ofbeaches, such as Culzean Bay south of Ayr and Mersehead Sands south of Dumfries.
Charges for parking are made only at some of the more popular beaches, especially at town beaches whereparking facilities are restricted. Some of the more popular rural beaches have charges during peak periods,but these charges are almost invariably modest, especially in relation to petrol costs, and are unlikely tofunction as a serious constraint on beach use.
Physical barriers to access are found only at a minority of beaches. Cultivated land separates road and beachat less than 10% of beach units, and usually has fences, which are found at approximately one-quarter of thebeaches. Both these types of barriers are mainly to be found in the lowlands, and are rarely encountered nearHighland beaches. Real or perceived barriers, such as buildings and warning notices, exist on less than 10%of the beach units. Whatever the legal position may be, de facto access is possible at all except a fewbeaches. Physical and legal barriers to access are of much less importance in relation to beach recreation thangeographical distribution and location. On the other hand, warning notices and similar deterrents to accessare more prevalent at beaches where accessibility is relatively easy. They are found on only 7% of all beaches,but on 14% of mainland units. Where recreational pressures increase, a few landowners do take steps todiscourage access by erecting notices or locking gates. Such landowners constitute a small minority and ingeneral terms beach access is easy.
3.2 Ownership and tenure
The use and management of beach areas are strongly influenced by the nature of ownership and tenure.Ownership is especially important in relation to recreational use. At low intensities of use, recreation maybe a minor or subsidiary activity which interferes little with the dominant land use and requires little or nomanagement. As recreational intensity increases, the degree of interference with other uses may alsoincrease, and at the least there will almost inevitably be a need for a management commitment.
Detailed and reliable information on land ownership is difficult to collect. The ownership of many beachcomplexes is divided between several individuals and organisations, and various types of formal andinformal letting or leasing arrangements apply. It is important to emphasise, therefore, that the ensuinganalysis of ownership and tenure is simplified and generalised.
Much of the foreshore (the beach below high water mark) is owned by the Crown, while most of the otherparts of beach complexes are under private ownership. The nature of ownership of the foreshore is of limitedsignificance for recreational purposes. Access is rarely prevented, and cleansing of the most visited beachesis usually carried on by the local authority irrespective of ownership. The ownership of the foreshore,however, may be of some significance in relation to the mooring of recreational craft and to sand extraction
51
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
or industrial development. In very general terms, there is an inverse relationship between the degree ofdevelopment of the coastline and the proportion of foreshore which is owned by the Crown. This relationshipis perhaps most clearly demonstrated in relation to southwest Scotland, where most of the foreshore inGalloway remains in Crown ownership while most of the foreshore of the Clyde coast is in private hands.The relationship, however, is by no means simple: pockets of privately owned foreshores occur on stretchesof coastline where Crown ownership is dominant, and vice versa.
The ownership and tenure of the supra-tidal parts of the beach complex are of greater practical significancefor land use and management. The distribution of ownership and tenure is indicated in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2 Ownership and tenure (percentage distribution)
All beaches Mainland beaches Island beaches
Private (owner-occupied) 47.0 53.5 41.4
Local Authority 12.3 22.3 3.5
State 6.0 6.0 2.6
Croft 7.6 3.3 12.4
Common grazing 16.3 4.7 28.5
Other tenanted 5.7 3.0 8.2
Other or not known 5.0 7.3 2.9
Private ownership is clearly dominant, in both mainfand and islands, and accounts for just under half of all
beaches. This category is defined as excluding privately owned fand under crofting tenure or leased to a
tenant, but it nevertheless encompasses a wide range of types of ownership. The most common type is that
involving a single owner, where the beach complex lies within a farm or estate. Around three-quarters of the
privately owned beaches are in the hands of individuals, and the remainder are owned by companies or
clubs. Two main types of company may be identified. One is concerned with industrial development or sand
extraction, while the other has interests in tourism or recreation, often in the form of caravan sites or holiday
villages. Both these forms of company ownership are unimportant in terms of national percentages, but at
the local level they may be of some considerable significance. This importance extends both to landscape
effects, which may be considerable, and to broader questions of access. Where industrial development or
the development of commercial tourist facilities occurs, then access for the general public may be restricted
or prevented. A few beaches, mainly in the lowlands, are affected in this way. Access problems are not
confined to company-owned beaches, but the proportion of company-owned beaches where access
problems have arisen is greater than in the case of individually owned areas.
Another sub-category of privately owned beaches is that involving golf clubs. As in the case of the wider
category of privately owned beaches, club ownership of a beach area is usually incidental to the ownership
of adjacent areas such as links. Club ownership achieves its greatest frequency near the outskirts of towns
and cities in the lowlands, especially on parts of the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde. De facto access to the
beach is usually possible along the margins of the golf course, but management is understandably geared
to the golf course itself rather than to informal recreation, and problems of trampling and litter have arisen
in a few cases.
52
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
A sizeable and growing proportion of Scotland’s beach areas is owned by local authorities (see Plate 1).In a few cases, such as Ayr and Aberdeen, the area around the beach has been in municipal ownershipfor centuries, but local-authority ownership began to emerge to a significant extent following the Public Parks(Scotland) Act of 1878. From then until the early part of the twentieth century, the landward parts of severalbeach complexes, especially around the Clyde and Forth, passed into public ownership, to be managedfor recreational purposes. Acquisition was frequently followed by the construction of promenades, gardensand play areas, with low dunes sometimes being levelled off and sown with grass. The landward parts ofmost urban beaches are now under the ownership of local authorities, usually the district councils.
In a few localities, district councils also control a number of rural beaches. Such control is usually related tothe energetic promotion of positive coastal policies on the part of the council (or its predecessor). The mostnotable example is provided by East Lothian. In a few cases, the regional council, as highways andharbours authority, is also involved in ownership, but in such cases the ownership of near-beach areas isusually incidental to the ownership of other land or structures. In a few cases, regional councils own moreextensive areas of beach land, acquired primarily for purposes of recreation. Examples include Dunnet Bayin Caithness, Balmedie in Grampian Region and also Achmelvich and Clachtoll in Northwest Sutherland,where machair land previously under crofting tenure passed into public ownership so that the rehabilitationof eroded machair might be facilitated. Public ownership involving local authorities usually occurs wherethere are high levels of recreational use (see Section 3.6). It became established either during the growth ofcoastal resorts a century ago, or more recently in response to growing recreational pressures during the late1960s and 1970s.
State ownership is less frequent and less closely geared to recreation. A number of state agencies own landaround beaches, including the Forestry Commission, the Nature Conservancy Council and the Ministry ofDefence. State ownership does not always imply easy public access: footpaths and other attractiverecreational facilities are provided on Forestry Commission land at a number of localities, such as BurgheadBay, Tentsmuir and Luce Sands, but ownership by the Ministry of Defence is usually associated with partialor complete prohibitions on access. Such hindrances to access may be significant locally, as for example atBarry-Buddon and the central part of Luce Sands, but are of little importance at the national scale becauseof the very small number of beach units affected.
Just over one-fifth of Scotland’s beaches are under crofting tenure. By definition, such tenure is confined to theCrofting Counties, and is a much more prominent feature in the islands than on the mainland. Crofting tenuremay be sub-divided into croft land and common grazings. The former is usually individually occupied landwhich has been improved at some time and which may be enclosed, while common grazings are usuallyunenclosed rough pasture. Croft land resembles other tenanted land in several respects in so far as recreationaluse and management are concerned. Many crofters have been able to develop caravan sites on their holdingsas, for example, on the Arisaig-Morar coast. The growth of recreational pressures on common grazings, onthe other hand, has sometimes led to persistent and intractable problems. Communal tenure of the land maynot be conducive to initiative in response to changing conditions, and difficulties are usually encountered ifattempts are made to apportion the land to an individual or to resume it out of crofting tenure so thatrecreational developments may proceed. This form of tenure is associated with some of the most fragile anddynamic beach units, and effective management in some cases has been delayed until the areas in questionpassed into public ownership. Again, problems of this type, although severe locally, are not of outstandingsignificance at the national level. Only 8% of the mainland beaches are subject to crofting tenure, and theytend to be located in more remote parts of the country where recreational use is generally light.
