COMMISSIONED REPORT

Commissioned Report No. 109

The beaches of Scotland

For further information on this report please contact:

Alistair Rennie Scottish Natural Heritage INVERNESS Telephone: 01463 706450 E-mail: [email protected]

This report should be quoted as:

Ritchie, W. and Mather, A.S. (1984). The beaches of Scotland. Commissioned by the Countryside Commission for Scotland 1984. Reprinted 2005 by Scottish Natural Heritage as Commissioned 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 should not be taken as the views and policies of Scottish Natural Heritage. Please note that all statistics, lists of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, etc are given in the appendix in the project report and some of them may have changed. © Scottish Natural Heritage. First published CCS 1984.

COMMISSIONED REPORT Summary

The beaches of Scotland

Commissioned Report No. 109 Contractor: W. Ritchie and A.S. Mather Reprint: 2005 (originally published 1984)

Background

Beginning in 1969 and ending in 1981, all the sand beaches of Scotland, along with their associated dunes, links and machair areas (thereafter referred to as a beach unit or beach complex), were surveyed for the 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, vegetation and 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 the brief period of fieldwork. The effects of the current types and levels of use were also assessed. The minimum size of beach unit was set arbitrarily at a coastal length of 100m. For some of the vast beach and dune areas 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 and Islands, a comprehensive report (The Beaches of the Highlands and Islands) was published in 1977. From 1978–1981, 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 divided into two main sections which correspond to the remit of the sponsoring body, the Countryside Commission for Scotland. These are the distribution and physical characteristics of the beach and associated blown sand surfaces, 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 and conservation. The purpose of the report is not to make detailed recommendations: rather it is a quantified description of many aspects of one of Scotland’s most widespread and varied natural resources.

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] Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Area covered by Beach reports Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Acknowledgements

The fieldwork that preceded this report was made possible by the financial support of the Countryside Commission for Scotland who also provided valuable guidelines for the direction and content of both the regional survey work and the compilation of this report. Nevertheless, the authors alone are responsible for the 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 their assistance is gratefully acknowledged.

The facilities of the Computing Centre of the University of Aberdeen are also acknowledged, as is the assistance 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

Summary

Acknowledgements

Summary Map

1DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEACH RESOURCE 1

2 THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE 9 2.1 The development of beaches, dunes and related surfaces 9 2.2 The dimensions of beach and dune systems 15 2.3 Machair and links relief patterns 23 2.4 Bare sand areas – erosional and depositional 27 2.5 Beach materials 35 2.6 Vegetation and habitats 41

3 CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE 50 3.1 Accessibility 50 3.2 Ownership and tenure 52 3.3 Scenic quality 55 3.4 Nature conservation 57 3.5 Land use 59 3.6 Recreation 63

REFERENCES 69

Appendix 1 – Calculation of wind roses 70 Appendix 2 – Beach names – Key for figure 1.1 73

List of figures Figure 1.1 Distribution of beaches 2–5 Figure 1.2 Boundaries of local authorities 6 Figure 2.1 Model of beach/dune system 9 Figure 2.2 Beach system flow diagram 10 Figure 2.3 Wind roses for selected meteorological stations 12 Figure 2.4 Mean Spring tidal ranges in metres 14 Figure 2.5 Sketch block diagram near pipeline landfalls 26 Figure 2.6 Histogram of median sand diameters 37 Figure 2.7 Histogram of sand calcium carbonate content 37 Figure 2.8 Typical vegetation profile 47

List of plates Plate 1 Aberdeen 48 Plate 2 Traigh Cille Ionnaig, Coll 48 Plate 3 Balmedie, near Aberdeen 49 Plate 4 View from Ben Hough, Tiree 49

Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

1DISTRIBUTION OF THE BEACH RESOURCE

Sandy beaches are distributed unevenly around the shores of Scotland. They are completely absent from long stretches of coastline, while elsewhere most of the coastline is composed of beaches and dunes. The distribution of beach units, as defined in this study, is illustrated in Figure 1.11. Perhaps the main feature of Figure 1.1 is the large number of beaches on the islands off the west and north coasts. Over half of the beach units are on islands, which account for under 40% of the coastline. Another striking feature is the contrast in distribution between the east and west coasts of the mainland; the majority of beach units are on the east and southwest coasts and there are relatively few units on the north and northwest coasts. The inner firths and estuaries are poorly endowed, while the outer firths and parts of the northeast shoulder of Scotland are characterised by large numbers of beaches.

