Surf spots and live cams in Scotland

• Dunnet Bay Castletown · Beginner · Beach break
  Dunnet Bay is a 3 km sweep of sand and dunes between Castletown and Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of mainland Britain.
• Thurso East Thurso · Advanced · Reef break
  Thurso East is a right-hand reef that breaks in front of Thurso Castle, at the mouth of the Thurso river.
• Brims Ness Thurso · Expert · Slab
  Brims Ness is a rocky point west of Thurso with several powerful reef waves around it.
• Sandside Bay Reay · Intermediate · Reef break
  Sandside is a small bay at Reay, right next to the Dounreay nuclear site.
• Melvich Intermediate · River mouth
  Melvich is a wide, north-facing bay of sand and dunes where the Halladale river reaches the sea.
• Strathy Bay Strathy · Intermediate · Beach break
  Strathy Bay is a small sandy bay between high cliffs, where the Strathy river meets the sea.
• Torrisdale Bay Bettyhill · Intermediate · River mouth
  Torrisdale Bay is a big, wild beach next to Bettyhill, where two rivers, the Naver and the Borgie, flow into the sea.
• Sango Bay – Durness Durness · Intermediate · Beach break
  Sango Bay is a sandy bay between rock stacks below the village of Durness, in the far north-west of Scotland.
• Bay of Skaill Sandwick · Intermediate · Beach break
  The Bay of Skaill is a sheltered half-moon of sand on the west coast of Orkney's Mainland, next to the Neolithic village of Skara Brae.
• Birsay Bay Birsay · Advanced · Reef break
  Birsay Bay is at the north-west corner of Orkney's Mainland, near the tidal island of the Brough of Birsay.
• Eoropie Ness · Intermediate · Beach break
  Eoropie, Eòropaidh in Gaelic, is a beach near the Butt of Lewis at the northern tip of the Outer Hebrides.
• Dalmore Bay Carloway · Intermediate · Beach break
  Dalmore is a sandy bay between rocky headlands on the west coast of Lewis, near Carloway.
• Dalbeg Carloway · Intermediate · Beach break
  Dalbeg is a small sandy cove between cliffs just north of Dalmore.
• Cliff Beach – Uig Uig · Intermediate · Beach break
  Cliff Beach, Tràigh na Clibhe, is a sandy beach in the Uig district of west Lewis.
• Balevullin Tiree · Intermediate · Beach break
  Balevullin is a sandy bay on the north-west tip of Tiree, a flat, windy island in the Inner Hebrides.
• Balephuil Tiree · Beginner · Beach break
  Balephuil is a long sandy bay on the south-west side of Tiree.
• Machir Bay Kilchoman · Intermediate · Beach break
  Machir Bay is a 2 km beach of sand and dunes on the west coast of Islay, below Kilchoman.
• Machrihanish Intermediate · Beach break
  Machrihanish is a 5 km beach on the west side of the Kintyre peninsula, running north from the village to Westport.
• Westport Intermediate · Beach break
  Westport is the north end of Machrihanish Bay, where the A83 meets the coast.
• Lossiemouth – East Beach Lossiemouth · Beginner · Beach break
  Lossiemouth East Beach is a long sandy beach on the Moray Firth, reached by a footbridge over the River Lossie.
• Sandend Intermediate · Beach break
  Sandend is a small bay with a fishing village and harbour on the Moray coast, between Cullen and Portsoy.
• Fraserburgh Intermediate · Beach break
  Fraserburgh, the Broch, has a long beach east of the town with sandbars along its length.
• Aberdeen Beach Aberdeen · Beginner · Beach break
  Aberdeen Beach is the city's long sandy beach, running north from the harbour mouth and Footdee.
• Lunan Bay Montrose · Beginner · Beach break
  Lunan Bay is a wide, east-facing beach of sand and dunes between Arbroath and Montrose, with the ruins of Red Castle above it.
• Belhaven Bay Dunbar · Beginner · Beach break
  Belhaven Bay is a wide sandy bay west of Dunbar, inside the John Muir Country Park.
• Pease Bay Cockburnspath · Beginner · Beach break
  Pease Bay is a small sandy bay below red sandstone cliffs on the Berwickshire coast, just off the A1.
• Coldingham Bay Coldingham · Beginner · Beach break
  This little cove lies near St Abbs on the Berwickshire coast, with a row of beach huts above the sand.

Scotland in the guides

• Surfing in January
  Thurso East and the reefs around Brims Ness on the north coast face straight into winter's north-west groundswell. Cold water and short days keep most line-ups small, though Thurso East gets busy when it fires.
• Surfing in March
  By March the days in the far north are as long as in the south, and the north coast reefs still get solid groundswell. Thurso East is the headline; the beaches around it are usually empty.
• Surfing in April
  April brings long, light evenings and steady spring swells to coasts that are only starting to wake up, from Cornwall and Ireland to Portugal and the Basque Country. The water is still cold, but the season of easy road trips has begun.
• Surfing in May
  May is a sweet spot for intermediates and improvers: the water starts to warm, the swell is steady but rarely huge, and the summer crowds have not arrived yet, from Portugal and north Spain to Cornwall, Wales and Ireland.
• Surfing in September
  Thurso East's season begins as the first north-west groundswells arrive, with about 13 hours of daylight in mid-September.
• Surfing in October
  Thurso East and the reefs of the north coast are in season, with about ten and a half hours of daylight by mid-month.
• Surfing in November
  Thurso East is at its best in the autumn and winter groundswells, but the days are short: about 8 hours of light by mid-month.
• Surfing in December
  Thurso East gets solid winter groundswell, but the day is only about six and a half hours long, so plan around the tide and the light.
• Uncrowded winter waves
  The north coast around Melvich and Torrisdale, and the islands of Lewis and Islay, have powerful beaches and reefs that are usually empty.
• Big waves and expert spots
  Thurso East, a long, powerful right with barrel sections in front of Thurso Castle, often named among the best waves in Europe.
• Scotland and North East England surf trip
  The flagstone reefs and river-mouth bays of the north coast around Thurso, then the Moray coast, Fraserburgh and the beaches of East Lothian and Berwickshire.