53
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Nationally, the patterns of ownership of beach areas change only slowly: the most significant trend over thelast century has been the slowly growing proportion of public ownership, and this trend may well continueinto the foreseeable future. Changes of ownership within the sectors listed in Table 3.2 may be of equal orgreater importance for beach use and management. A change from private ownership where the mainmotive is related to agriculture to one where the main interest lies in tourist enterprises, for example, may beat least as important as a cross-sectoral change of ownership. Over the last twenty years, a number oftransfers of ownership have occurred prior to the development of large caravan sites or holiday villages.Another kind of change which is potentially significant is of the size of the unit of ownership. In somecountries on mainland Europe, the fragmentation of land holdings on the coast, which is often associatedwith the development of holiday homes, has posed severe problems for coastal planning and management.Fragmentation of this type is not at present a serious problem on the Scottish coast, and it may be that thedevelopment-control policies of the local authorities are capable of controlling any problems which mightemerge as a result of tendencies towards fragmentation. But planning and management for the public interestalso inevitably become more difficult if ownership is fragmented into numerous tiny patches, and themonitoring of land transactions in the coastal zone may be a useful adjunct to coastal planning.
An interesting trend in recent years has been the growing use of management agreements. These aresometimes informal and involve little more than an agreement by the local authority to cleanse andperhaps mow small areas of otherwise unused privately owned land between road and coast as, forexample, in Wigtown District. In other cases such agreements are more formalised, and involve both agreater provision of recreational facilities and a greater intensity of management for recreational purposes.Agreements of this type are mainly confined to lowland beaches and are most numerous in East Lothian. Asyet very few access agreements under the Countryside (Scotland) Act) have been negotiated for sandbeaches. While access per se is not a widespread problem, these agreements provide a basis for agreeingarrangements for adequate management, and it seems possible that increased use may be made of themin the future. It is also possible that formal management agreements may become more widely used tools ofcoastal management. If management agreements (whether formal or informal) do become more widelyemployed, the relative importance of landownership in coastal land use and planning may decrease, andrecreational use and management may be accommodated more easily on privately owned coastal land.While public ownership will probably remain essential around the intensively used urban beaches,management agreements may prove to be useful tools on the margins of towns and in the more intensivelyused rural areas.
3.3 Scenic quality
Many of Scotland’s beaches are located in parts of the country where landscape quality is high. More thanhalf of the beach complexes are in the Highlands and Islands which are renowned for their scenery.Although the setting of the lowland beaches may be less spectacular, the lowland coastline is usuallyattractive in its own right, and at the local or regional scale it is a landscape component whose relativevalue is enhanced by proximity to urban and industrial development.
The attractiveness of a beach complex depends on a number of factors. One of these is the beach itself,where an important attribute is sediment composition. Beaches composed of pure sand are often regardedas more attractive than those where sand occurs alongside pebbles or other sediments. The extent of thesand, however, may be relatively unimportant. Very long beaches may lack contrast and visual interest
54
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
compared with shorter stretches of sand interrupted or enclosed by rocks. Another important attribute of abeach is the colour of the sand: pale or white sand is probably regarded more favourably than sand of agreyish or indeterminate hue. Pure sand beaches, of a pale colour and enclosed by rocks or cliffs, are foundmainly in the Highlands and Islands, and especially on the west coast of Lewis and Harris, Tiree and otherArgyll islands, and northwest Sutherland. Many of these beaches are composed of shell sand and areassociated with machairs whose bright green summer colours contrast with the greys, browns and duns ofthe surrounding terrain. Likewise these smooth, grassy swards contrast with the rougher textures ofneighbouring rock and bogs. The attractiveness of the contrasts in colour and texture between the beachcomplex and its setting is further enhanced by hilly or mountainous backdrops. Where there is a pronouncedvertical element in the landscape, the scenic quality is often high.
Highly valued elements of beach form, beach materials and setting thus tend to coincide in parts of theHighlands and Islands. The main concentrations of beaches of the highest scenic quality are in west Harrisand southwest Lewis, in northwest Sutherland, and in Islay and Colonsay. In addition, many of the beachcomplexes in these areas are almost untouched by built development. Although they have not totally escapedthe hand of man, they seem to conform to the stereotype of the idyllic, unsullied beach, and their perceivedscenic quality is probably further enhanced by their untarnished atmosphere and remoteness.
But outstandingly attractive beach complexes are not confined to parts of the Highlands and Islands. Mostof the lowlands may lack the amplitude of relief which contributes so strongly to the quality of the setting ofmany of the beaches in the Highlands and Islands, but a setting in a bold cliffline or wooded backdrop mayat least partly compensate. Most of the major sectors of mainland coastline contain highly attractive cliff-footbeaches: in the northeast there are examples such as Aberdour Bay; in the southeast there is Seacliff, andin the southwest Knock and Killantringan Bays. A backdrop of trees may contribute forcefully to atmosphereand scenic quality as well as to shelter. Beaches in wooded settings are rare in Scotland and have a scenicquality of their own. Burghead Bay, Culbin Sands and Littleferry on the east coast combine a backdrop ofconiferous forests with more distant Highland views. In the southwest, Cardoness Shore has an uniquecombination of rock-interrupted sand, a frame of woodland and a backdrop of hills of granite moorland.
Elsewhere, it is noticeable that the Highland beaches where woodland constitutes a strong landscapeelement as in the cases of Gairloch (Wester Ross), Sandaig (W. Inverness-shire) and Dorlin (Moidart) aredistinguished by their high scenic quality. Beaches composed of shell sand and associated with woodlandor mountains are amongst the most attractive visually, especially if these attributes coincide with intricacy ofcoastline and seascapes involving loch, strait and island.
Association with woodland and intricacy of coastline are attributes which are not confined to Scotland:similar settings are found in Scandinavia and Iberia, for example. On the other hand, beaches composedof white shell sand and associated with rich green machair enclosed by hilly moorland are less widelydistributed in Europe, although they are more numerous in Scotland than the woodland type. OutwithScotland, their main concentration is on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. At the international level, therefore, themost distinctive scenic attribute of Scotland’s beaches is that exemplified in the machair beaches of Harris,west Lewis and northwest Sutherland.
Although beach complexes of the highest scenic quality are relatively few in number and are mainly but notexclusively confined to the Highlands and Islands the overall quality is high when judged at a British or
55
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
European level. Beaches where industry or other man-made features seriously detract from scenic quality are
few in number and are mainly confined to small parts of the Clyde and Forth coasts. Many of the beaches
on open-coast settings at first seem rather bleak and monotonous, at least in poor weather, but on the other
hand their spaciousness may be for some visitors a positive feature. Many similar beaches on the other side
of the North Sea have given rise to popular resort developments: if located nearer large urban populations,
many of the lowland open-coast beaches would be valued much more highly for recreational purposes.
Fine beaches are well represented in National Scenic Areas, even although these designated areas
generally include the coast as an element of a more extensive tract of countryside. This correspondence is
most clearly defined in Harris and southwest Lewis and in northwest Sutherland, but is not confined to these
areas. The most attractive beaches on the Solway, such as Cardoness Shore, lie within an NSA, as do those
on the west coast of the south mainland of Shetland, Moidart and north Ardnamurchan, south Jura and much
of Wester Ross from Gairloch northwards. Around three-quarters of the beach complexes of top scenic
quality at the national scale are within land defined as National Scenic Areas. The only major exceptions
are Sandwood Bay and the Oldshoremore group near Cape Wrath, some of the beaches on Colonsay and
Islay, and isolated cases such as Garry in northeast Lewis and Port Carrick on the Clyde coast.
On the other hand, it does not follow that every beach within an NSA is of uniformly high scenic quality in
its own right. The beaches of Rhum, for example, are of modest quality even if their setting is outstanding.
This applies also to some of the Skye beaches and to a few in Wester Ross, where the beach materials are
other than white shell sand.
Just as there is a disparity between the distributions of population and beaches in Scotland, so also there is
a disparity between the most scenic beaches and population. The most attractive beaches are, in general
terms, in relatively remote, sparsely populated areas. It may be the case that remoteness has helped to
protect some of them from development pressures which would pose a threat to their scenic quality. On the
other hand, most of the top-ranking mainland beaches are relatively intensively used for recreation as, for
example, in the cases of northwest Sutherland and parts of the Solway. Compared with the most attractive
beaches in some of the remoter parts of Scotland, those in most parts of the lowlands are perhaps of only
modest scenic quality. Most of them, however, are attractive recreational environments. The average level of
scenic quality is high: there are few unattractive beaches and many of outstanding beauty on the
international scale as well as on the national.