Table 1.1 indicates the overall size (in terms of length) of the beach resource and shows clear disparities between the major administrative areas whose boundaries are shown on Figure 1.2. In total, beach length extends to around 760km. This figure compares with a total length of coastline of just under 12,000km if measured 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 be recognised. The first of these is the east coast group of Grampian, Tayside, Fife and Lothian, where the beach length is over 20% of coastal length. This percentage is nearly three times the Scottish average.

1 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Figure 1.1.1 Distribution of beaches

2 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Figure 1.1.2 Distribution of beaches

3 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Figure 1.1.3 Distribution of beaches

4 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Figure 1.1.4 Distribution of beaches

5 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Figure 1.2 Boundaries of local authorities

6 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

On the other hand, Central and Highland Regions and Shetland have less than 4% of their coastlines in the form of sand beaches (less than half of the national average). The remaining group – Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, Borders, Orkney and Western Isles – approximate to the national average, with percentages of between 6 and 9.

Within each region, an uneven pattern of distribution occurs. In the Western Isles from Harris southwards, the beaches and machairs of the west coast contrast strongly with the rocky east coast. In Fife and Lothian, most of the beaches are concentrated in the districts of North east Fife and East Lothian. In Strathclyde, Kyle and Carrick District contains 18% of the region’s beach length, but only 3% of the region’s coastline. Another example of the irregularity of distribution is the contrast between the inner parts of firths such as the Firth of Clyde, Forth, Solway and Tay and their outer stretches. Beaches are almost completely absent in the inner sections, but are numerous in the outer. Uneven distribution also extends to the local scale. On islands such as Mull or Islay, for example, clusters of beaches on some parts of the coastline contrast with rocky shores on other parts. In Grampian Region, sand beaches extend continuously for over 20km 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 of bold cliffs.

Distribution depends on a number of factors, of which one of the most important is the availability of a suitable supply of sediment. Glacial deposits on the seabed have probably been a major source of supply in many areas, but it is also noticeable that beaches are scarce (and usually poorly developed) where certain rock types occur. For example, there are few sand beaches on the basalt areas of Skye and Mull. Another factor which influences 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 composed of boulders and cobbles. Local topography is also important. On some parts of the coastline, such as east Caithness and Kincardineshire, the coastal slope is so steep that there are almost no sites where sand may accumulate, 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 discussed more fully in Section 2.2, but as a broad generalisation two main types may be recognised. In much of the lowland area, the typical beach is long and straight, with a prominent dune ridge and an area of links which may rest on a raised beach whose inner margin is defined by an abandoned sea cliff. This type of extensive beach unit is also found in the Eastern Highlands (especially in Sutherland) and, without the raised beach and abandoned cliffline, in Orkney, the Western Isles, and Coll and Tiree. Whereas the typical lowland beach occupies an open coast, the upland type is more usually found in a bayhead. Typical examples occur in northwest Sutherland and Wester Ross, in parts of Argyll and to some extent in Galloway and the eastern part of Lothian and Borders Regions. These upland beaches are typically enclosed between bold rocky headlands, and in many instances their associated areas of blown sand are small and more strongly influenced by the sub-sand topography than their lowland counterparts, which frequently contain extensive areas of links or machair.

Uneven distribution therefore characterises almost all aspects of the beach resource; beach locations, beach lengths, beach types, and forms and extents of blown-sand deposits are distributed very irregularly around the country. Some parts of the coastline are composed almost solely of sand, while other parts are almost devoid 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 by wave action from nearshore sediment banks to the beach. Under certain conditions the wind carries sand landwards 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 coastal management it is necessary to appreciate the main factors that influence the development of dunes, machairs and 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 levels are 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 and related landforms are formed. Like most natural systems, the linkages between different elements may be direct or indirect (Figure 2.2).