3.4 Nature conser vation
The coast is a zone of prime interest for nature conservation. Many coastal vegetation communities are less
strongly modified than their counterparts inland where agriculture and other forms of land use have been
practised for centuries. The landforms (which form the foundations for biological habitats) are often dynamic,
and there is often physiographical and geological interest displayed on the coast. Nature conservation
interest is reflected in the various designations which have been made of parts of the coastline and, in
particular, by the relative frequency of these designations as compared with the country as a whole.
Nationally, just under 9% of the land area is in designated sites for nature conservation, but approximately
27% of Scotland’s beach complexes lie wholly or partly within designated areas.
56
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
The most frequent form of expression of conservation interest is the notification (to the land owner andplanning authorities) of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Beaches so classed are widely distributed, butare especially frequent along parts of the outer coast of the Firth of Clyde, the Solway east of Wigtown Bay,East Lothian and east Fife, the Grampian coast between Buckie and Fraserburgh, and in Easter Ross andeast Sutherland. The main effects of this notification are in relation to planning applications, on which theadvice of the Nature Conservancy Council must be sought, and in the specification to the owner or occupierof a range of management operations affecting the scientific interest of the site on which consultation isrequired with the Council. Approximately 9% of beach complexes are in SSSIs classed by the Council asGrade 1 or Grade 2. These key sites are widely distributed, but lie mainly outwith the central belt. Most ofthe major sectors of the coastline have some key sites, but they are rather more numerous on the Solway andMoray Firth coasts than elsewhere.
Beach areas designated as National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are even smaller in number and extent. Lessthan 2% of Scotland’s beach complexes are in National Nature Reserves. The island of Rhum, which isowned by the Nature Conservancy Council, accounts for three of these beaches. Others are widelyscattered from the Monach Isles and part of South Uist in the west to Tentsmuir and Forvie in the east. Wherethe NNR is under the ownership of the Nature Conservancy Council, management may be solely orprimarily for purposes of nature conservation, but in the cases of NNRs in private ownership the sites areusually subject to management and use for a number of purposes of which nature conservation is only one.A number of nature reserves have been established by voluntary bodies, such as the Scottish Wildlife Trustand the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Examples involving beaches include part of the Loch Fleetbeaches and Handa in Sutherland, and Horse Island in the Firth of Clyde.
The safeguarding of key sites for biological conservation has been furthered in recent years by thepreparation of the Nature Conservation Review. Parallel work on the Geological Conservation Review,which deals with sites of geological and geomorphological interest, is as yet incomplete. It is very probable,however, that several Scottish beach complexes will rank amongst the key geomorphological sites. Beachcomplexes are amongst the most dynamic of geomorphological systems, and for this quality their scientificinterest is often high. Such sites include outstanding examples of coastal landforms and also areas wherethe physical processes involving beach, dune and machair are highly dynamic. These sites offeropportunities for studying the forms and rates of development of beach complexes. As well as being ofintrinsic scientific interest, such research is also likely to be productive for the management and use of beachcomplexes. Examples of beach complexes which are of outstanding geomorphological interest include theMorrich More (Easter Ross), Invernaver (North Sutherland) and parts of the western seaboard of Uist in thenorth and west of Scotland, as well as Strathbeg and Forvie (both in the vicinity of Peterhead), Tentsmuir(near St Andrews) and Luce Sands (near Stranraer) in the east and south. These sites are distinguished bytheir extent, complexity and dynamism. It is noticeable that many of them are also outstanding for thebiological interest. This coincidence is not the result of pure chance; the variety of component parts in thegeomorphological assemblages of the outstanding beach complexes supports a rich diversity of habitats.
Because beach complexes tend to be dynamic in nature, questions may arise as to the desirable level ofmanagement for conservation; if a feature is undergoing rapid (natural) change, is the goal of managingchange a desirable one? But if change extends to a state of degradation, the end result may be a wideextent of bare and sterile sand which may be of little value for any use. In many cases, therefore, long-terminterests in practical land use and nature conservation may coincide.
57
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
3.5 Land use
Beach complexes are used for a wide variety of purposes. Some recreational use is made of almost everybeach in the country, as will be discussed more fully in Section 3.6. In some cases, the intensity ofrecreational use is such that it is the primary or even the sole use as, for example, in the resort beaches ofthe lowlands. It is more usual for recreation to co-exist with agriculture or other uses of beach complexes, atleast in their landward parts.
Grazing
Grazing is by far the most widespread of the non-recreational uses and occurs at almost every blown-sandarea in the Highlands and Islands and at over two-thirds of all the beach complexes in Scotland. The pattern,form and impact of grazing vary from place to place. In general terms, the more remote or inaccessiblemachairs are grazed by sheep only and are subject to little direct management. In many instances, themachair grazings are not physically enclosed from the surrounding rough grazings and grazing pressureson the sweet machair grasses may be high although overall the local grazing intensity is low. Many machairsin the Highlands and Islands form parts of common grazings. Grazing usually occurs the whole year round,but in some cases where the machair is close to the township it is confined to the winter half of the year.Cattle grazing occurs in over half of all beach complexes and over 60% of those with dunes, links ormachairs. It tends to be associated with rather less remote areas than those subject only to sheep grazingand it is relatively most important in areas such as Orkney, parts of the Argyll islands and the Clyde coastas well as on some of the more rural beach complexes on the east coast. Cattle grazing is less stronglyassociated with crofting tenure than sheep grazing, and it is usually found on links held as part of owneroccupied or tenanted farms. The areas so used are usually fenced and subject to greater management inputsthan in the cases where there is extensive sheep grazing.
Most machairs and many links have been subjected to grazing for many decades and probably forcenturies. The ubiquity of the practice is such that its significance is difficult to assess in light of the paucityof ungrazed beaches which may be used for comparison. It is usually assumed that grazing is likely toreduce the stability of vegetated blown sand by reducing vegetation cover. Its significance depends on thesetting and dynamism of the beach complex and on its intensity and duration. Light seasonal grazing has alesser effect than intensive year-round grazing. Secondary effects of treading, trampling and rubbing bygrazing animals may be as significant as the primary effect of grazing itself and, in particular, such effectsmay help to perpetuate small blow outs or areas of bare sand by preventing or delaying revegetation.
In general terms, the magnitude of grazing effects is probably greatest on a number of heavily grazedmachairs lying within common grazings on parts of the northwest mainland and Western Isles. In thesecases, the machair sward is often closely trimmed and presents little barrier to sand blow. Rubbing andburrowing by sheep on deflation faces on these machairs detract further from their stability. The main effectsof grazing by cattle, on the other hand, are probably found on the landward slopes of dunes to which theyhave access. Combinations of grazing and trampling may tend to suppress marram and, depending on siteand intensity, may hasten the development of vegetation resembling that of links, or create bare sandpatches. Rabbits also have both physical and botanical effects. Patches of bare sand around their burrowsmay be exploited by wind erosion and, on machairs where rabbit densities are high, there may be a shiftin the floristic composition such that Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), a species unpalatable to rabbits anddomestic stock, becomes locally dominant.
58
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Grazing is probably a major environmental factor and has probably been so throughout historical times. Asyet, little quantitative information is available about its effects on the blown-sand environment, and littleexperimental work has been undertaken. Recently, some experimental work on grazing effects has beencarried out at machair sites as part of the Beach Management Project run by the Countryside Commissionfor Scotland (CCS 1978), and it is hoped that this work can be continued and extended so that thesignificance of grazing on blown-sand substrates may be more fully assessed. Conservation of grazings onlinks and machairs is a desirable goal from a number of viewpoints, and especially from the agriculturalone. In the north and west, the lime-rich machairs are usually of much higher grazing value than thesurrounding acid moorlands, while in other parts of the country the free drainage and shelter associated withmany dunes and links are useful assets for the wintering of cattle. Grazing use will probably continue to bethe major use of beach complexes in the foreseeable future and, for this reason quite apart from any others,there is a need for a fuller understanding of its effects on the dynamics of dunes and machairs and for moreexperience of appropriate management regimes.
Cultivation
Although blown sand is not inherently fertile and may pose problems of drought and erosion on cultivation,just over one-quarter of the country’s beach complexes are under cultivation in some form and to some extent.In relative terms, the importance of cultivation is probably greatest in areas such as the Uists and Tiree, whereextensive machair plains have for long been cultivated for cereals and root crops. Cultivation in these areaswas formerly geared mainly towards the production of crops for human consumption, and for many centuriesmachair soils were valued for their lightness and ease of cultivation as compared with neighbouring areasof peaty moorland or rocky ground. Cultivation has contracted markedly even in the relatively short periodsince the Second World War and is now geared largely towards the production of fodder crops, althoughpotatoes are still grown. Cultivation on Hebridean machairs is usually confined to small patches on themachair plain, and the location of these patches may shift from year to year.
The form and characteristics of cultivation on most mainland beach complexes differ in several respects. Thetypical site of cultivation is a raised beach where marine sediments are veneered with blown sand. Theraised beach usually takes the form of a gently sloping bench not exceeding a few hundred metres in widthbetween an old cliffline and the shore. Where the raised beach occupies a narrow bayhead or where it isinaccessible to agricultural machinery, its use may be confined to grazing, but where it is more continuousand more accessible, it is often given over to the production of barley or early potatoes. This kind ofcropping is characteristic of parts of the coastlands of southwest Scotland and is perhaps best developedaround Girvan. On the east coast, where depths of blown sand on the raised beach are sometimes greaterand the soils are excessively dry, cultivation is less extensive.
Cultivation usually precludes other land uses and is of some significance for recreation. Cultivated land isusually enclosed by fences (at least outwith the Uists) and presents an obstacle to beach access. In particular,it may tend to exclude the casual camping or caravanning which is often encountered on unenclosed linksor machairs.
Extraction
Extraction of sand or aggregate takes place on approximately one-fifth of Scotland’s beach complexes. Thesite of extraction may be on the beach itself or on blown-sand deposits. In general terms, sand extraction ismore common on island beach complexes than on the mainland. Some of the more accessible units on the
59
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
major islands have been heavily exploited for sand which has been sought both for agricultural purposesand as a building material. The level of use of shell sand in land reclamation and reseeding work hasfluctuated in recent decades, but the taking of sand for building material has increased in some localities inaccordance with demand from oil-related developments. Large scale sand extraction is principallyassociated with some beach complexes in Orkney, Shetland and, to a lesser extent, Lewis. It is not confinedto the more distant islands, however, and some beaches on the Clyde coast (for example Brodick andGirvan) and elsewhere have been seriously affected. If extraction rates from the beach exceed natural ratesof sand supply, the taking of sand is likely to lead to accelerated erosion of the coastal edge. Extractionfrom pits in dunes or machair may avoid this problem, but this can result in unsightly and possibly dangerouspits and perhaps in modifications to the water table. Extraction pits are sufficiently large or noticeable to beregarded as adverse features on approximately 16% of all beach complexes, as Table 3.3 indicates.
Table 3.3 Extraction pits as adverse features
Beach complexes (percentages)
All Mainland
Absent 84 88
SeverityLow 10 9
Present: Medium 4 2High 2 1
Although the number of beach complexes seriously affected by extraction may be relatively low, the effectsare usually of major significance. The taking of sand or aggregate may lead to irreversible changes in thebeach environment and, unless matched to natural rates of sand supply (which are seldom known withprecision), is a damaging use which inevitably leads to the consumption of the resource. In the long-term,sand extraction from dunes and machair is incompatible with most other uses and it is of particular concernsince it is usually the most accessible beach units which are so affected.
Industry
Industrial land use is confined to around 4% of Scotland’s beach complexes. In the few cases where itdoes occur, its practical importance in relation to landscape and other uses may be disproportionately large.At a few localities, industrial plant dominates the beach unit visually to the detriment of the quality ofthe recreational environment, and in others almost the whole of the landward part of the beach complexis occupied by factories or similar buildings. The industrial use of beach complexes is stronglyconcentrated along short stretches of coastline on the Clyde and Forth coasts and at Aberdeen. Recreationaldemand in these areas is high because of the large local populations. A wide range of types of industryis found on beach complexes, but chemical and fertiliser plants are prominent, often associated withlarge structures which cannot readily be landscaped, and in some instances with smoke or other formsof pollution.
Military use
Military use occurs in 3% of the country’s beach units. This type of use usually precludes recreation and other
forms of land use, but it is unusual for a whole beach complex to be reserved for military purposes. Beach
60
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
complexes in military use tend to be larger than average and some of them are of outstanding scientific interest.
Examples include the Morrich More on the Dornoch Firth which is used as a bombing range, and Luce Sands
in Wigtown District which is used for bombing and weapons training. Other examples are Black Dog near
Aberdeen and Barry Buddon near Dundee, both of which are firing ranges. The degree of impact arising from
military use varies considerably. m e amount of earth moving and other changes effected on firing ranges is
usually fairly slight, but at Luce Sands large expanses of dune terrain have been levelled and grassed over in
order to facilitate the retrieval of weapons. Several other beach complexes, such as Irvine Bay at Dundonald,
were formerly used for military purposes and, although there is no longer a military presence, the signs of
military use, in the form of buildings and other structures, are still visible.
Table 3.4 Industrial and mili tar y installations as adverse features
Beach Complexes (percentages)
All Mainland
Absent 90 83
SeverityLow 6 10
Present: Medium 1 2High 3 5
Table 3.4 indicates the proportion of beach complexes judged to be adversely affected by industrial ormilitary installations. The proportion is higher than the occurrence of present-day industrial and military usewould suggest and it is clear that the mainfand beaches, where accessibility is easiest and recreational valuegreatest, are disproportionately affected.
Forestry
Commercial forestry is practised at only a few beach complexes, notably on the south shores of theMoray Firth and at Tentsmuir (Fife). The extensive plantations at these localities date mostly from the inter-war period and, at sites such as Culbin, afforestation was carried out in an effort to stabilise mobile sanddunes. Most forests on beach complexes are under the ownership of the Forestry Commission, but a few,such as at Shell Bay in Fife, are under private ownership. Like military use, forestry is usually associatedwith large beach complexes where there are extensive dunefields. On the other hand, forestry rarelyexcludes recreational use and, indeed, positive provision of picnic sites, car parks and other recreationalfacilities has been made in state forests at the coast. In some instances, the attractiveness of thebeach environment has been enhanced by afforestation which has resulted in a type of beach setting whichis rare in Scotland compared with some other parts of Europe (see Section 3.3) and mobile dunes havebeen stabilised. Care will be required when felling begins because dune grasses have generally beenexcluded under the shade of dense forest canopies and unprotected sand surfaces will be susceptible towind erosion.
Other aspects of land use
Various other land uses, although usually confined to very small areas, may have significant effects on the
beach environment. The tipping of refuse or rubble is carried on in about 20% of all beach complexes.
61
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
While the temptation to use open, uncultivated land for such purposes may be strong, the practice is usually
deplorable. Even if the waste material is partly buried, it may be exhumed by erosion of the coastal
edge or by blow outs, and so may give rise to unsightliness and possibly to danger. Material eroded from
tips may be transported longshore to affect localities at some distance from the site of tipping. This happens
on the Clyde coast north of Ayr, for example. There may be a case for controlled tipping of rubble or
similar materials at some beach units, but in general terms the practice disfigures the beach environment and
is best avoided.
Discharging effluent pipes are to be found on approximately 13% of all beaches and on 21% of mainland
units. Their impact on the beach environment varies greatly: in some cases they are inconspicuous and
inoffensive; in others several pipes scar the beach in close proximity to each other. ln some instances the
pipes discharge below low water mark, but in others they terminate at or above high water mark and
discharge offensive material across the beach. By their nature, the distribution of discharging pipes is
associated with settlements and they are most prominent in the vicinity of urban beaches. Obvious signs of
physical pollution by sewage or other materials were (during survey in the 1970s) clearly displayed on
about 11% of all beaches and 20% of mainland units, again with a strong correlation with the more
populated parts of the coastline. Problems of discharging pipes and of beach pollution have usually been
inherited from last century or the early part of this century. Local authorities and the agencies concerned are
usually keenly conscious of the problems which are usually extremely costly to overcome. Progress is being
made in some of the most severely affected areas, such as parts of the Clyde coast, but a complete solution
or elimination of the problem is unlikely to be achieved within the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the
problems arising from pollution usually attain their greatest severity on some of the most popular beach units,
but they are not confined to such units and a few rural and island beaches are also affected to some extent.
3.6 Recreation
The recreational use of beach complexes takes various forms, ranging from the traditional summer visit to the
beach itself to golf and camping and caravanning on the links or machair. Intensity of recreational use also
varies greatly with almost unvisited beaches in some parts of the country contrasting sharply with those which
may be visited by several thousand people on a single day. A minority of beach units offer facilities for
organised recreation, but a vast majority have some informal recreational use.