These natural coastal processes can be easily disrupted, particularly by external factors such as land-use changes 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 to beach 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 of balance, in that sand added to the beach zone just replaces the quantities that are lost by the wind carrying sand beyond the links and onto the surrounding landforms. This balance cannot be achieved quickly as it takes 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 the coastal dune ridges. In other parts of Scotland the term links is more common. In general, machair and links can be regarded as 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 of the frontal dune or coastal edge. This sensitive zone is normally the best indicator of contemporary dune forming processes. If there is abundant sand on the upper beach, the frontal dune is usually vegetated; the dunes show signs of recent growth in height and are possibly advancing seawards. Dune vegetation is vigorous 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 becomes a steep dune-cliff. The coastal edge is usually bare of vegetation and erosion forms are evident. There is normally 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 waves attacking the face of the dune may be considered. Wave backwash pulls sand from the dune onto the beach. This sand is added to the beach and reduces its gradient, thereby increasing its resistance to wave attack and reducing the frequency of direct wave erosion of the dune face. In contrast, if these changes are not short-term and fluctuating, but relate to longer, more persistent or permanent changes in sand supply, in wave 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 sea levels 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 relative dominance of the tall dune grasses – Marram, Sea Lyme and Sea Couch Grass – are excellent indicators of sand deposition and redeposition and, to some extent, soil and drainage conditions. In the extreme case, the absence 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 an absence of short term erosional processes, such occurrences should be confirmed over the wider beach zone as 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 seasonal changes, 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 types of 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 of youthful development and, if coupled with areas of bare sand, indicate recent or continuing movement of sand by the wind. The most important slope is the front of the foredune where undercutting by the sea, and wind 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 which normally indicate the edge of some kind of deflation surface. Low vegetated sand hillocks or hummocks may usually be interpreted as recent depositional forms. Flat areas at or near the water table are almost invariably old deflation plains where wind erosion has been halted naturally by the dampness of the sand. Some of the best examples of such surfaces are found in the Outer Hebridean machair plains. Corridor and V-shaped depressions 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 coastal dune 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 or completely stabilised. In the lee or landward side of most blowouts are hillocks, ridges and secondary dune forms formed by deposition of the eroded sand. Again, these may be active or fossil features. Blowouts often give a good indication of the direction and possible severity of wind erosion. The amount of blowout activity along with other geomorphological evidence is a good indicator of the general stability of the area. Closer study 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, sand removal and overgrazing tend to be the main disruptive factors but, in places of heavy recreational use, there is often direct impact by trampling and the movement of vehicles. In contrast areas of afforestation have been major stabilising influence on some dune systems eg Culbin (Moray), part of Morrich More (Easter Ross). Other areas of stability are the semi-natural dune and links areas that are carefully managed golf courses or coastal parks and amenity areas for nearby urban areas. A special form of modification is the construction of beach defences 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 to one metre in width) are still present on parts of the lowland coastlines of the east of Scotland – eg Burghead Bay (Moray), Tentsmuir (Fife), Largo Bay (Fife). The effects of these and other beach/dune constructions are discussed in Chapter 2.7, but it is worthwhile to note here that as well as their visual impact they can also affect 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 only control the general drift of sand from beach to dune, but also from dune to links and machair surface. Winds also shape the size and orientation of dune and other forms of sand deposition. Figure 2.3 shows wind roses for a selection of coastal meteorological stations, and indicates the dominant and subsidiary directions of wind attack. This information must be used with caution since local effects might create wind vectors that are quite different from those provided by the nearest meteorological station. In many beach areas, particularly in the Highlands of Scotland, mountains and plateaux may run close to the coast and offer considerable shelter from specific directions. On a smaller scale, dune systems have their own local climates whereby frontal dunes modify the wind flow that impinges on more landward features, and blowouts and other erosional hollows often 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

Figure 2.3 Wind roses for selected meteorological stations

11 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

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

Figure 2.4 Mean Spring tidal range in metres

13 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

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 direct wave 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 and vigour 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, but the 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 beach and 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 dimensions of the beach and dune systems in Scotland. Inevitably a number of problems arose in the collection of this data. 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 others were studied in the field as a series of subdivisions many of which correspond to topographic, land use or distinctive functional elements. For example the beach and dunes between Aberdeen and Collieston is a single physiographic system, subdivided by the outlets of the River Don and the River Ythan. This area also contains, 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 subsequent tabulations 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 average beach length where the longest beaches are found in the Outer Hebrides, especially the Uists, and on the Moray and North Sea coastlines north of Aberdeen. The shortest beach lengths are in Shetland and the Orkneys 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 of Clyde and the North Sea littoral being substantially longer, In general, the use of a mean value is deceptive in that in most regions there are a few very large units and a great number of small units. A closer examination of the actual values of beach lengths reveals that the great majority of the beach lengths (like the 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 clearly identified