Patterns of informal recreational use of beach complexes are difficult to investigate in the absence of statistics
on visitor numbers. It is clearly impractical to attempt to monitor visitor numbers at each of the 647 beach
units throughout the year, and recourse has been made to the use of estimates based on occasional counts.
A simple five-class framework for summer visitor numbers was used, ranging from 0–4 visitors per day at
one end of the scale to over 500 at the other*. The distribution of recreational use, using this framework,
is indicated in Table 3.5.
62
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Table 3.5 Distribution of recreational use
Beach complexes (percentages)
No. of visitors/day All beaches Mainland beaches
Under 5 29 10
5–25 22 16
26–100 28 33
101–500 15 28
Over 500 6 12
*These figures exclude participants in activities such as golf: they relate to numbers taking part in informal recreationon the beach or in its immediate vicinity. They also relate to good summer weather.
As might be expected, the patterns of recreational use for all beaches differ from those of the mainlandbeaches only. Almost one third of Scotland’s beaches are estimated to have fewer than five visitors per dayin summer. Compared with England and much of mainland Europe, both the proportion and absolute numberof almost unused beaches are high. In this respect, Scotland may resemble lreland and Norway, but on theEuropean scale this pool of almost unused beaches, which in some cases may be regarded almost aswilderness beaches, is a rare asset. The majority of almost unused beaches are on the islands, especiallyon the smaller islands which lack car ferries and other means of easy access. Of the others, several are inthe more remote and inaccessible parts of the Highlands, but most other parts of the country have occasionalexamples (see Plate 2). The main concentration is on the south shore of the Moray Firth, and the group thereincludes both a few long beaches, such as Whiteness Head, and smaller cliff-girt units, such as Findlaterand Whyntie Head. Beaches in the lowest category of intensity of use are almost invariably some distancefrom roads, and they are usually small and little publicised. In a few cases, access is prevented by militaryuse or for other reasons, but in most cases there are no barriers to access if the visitor is prepared to walksome hundred metres from a public road. Those who do so will usually be rewarded by the privacy affordedby the absence of other recreational parties and by a beach environment on which the hand of man hasfallen relatively lightly.
Most of the beach units estimated to have in excess of 500 visitors per day during peak season are closeto urban areas. The major concentration is on the east side of the Clyde coast and on parts of the Firth ofForth and Solway, where they are associated with large caravan sites and holiday villages. The most usedbeaches in the Highlands are near major resorts, such as Dornoch, Oban and Nairn, or close to busyroadsides or large caravan sites in rural areas such as Wester Ross. The most used beaches are all on themainland, except for two cases on Bute and Cumbrae which closely resemble their counterparts on theneighbouring mainland coast of the Firth of Clyde. At peak periods many of the most used class of beacheshave visitor numbers well in excess of the lower class limit of 500. Beach populations at localities such asAyr may reach three or four thousands, and the duration of high usage, on both the annual and diurnalscales, is often much longer than on more lightly used units. Esplanades and promenades on the main urbanbeaches attract recreational use far into the evening and there is also a much higher level of winter use thanin most rural beaches. Although no figures are available on daily totals at beaches, it may be speculatedthat the most heavily used beaches have visitations that are at least four orders of magnitude higher than atthe least used class. In terms of annual numbers of visitors, figures range from over 100,000 at some townbeaches to a mere handful at some remote island units.
63
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Between one-quarter and one-third of the mainland beaches are estimated to fall in the next class of beaches(101–500 visitors per day) compared with only one-seventh of all beaches. The majority of beaches in thisclass are on the Clyde and Forth coasts, but there are also others in less populated parts of the Highlandsand in such cases there is usually a strong association with easy accessibility or with caravan sites. Fortyper cent of mainland beaches are estimated to receive over 100 visitors per day, as compared with 21%of all units. Conversely, around one-quarter of mainland beaches are estimated to have fewer than 26visitors per day, compared with approximately half of all units. The strength of the relationship betweenaccessibility and intensity of use is illustrated in Table 3.6 where estimated day recreation class is crosstabulated against distance from public road. The table relates to all beaches, including those on islands.
Approximately 10% of all beaches have been provided with some forms of recreational facilities, such asshelters, putting greens or play areas. These facilities are associated mainly with urban beaches and in mostcases such provision has existed in some form for several decades. There is a strong degree of correlationof this kind of facility with the most heavily used beaches, but some of the beaches which have becomeheavily used in the post-war period – for example, some of the intensively used Highland beaches – do nothave a typical set of urban beach facilities.
Table 3.6 Estimated day recreation (visitors per day)
No. of Distance from public roadVisitors Under 100m 100–1000m Over 1000m
0–4 21 30 46
5–25 16 24 30
26–100 32 28 18
101–500 20 14 4
Over 500 11 3 1
(Figures are percentages of beaches in each class)
Almost all the more heavily used units have been provided with basic services, such as toilets and litter bins.Approximately one-quarter of all units have the former facility and over one-third the latter. While thesefacilities have been available in most urban beaches for many years, their provision outwith the main resortshas been mainly during the 1960s and 1970s. Litter bins may be provided cheaply, but the constructionand maintenance of toilets are often the most costly items of expenditure in rural beach management.
Like informal day recreation, caravanning and camping are carried on in varying forms and at varyingintensities. Licensed sites for static or touring caravans have been developed on some beach complexes,while caravanning at other beaches is on a casual basis with no provision of facilities. Some form ofcaravanning takes place on approximately 20% of beach complexes. In just over half of these cases,licensed sites have been developed. Static caravans account for the greater part of the capacity of theselicensed sites, but most of them also cater for touring vans. Approximately 30% of the licensed beach siteshave approved capacities of 30 or fewer units and almost two-thirds may accommodate up to 100caravans. On the other hand, there are several large caravan sites with capacities of over 300 units, andone can take up to 600. Most of the large sites are in the lowlands, especially on the Clyde coast wherestatic caravans offer a sizeable amount of self-catering accommodation close to beaches. Parts of the coastsof the Moray and Solway Firths are also characterised by large licensed sites.
64
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Some unlicensed sites are still in operation, but most of the caravanning which takes place outside licensedcaravan parks is in the form of so-called wild caravanning, where few if any facilities are provided. Wildcaravanning is not a major problem in the beach and dune areas of Scotland. It can be a problem locally(especially on some islands) where there is a degree of tourist pressure but an apparent lack of approvedcaravan facilities. The main adverse impart of such use is vehicle tracks, which in a very few cases havebeen exploited by wind erosion. It appears that most of the areas exploited for casual camping andcaravanning are either under-utilised by other forms of land use or lack close contact or supervision.
In recent years, a number of chalet developments have been located on beach complexes, althoughdevelopment control policies have been generally restrictive, as with caravan sites. The number of beachcomplexes that have been affected by chalet developments is small and siting is often confined to thelandward margins of the beach complex. On the other hand, some of the beaches on the Clyde and Forthcoasts and in parts of Galloway have holiday huts or shacks dating back to the 1930s. These are sometimeslocated in conspicuous positions close to the coastal edge, and in some cases have fallen into seriousdisrepair. In the majority of cases, these shacks predate planning controls and the problem which theyconstitute in the beach landscape cannot easily be resolved.
Although the Scottish coastline has not been without problems arising from the development of caravan sitesand similar holiday accommodation, these problems have usually been on a relatively small scale and haveusually been localised along a few parts of the coastline. For the most part, Scotland has been free from thepressures that have led to the development of extensive coastal caravan sites along parts of the coastline ofEngland and Wales. In a few parts of the country, most of the accessible beaches may have beendeveloped to some extent for caravanning, but these developments are rarely continuous and arecomplemented by long stretches of undeveloped beaches along other parts of the coastline.
One of the most common elements of land use on beach complexes in the lowlands and in some parts ofthe Highlands is the golf course. Golf courses exist at approximately 12% of beach complexes. Many milesof coast are occupied by golf links whose typical setting is the lower part of the dune backslope and thepost-glacial raised beach. Golf links are especially frequent on the east side of the Firth of Clyde and onthe south side of the Firth of Forth, as well as in parts of Angus and on the coast north of Aberdeen. Thestandard and levels of management are usually high, and potential threats to stability, such as rabbits andincipient blow outs, are usually checked quickly. But the seaward part of the foredune ridge is usually outwiththe golf course and receives less management although it may be subject to considerable levels ofrecreational use. The typical setting of a links golf course is on the outskirts of a resort or other town. Thetown beach may be used intensively for recreation, but is also intensively managed for that purpose, usuallyby the district council. Towards the outskirts of the town, intensity of management often decreases morerapidly than intensity of recreational use, and symptoms of recreational pressures, such as litter and tramplingdamage, become all too apparent. In localities where these pressures are high. it may be worth consideringwhether access agreements or similar measures could be of value in ensuring both the protection andcontinued use of the beach environment.
Like other land uses carried on in beach complexes, recreation has an impact on the beach environment.The impact is usually stronger on the coastal edge and on the blown-sand deposits than on the inter-tidalbeach and backshore. Although recreational pressures may exert some effects on the beach fauna, and mayalso be manifested in litter, these effects are usually either of a lesser intensity or, alternatively, are more easily
65
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
remedied than those exerted on the landward part of the beach complex where damage resulting fromtrampling is often a noticeable symptom of recreational pressure. The environmental impacts of recreationare difficult to quantify, but an indication of their magnitude may be obtained by scoring their occurrenceon a presence/absence basic and, where present, by further scoring according to low, medium or highseverity. The results of this assessment are illustrated in Tables 3.7 and 3.8.
Table 3.7 Trampling damage
Beach complexes (percentages)
All beaches Mainland beaches
Absent 48 25
Low 30 35Present: Medium 16 26
High 7 15
Table 3.8 Lit ter
Beach complexes (percentages)
All beaches Mainland beaches
Absent 46 21
Low 37 47Present: Medium 15 26
High 3 6
From the tables, it is clear that the environmental effects of recreational use are widespresd and occur tosome extent on most of the mainland beach complexes. The effects become apparent when levels ofrecreational use cross very modest thresholds, but intensity of recreational use is not the only variable whichinfluences them. A key factor is the standard and type of management and, in particular, the provision ofpaved surfaces near the coastal edge. The construction of a seawall and access steps protects the mostvulnerable part of the beach complex which, in the absence of protection, may undergo severe deteriorationwith moderate levels of recreational use. Many of the most intensively used beaches are equipped withdurable access points and benefit from efficient systems of cleansing and litter collection, but the conditionof the flanks of these beaches and of beaches where recreational use has increased sharply during the lasttwo decades may be less satisfactory. Suburban beaches and those in easily accessible rural areas muchvisited by holiday makers may be identified as the main locations suffering from environmental problemsarising from visitation. In the case of the former, most of the trampling damage results from pedestrian use,aggravated in a few instances by motor cycles, whilst in the latter cars and caravans may be at least partlyresponsible. Burnt patches resulting from picnics or barbecues are frequently found in both settings, and areoften associated with cans and broken glass. While the control of incipient blow outs and the removal oflitter and debris is relatively easily achieved in the settings and management structures of urban beaches,they are more difficult to organise for suburban and rural beaches. In some instances, a ranger service hasbeen provided (for example, at Yellowcraig and Balmedie), but all too often the heavy recreational use towhich many suburban and rural beaches are subjected takes place in partial managerial vacuum. Changesin land ownership or control and land management have tended to lag behind changes in land use. Theselags occur both where informal recreational use has been superimposed on pre-existing land uses, such as
66
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
grazing, and where recreational use has been initiated on narrow coastal-edge strips fenced off fromimproved farmland and previously unused for any purpose. This type is more common in the Lowlands thanin the Highlands and perhaps poses even greater problems than the former. In the absence of clearly definedownership, use and management, the coastal-edge strip may quickly deteriorate with the dumping of refuseas well as the onset of recreational pressures. While it has been demonstrated that some of these strips canbecome useful, cheaply managed recreational assets (for example, in Wigtown District), their potentialusefulness has not always been fully realised and reflected in positive management for recreational purposes.
67
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
REFERENCES
Countryside Commission for Scotland (1978). Highland Beach Management Project.
Duffield, B.S. and Long, J. (1976). Series No. 3. The holiday-maker in Scotland. T.R.R.U. Res. Rep. 19,Univ. of Edinburgh.
Duffield, B.S. and Long, J. (1977). Series No. 5. Patterns of Outdoor Recreation in Scotland. T.R.R.U.Res. Rep. 25, Univ. of Edinburgh.
Godfrey, P.J. and Godfrey, M. (1972). A comparison of ecological and geomorphological interactionsbetween an altered and unaltered barrier island system in North Carolina. in Coastal GeomorphologyD.R. Coates (Ed.) Binghampton. pp. 239–258.
Mather, A.S. and Ritchie, W. (1977). The beaches of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. CountrysideCommission for Scotland.
Ritchie, W. (1976). The meaning and definition of machair. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinburgh, 42, pp. 431–440.
Ritchie, W. (1981). Environmental aspects of oil and gas pipeline landfalls in northeast Scotland. Proc. 17thCoastal Eng. Conf. (1980) Am. Soc. Civ. Eng. III, pp. 2938–56.
68
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
APPENDIX 1
Method of wind analysis as used to produce wind roses in Figure 2.4
The method of wind analysis used involves the computation of the direction and relative amount of regionalaeolian sand drift from surface wind data. The approach was suggested by Bagnold (1951) and developedby Fryberger (1979). Winds are evaluated and defined in terms of potential for sand movement by applyinga weighting equation to routine percentage frequency of speed and direction data as provided byMeteorological Office Summaries. The weighting equation has been derived from a modification of theLettau expression to calculate the rate of sand drift from known shear velocities.
q.g/c”p = V* (V*–V*t) (1)
q = rate of sand driftg = gravitational constantc” = empirical constant based on grain diam.p = rho/density of airV* = shear velocityV*t = impact threshold velocity, or minimum shear velocity required to keep sand in saltation.
Additionally C” = C’ (d/d*)n
C’ = universal constant for sandd = mean diam. sand movedd* = 0.25mm (standard size) andn = empirical constant approx. equal to 0.5
Surface conditions, in addition to shear velocity, control the rate of sand drift. These include mean graindiameter, degree of surface roughness, amount and kind of vegetation cover and amount of moisture in thesand. Evolution of these parameters for a large number of localities would be impractical therefore windenergy at various places can be calculated initially using relative quantities of potential sand drift.
Fryberger generalised the Lettau equation thus: q � V2(V Vt) (2)
where V = wind velocity at 10m ht – standard ht.Vt = impact threshold velocity at 10m ht.
A number of assumptions are made in applying this expression:
i) surface of loose quartz sand 0.25–0.3mm diameterii) no vegetationiii) no bedforms larger than ripplesiv) a presumed threshold wind velocity.
This has been determined from Belly’s experimental results for 0.3mm sand and expressed in terms of windspeed at a 10m ht using Bagnold’s formula
Vt (10m) = 5.75 V*t log 2–2 + V’t (3)
69
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
This gives a threshold velocity of 11.6 knots which falls into the 11–16 knot speed category onMeteorological Office Summaries.
Having made these assumptions equation 2 can then be used to produce a number which expresses therelative amount of sand potentially moved by the wind during the time it was presumed to blow – ie actualrates of sand drift cannot be predicted but the method can be usefully employed in regional comparison interms of available wind energy.
By substituting values for equation 2 for each of the wind speed classes weighting factors for each speedclass can be derived. This is illustrated for the lower speed classes used in this method of analysis.
Wind summary Mean velocity V2 (V-Vt) V (V-Vt/100*velocity category
11–16 13.5 182.3 1.5 2.7
17–21 19.0 361.0 7.0 25.3
*numbers divided by 100 to reduce weighting factors to smaller size for convenience of plotting wind roses.
The weighting factors thus represent the rate of sand transport while the % of wind occurrence in thesummaries represents the length of time that the wind was presumed to blow from a given direction at agiven speed, therefore, –
Q � V2 (V Vt)t (4)
t = time wind blew, expressed as a percentageQ = annual rate of sand drift
To evaluate the potential relative sand drift at a station the weighting factor for each speed class is multipliedby its percentage frequency for each direction. This is illustrated from the Leuchars Summary for the lowestspeed class:
Method of computing potential sand drift from percentage frequency wind data using weighting equation(Leuchars Annual Summary 1962–77)
SpeedWeighting
350–00 020–040 050–070 080–100 100–130 140–160Class
FactorKnots % VU % VU % VU % VU % VU % VU
11.6 2.7 1.0 2.7 1.4 3.8 2.4 6.5 2.7 7.3 2.1 5.7 1.0 2.7
SpeedWeighting
170–190 200–220 230-250 260-280 290-310 320-340Class
FactorKnots % VU % VU % VU % VU % VU % VU
11.6 2.7 0.8 2.2 3.0 8.1 9.2 24.8 3.2 8.6 1.6 4.3 0.8 2.2
The amount of potential sand drift for each direction from all speed classes can then be summed and a totalfor each direction produced. These totals can be used to construct a circular histogram or sand rose whichwill represent graphically both the amount of potential sand drift and its directional variability from the twelvecompass directions used in the Meteorological Office Summaries. The arms of a sand rose are proportional
70
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
in length to the potential sand drift from a given direction. The arms point toward the direction from whichsediment moved.