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 to other landform surfaces. Several reasons account for this difficulty. Most of the lowland links rest upon some form of raised beach terrace or surface and, although this was not uncommon in parts of the Highlands and Islands, this difference between the two regions is nonetheless quite striking. Further, the raised beaches tend to be composed of sand, and it is on the evidence of surface appearance almost impossible to distinguish the landward limit of wind blown sand. Another reason for the lack of confidence in defining the landward limit of blown sand areas in lowland Scotland is the encroachment of houses, recreational areas and other man-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 relatively intensively modified agricultural fields beside and on blown sand areas. In many Highland areas the limit of cultivation is a particular fence or dyke that is normally a sensitive indicator of the nature of the soil and underlying 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. An additional problem in particular areas in the lowland series of beaches is afforestation. About 5.6% of the beach units are classified as having some form of afforestation, and these tend to be big units, such as Culbin 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 values of the average size of all the dune and beach areas in Scotland. Although there is a measure of doubt relating to specific absolute values there is greater confidence in the percentage ratios that reveal substantial differences between regions and in relation to national average values. This information is presented in Table 2.1. 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 a remarkably small figure and reveals how the most dynamic and fragile zone of the total system is normally only a small part of the whole. Thus as a proportion of the land surface, coastal dunes are relatively rare landforms. At the regional level only in those parts of Strathclyde in the Highlands and Islands, in Highland Region and in the Western Isles do they constitute approximately 10% of the total beach complex area. In absolute size the smallest dune areas are in Shetlands, Orkneys, Strathclyde (Lowlands), Dumfries and Galloway, 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 gives importance to the only large, complete system at Luce Bay. The need to look at both absolute and percentage figures is well illustrated by Tayside and Fife where the presence of single, relatively narrow coastal dunes at the coastal edge of very large blown sand areas eg Barry Links, Tentsmuir, Largo Bay, is worthy of note.

Table 2.1 Areas Mean values in hectares

No.of Beach Dunes Machair or Links Total Units % % % 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 excluding transitional 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 Firth of Forth contains about 30% of all the beach and blown sand areas, a fact that could be related to the extensive lowland nature of the general coastal hinterland, sedimentary bedrock and an abundant sand supply 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 0000 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 0000 Gordon 1 16.7 5 83.3 0000 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 are significantly different from the national pattern, whereas Strathclyde and Highland Region approximate close to the national values. A further subdivision by District for selected areas is given in Table 2.2 to highlight differences at another regional scale.

These figures reinforce the great variety of dune formations in Scotland and the difficulty involved in making broad general statements, particularly with regard to regional patterns. Further, these initial tentative studies provoke some basic questions, such as what should be understood by the term dune system and what are its essential components?

The setting of the beach complexes

The Beach complexes of Scotland have a wide variety of physiographic settings. Tabulation 2.3 shows the figure for the Highlands and Islands along with the equivalent percentages for all the beach complexes. When the 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 (the largest and most widely distributed group throughout Scotland) describes a curved beach set between headlands. Such beaches are usually deeply set and as a result of their shape are not subject to substantial lateral or alongshore changes in beach morphology. If the headlands are spread more widely, or if the curvature lessens, or if it is less set-back, then the beach is placed in the “open coast” category. The other categories are self explanatory except for “intersecting minor bays”. This type is common along many parts of the West Coast and Inner Hebrides and describes small beaches that link together at low water, but are otherwise separated by rock outcrops, minor headlands and ridges. The “other” category is largely used for small islands, such as the Monach Islands off North Uist, where the entire area was studied as a unit. The distinction between “spit” and “isthmus” is one of scale and origin, the former being smaller eg mouth of River 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 (including the larger Inner Hebridean islands), Orkney and Shetland, and Dumfries and Galloway. Lowest values are along the east coast of the mainland where open coast situations are most common. This reflects the lack of indentation and the lowland nature of the coastal hinterland. It also correlates with the prevalence of raised beaches (see end 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 common in the Outer Hebrides and Shetland, and those on spits are most common in Wigtown District.