Vector unit totals from the different directions can be resolved into a single resultant – referred to as theresultant drift direction (RDD). This represents the direction to which sand would tend to drift under thecombined influence of winds from the different directions. The magnitude of this direction can be found usingPythagorean theorem and is referred to as the resultant drift potential (RDP).
REFERENCES
Bagnold, R. A. (1951). Sand Formations in Southern Arabia Geographical Journal 117, pp. 78–86.
Fryberger, S. (1979). Dune Forms and Wind Regime, in E. McKee (ed.) A Study of Global Sand SeasUSGS Prof. Paper 1052.
This appendix was kindly provided by Maralyn Robertson-Rintoul.
71
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
1 Gillfoot Bay
2 Mersehead Sands
3 Sandyhills Bay
4 Whiteport
5 Brighouse Bay
6 Carrick Shore
7 Airds Bay
8 Cardoness Shore
9 Newton Bay
10 Mossyard
11 Garlieston
12 Rigg Bay
13 Back Bay
14 Front Bay
15 Monreith Bay
16 Philip and Mary
17 Craignarget
18 Auchenmalg Bay
19 Luce Sands
20 New England Bay
21 Kilstay Bay
22 Drummore Bay
23 Cairngarroch Bay
24 Maryport Bay
25 Portlogan Bay
26 Ardwell Bay
27 Float Bay
28 Knock and Killantringan Bays
29 Broadsea Bay
30 Dally and Dounan Bays
31 Lady Bay
32 The Wig
33 Ballantrae Bay
34 The Whilk
35 Carleton Bay
36 Lendalfoot
37 Ardwell Bay
38 Ardmillan
39 Woodland Bay
40 Girvan
41 Girvan North
42 Dipple
43 Dowhill Port
44 Matthews Port
45 Turnberry Bay
46 Broad Sands
47 Maidenhead Bay
48 Port Carrick
49 Culzean Bay
50 Croy Brae
51 Bracken Bay
52 Heads of Ayr
53 Greenan
54 Doonfoot
55 Ayr South
56 Ayr Newton
57 Prestwick Bay (Prestwick)
58 Prestwick Bay (Troon)
59 South Bay (Troon)
60 Barassie
61 Irvine Bay (Gailes)
62 Irvine Bay (Irvine)
63 Irvine Bay (Ardeer)
64 Stevenston
65 South Bay (Saltcoats)
66 Horse Isle
67 North Bay (Ardrossan)
68 Seamill-Ardrossan
72
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
APPENDIX 2
KEY FOR FIGURE 1.1
69 Seamill South
70 Seamill
71 Ardneil Bay
72 Largs Bowen Craigs
73 Millport
74 Fintray
75 Kilchattan Bay
76 Stravanan Bay
77 Scalspie Bay
78 St. Ninians Bay
79 Etterick Bay
80 Sannox
81 Brodick
82 Lamlash
83 Whiting Bay
84 Kildonan
85 Torrylinn waterfoot
86 Drumadoon
87 Machrie
88 Kilbride
89 Kilfinan
90 Skipness
91 Grogport
92 Carradale
93 Ardnacross
94 Polliwilline
95 Macharioch
96 Brunerican
97 Dunaverty
98 Carskey
99 Lossit
100 Machrihanish
101 Port nam Marbh
102 South Glenbarr – Bellochentuy
103 Muasdale
104 Tayinloan
105 Rhunahaorine
106 Ronachan
107 Dunskeig
108 Loch Stornoway
109 Kilberry
110 Cretshengan
111 Millars Bay
112 Stotfield
113 Ormsary
114 Loch Caolisport
115 Kilmory
116 Bagh na Doide
117 Carsaig
118 Crinan
119 Ganavan
120 Ledaig
121 Tralee Bay
122 Port Ellen
123 Kilnaughton
124 Traigh Bhan Oa
125 Killeyan
126 Laggan Bay
127 Gartbreck-Ardlarach
128 Bridgend
129 Uisgeantuidhe
130 Claddich
131 Lossit Bay
132 Machair Bay
133 Saligo Bay
134 Traigh Bhan
135 Sanaigmore Bay
136 Ardnave
137 Killinallan
138 Bagh an da Dhoruis
139 Ardtala
140 An Doirlinn
73
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)
141 Port Mor
142 Corran
143 Glenbatrick
144 Shian Bay
145 Corpach Bay
146 Glengarrisdale Bay
147 Bagh Gleann nam Muc
148 Tarbert Bay
149 Oronsay
150 Traigh nam Barc
151 Ardskenish
152 Machrins
153 Kiloran Bay
154 Croisebrig
155 Loch Staosnaig
156 Cable Bay
157 Port a Chapuil
158 Traigh Cill Mhic Eoghainn
159 Port Uisken
160 Ardalanish Bay
161 Traigh Gheal
162 Knockvoligan
163 Fidden
164 Fionnphort
165 Traigh Mhor Iona
166 A’Machair Iona
167 North Iona
168 Traigh ant Santachaidh
169 Gribun
170 Calgary Bay
171 Bagh Chrossapol
172 Loch Buie
173 Carsaig Bay
174 Balephuil
175 Bharrapol
176 Greenhill
177 Kilkenneth
178 Hough
179 Sraid Ruadh
180 Bhasapoll
181 Balephetrish
182 Creagan Coast
183 Vaul
184 Salum
185 Caolas Urvaig
186 Brock
187 Gott Bay
188 Scarinish area
189 Baugh Heanish
190 Traigh Bhagh
191 Sorobaidh
192 Hynish area
193 Gunna
194 Caolas Ban
195 Feall Bay/Crossapol Bay
196 Port ant Saoir
197 Hogh Bay
198 Cliad Bay
199 Bagh na Trailleich
200 Traigh Cill Ionnaig
201 Traigh Thorastain
202 Traigh nan Uan
203 Traigh Bhousd
204 Traigh Logabhaisg
205 Traigh Tuath
206 Sorisdale
207 Loch Gorten
208 Loch Breachacha
209 Bagh a Ghallanaich
210 Galmisdale
211 Bay of Laig
212 Camas Sgiotaig
74
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)
213 Kilmory
214 Sahmnan Insir
215 Un-named
216 Tarskavaig
217 Camasunary
218 Glen Brittle
219 Talisker
220 Fiscavaig
221 Coral Beaches
222 Camas Ban
223 Mingulay Bay
224 Pabbay Barra
225 Sandray Main Beach
226 Sandray Sheader
227 Bagh a Deas
228 Vatersay Bay
229 Traigh Varlish
230 Uidh
231 Halaman Bay
232 Borve
233 Allasdale
234 Eoligarry
235 Traigh Scurrival
236 Traigh Cille Barra
237 Fuday
238 Coilleagh Phrionnsa
239 Rhuban
240 South Glendale
241 Smerclett
242 Garrynamonie
243 Kilpheder
244 Daliburgh
245 Frobost and Askernish
246 Milton
247 Bornish and Kildonan
248 Ormaclett
249 Stoneybridge
250 Howmore
251 Eochar to Dremisdale
252 Linique
253 Guallan
254 Southwest Benbecula
255 Culla and Aird
256 Ballivanich
257 Rosinish
258 Baleshare
259 Kirkibost
260 Paible
261 Balranald
262 Tigharry and Hougharry
263 Hosta
264 Scolpaig
265 Foshigarry
266 Vallay
267 Sollas
268 Oronsay
269 Newton
270 Monach Is.
271 Boreray
272 Berneray West Coast
273 Berneray Beasdair
274 Pabbay Chaisteil
275 Pabbay Baile Fo Tuath
276 Killegray
277 Ensay
278 Traigh a Siar
279 Corran Taransay
280 Paible Taransay
281 Northton
282 Scarasta
283 Borvemore
284 Borvebeg
75
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)
285 Nisabost
286 Seilebost
287 Crago
288 Luskentyre
289 Husinish
290 Traigh Mheilen
291 Cravadale
292 Mealasta Island
293 Mealasta
294 Mangersta
295 Carnish
296 Ardroil
297 Traigh na Clibhe
298 Traigh Valtos
299 Traigh na Berie
300 Traigh Mhor (Little Bernera)
301 Un-named (Little Bernera)
302 Bosta
303 Dalmore Bay
304 Dalbeg Bay
305 Barvas
306 Dell
307 Cross
308 Swainbost
309 Eoropie
310 Port of Ness
311 Garry
312 Traigh Mhor Tolsta
313 Giordale Sands
314 Sheilavig Mor
315 Gress
316 Traigh Rebac
317 Coll
318 Tong
319 Melbost
320 Branahuie
321 Ardnamurchan Pt.
322 Sanna Bay
323 Kilmory
324 Achateny
325 Camas an Lighe
326 Cul na Croise
327 Ardtoe
328 Dorlin
329 Back of Keppoch
330 Bunacaimb
331 Traigh
332 Camusdarroch
333 Achaidh Mhor
334 Morar
335 Sandaig
336 Ard Bhan
337 Applecross
338 Sand
339 Redpoint South
340 Redpoint North
341 Opinan
342 Loch Kerry
343 Gairloch
344 Strath
345 Little Sand
346 Seana Chamas
347 Camas Mor
348 Cove
349 Mellangaun
350 Mellon Charles
351 Slaggan Bay
352 Mellon Udrigle
353 Gruinard South
354 Gruinard North
355 Camas a Chruthaith
356 Mungasdale
76
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)
357 Achnahaird Bay
358 Garvie Bay
359 Achmelvich
360 Clachtoll
361 Stoer
362 Clashnessie
363 Scourie
364 Traigh na Teampuill
365 Traigh Shourie
366 Oldshoremore
367 Oldshorebeg
368 Sheigra
369 Sandwood
370 Kervaig Bay
371 Keoldale
372 Kyle of Durness
373 Balnakeil Bay
374 Creag Thairbe
375 Sango Bay
376 Sangobeg
377 Traigh Allt Chailgeag
378 Achininver
379 Talmine
380 Melness
381 Coldbackie
382 Torrisdale Bay
383 Invernaver
384 Farr Bay
385 Armadale
386 Strathy
387 Melvich
388 Sandside Bay
389 Thurso Bay
390 Murkle Bay
391 Dunnet Bay
392 Sannick
393 The Ayre
394 Melberry
395 Rackwick
396 Bay of Creekland
397 Warebeth
398 Bay of Skaill
399 Marwick
400 Birsay
401 Sands of Evie
402 Bay of Meil
403 Sands of Wideford
404 Redbanks
405 Sand of Ness
406 Sand of Beeman
407 Sand of Ouse
408 Sandside Bay
409 Newark Bay
410 Dingyshowe
411 Copinsay
412 Burray Links
413 Ayre of Cara
414 Honeysgeo
415 Newark Bay
416 Sandwick
417 Sand of Wright
418 Scapa Bay
419 Waulkmill Bay
420 Bay of Sandgarth
421 Veantrow Bay
422 Mae Banks
423 Scrimpo
424 Saviskaill
425 Sands of Woo
426 Bay of Tafts
427 Wasbist
428 Garth
77
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)
429 Bay of Tuquouy
430 Mae Sand
431 Bay of Noup
432 Grobust
433 Bay of Skaill
434 The Ouse
435 Pierowall
436 Bay of Brough
437 Bay of Swartmill
438 Northwick
439 Southwick
440 Bay of Moclett
441 Bay of Greentoft
442 Sandyland
443 Sealskerry Bay
444 Sands of Mussetter
445 Sands of Doomy
446 Bay of London
447 Mill Bay
448 Doun Helzie South
449 Doun Helzie North
450 Blackskaill Bay
451 Scar
452 Whitemill Bay
453 Otterswick
454 Bay of Sandquoy
455 Bay of Sowerdie
456 Bay of Scuthvie
457 Bay of Lopness (East)
458 Bay of Lopness (West)
459 Bay of Newark
460 Tresness Bay
461 Sty Wick
462 South Bay
463 Linklett Bay
464 Northness
465 Sand of the Crook
466 Bight of Scarma
467 Inganoust
468 Sand of Rothiesholm
469 Bay of Bomasty
470 Bight of Baywest
471 St. Catherines Bay
472 Stursy
473 Sands of Odie
474 Papa Stronsay
475 Cumley Bay
476 Mill Bay
477 Sumburgh
478 Pool of Virkie
479 Quendale
480 Scousburgh
481 Rerwick
482 St. Ninians
483 Maywick
484 Banna Minn
485 Sands of Meal
486 Sand Voe
487 Reawick
488 Melby
489 The Crook
490 Tussleby Sand
491 Kirk Sand
492 Housa Voe
493 West Ayre Hillswick
494 Sand Voe
495 West Sandwick
496 Brekin
497 Lundawick
498 Burga Sand
499 Burra Firth
500 Wick of Skaw
78
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)
501 Inner Skaw
502 Norwick
503 Balta Island
504 Skeo Taing
505 Huney
506 Sandwick
507 Sand of Sand
508 Wick of Tresta
509 Mid Yell
510 Swarister
511 Gossabrough
512 Lingness
513 Eswick
514 Sand of Sound
515 Gulberwick
516 Sandwick
517 Levenwick
518 Freswick
519 Sinclair’s Bay
520 Kilmote
521 Crakaig
522 Kintradwell
523 Brora Dalchalm
524 Brora South
525 Littleferry – Golspie
526 Coul Links
527 Embo
528 Dornoch North
529 Dornoch South
530 Cuthill Links
531 Morrich More
532 Inver-Arboll
533 Portmahomack
534 Wilkhaven
535 Balintore
536 Nigg
537 Cromarty
538 Rosemarkie
539 Whiteness Head
540 Nairn West
541 Nairn East
542 Culben
543 Findhorn
544 Burghead Bay
545 Cummingstown
546 Hopeman
547 Covesea
548 Stotfield
549 Lossiemoutn East
550 Cullen Bay
551 Findlater
552 Sandend
553 Whyntie Head
554 Boyndie Bay
555 Banff Bay
556 New Aberdour
557 Rosehearty
558 Fraserburgh Bay
559 Inverallochy
560 St. Combs
561 Strathbeg
562 Rattray Head
563 Rattray Bay
564 Kirkton
565 Ugie-Lunderton
566 Peterhead
567 Sandford Bay
568 Cruden Bay
569 Collieston
570 Sands of Forvie
571 Foveran-Drums
572 Menie-Pettens
573 Balmedie
574 Blackdog-Murcar
79
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)
575 Bridge of Don
576 Aberdeen
577 St. Cyrus
578 Montrose
579 Lunan Bay
580 Arbroath
581 Elliot
582 East Haven
583 Carnoustie
584 Barry Sands North
585 Buddon Sands
586 Monifieth
587 Barnhill
588 Broughty Ferry
589 Tayport-Tentsmuir
590 Tentsmuir Point
591 Kinshaldy
592 Leuchars
593 St. Andrews West
594 St. Andrews East
595 Airbow
596 Cambo
597 Balcomie
598 Crail
599 Anstruther Town
600 Anstruther West
601 Elie East Links
602 Elie Wood Haven
603 Elie Centre
604 Earlsferry
605 Shell Bay
606 Largo Bay
607 Largo Town
608 Lundin Links
609 Leven
610 Kirkcaldy
611 Kinghorn
612 Pettycur
613 Burntisland
614 Silversands
615 Peatdraught
616 Fishery Cottage
617 Cramond
618 Portobello
619 Fisherrow
620 Seton-Longniddry
621 Gosford Bay
622 Greencraig Bay
623 Aberlady Bay
624 Gullane
625 Muirfield
626 Longskelly
627 Yellowcraigs
628 Broadsands
629 North Berwick West
630 North Berwick East
631 Milsey Bay
632 Quarrel Sands
633 Carty Bay
634 Seacliff
635 Peffer Sands
636 Ravensheugh Sands
637 Belhaven Bay
638 Dunbar Bathe
639 Dunbar East
640 Whitesands
641 Barns Ness
642 Thortonloch
643 Pease Bay
644 Coldingham Bay
645 Linkim
646 Callercove
647 Eyemouth
80
Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109
Appendix 2 (continued)