18 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109 Beach nr. Coast nr. 10.8 70.3 10.5 0 0 1 5.3 00004 000000 000000 000014.214.2 0000000017.7 000016.30000 23.1 0000002 Strip Coast Minor Bay Peninsula Raised 00003 %%%%%%%%%% Bayhead Lochhead Marginal Open Foreland Intersecting Isthmus Spit Other With on estern Isles 38 38.8 1 1.0 3 3.1 22 22.4 5 5.1estray 11 11.2 8 8.2 3 3.1 9 69.2 7 7.1 0 yside and Fife 13 35.1 0 0 9 24.3 6 16.2 4 10.8 1 2.7 egi NATIONAL TOTALNATIONAL 290 44.8 16 2.5 63 9.7 102 15.8 30 4.6 79 12.2 21 3.2 14 2.2 32 4.9 47.0 R StrathclydeHighlandW OrkneyShetlandGrampian 86Ta 48.9 50Lothian and Borders 45.5 9Dumfries and Galloway 5.1Districts 2 45 22Argyll, Bute, Cunninghame 1.8 53.6 27 10 15 12.5 65.9 30.3 46.9Banff, Buchan, Gordon 6 69 7 0 16.7 9 46.6East Lothian 4 0 0 6.4 5.1Kyle and Carrick 0 9.3 0 9 13 5 0 0Wigtown 11.8 13 5 6.1 20.8 3 0 15.5Islands 2.8 2 2 21 7.3 8 0 17 14.2Shetland Mainland 2 6.1 6.3 36 20.2 7.3 20.5W 17 1 5.6 0 13 2 60.7 6 18 5 1Orkney Mainland 39.4 2.4 25.0 16 16.4 15.6 4 1.4 44.4 2 1.2Lewis/Harris 0 2.3 11 3 0 0 8.3 1 2 10 5Uists/Benbecula 57.9 2 1 9.1 45.5 0 0.9 6.3 2 3.4 10Coll and Tiree 0 0 5.6 1.2 41.7 3 1.1 1Islay 0 33 1 15.8 9 2 5 22.3 1 56.3 2 5 4 3.0 15.6 1 3.6 1.8 3 13.9 0 2.4 2 8.3 4.8 4.2 20 4 10.5 1.7 0 0 0 4 7 50.0 9 11 1 2 2.7 3 10.0 25.0 1 45.8 3 18 8.2 84.1 0 2.8 0 0 9.1 7.3 12.5 1 51.4 1.2 2 0 0 3 2.5 39.1 3 2 1 3 5 1.4 0 12.5 1 2 2 18.8 22.7 0 0 5.6 3.0 9.4 4.2 1 5.7 2.4 3 0 3 2.5 1 9 1 3 2 3 0 18.8 2.0 1 50.0 0 10.7 4.5 2 2.5 5.6 9.1 4.2 6 0 0 4.9 15.0 1 15 0 1 37.5 94.4 84.8 1 5.6 78.1 4.5 2 2 4.2 1 0 5.0 1 5.7 0 2.5 5.6 3 0 0 5 7.5 0 12.5 0 3 4 13.6 0 0 11 10.0 31.4 0 2 0 2 11.1 1 5.0 0 1 2.9 5 27.8 2.5 1 0 2.5 3 0 7.5 1 2.9 able 2.4 Settings of beach complexes and distribution raised beaches T

19 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

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 important distinction as it is the upper beach, above high water mark, that provides the main source for sand movement onto adjacent dunes. It is also the area that protects the coastal edge from direct wave attack. The beach gradient 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 beach gradient in degrees and average distance from high water mark to the 5-fathom isobath. All the variables in 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 long as beach gradients are similar, and Table 2.5 shows little variation in average beach gradient, being least in Strathclyde Region and highest in Grampian Region. The second part of Table 2.5 shows the frequency of different gradients by Regions and further reinforces the pattern as described above. Shetland has narrow beaches 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-fathom depth contour for the Western Isles might appear surprising in that all these beaches are open to the Atlantic Ocean, but the sea bed that extends westwards from the Outer Hebrides is essentially an ancient rock platform surface of low gradient and shallow depth.

Referring to Table 2.5, the Regions with the widest average areas above high water mark are Lowland Strathclyde, Highland, Western Isles and Lothian and the Borders Regions. In these areas there appear to be many beach areas with wide nourishment zones of dry sand on the upper beach available for transport onto the coastal dune ridge. Conversely those upper beach zones appear to be severely restricted in Dumfries and Galloway and Orkneys Regions. In addition to their importance for dune development, narrow backshore areas do not provide the same protection to the toe of the dune ridge against exceptionally high sea elevations.

If there are shingle ridges at the upper limit of beaches, then the important exchange process whereby sand may be transferred to the beach from the base of the dune to the beach cannot take place and, as discussed in Section 2.4, about 6% of all beaches have substantial shingle ridges above high water mark and about 4% have some form of artificial construction on the upper beach. Regions having above average percentages of either shingle or artificial constructions are parts of Strathclyde, especially around Ayr Bay, and in the Inner Hebrides, Tayside and Fife, and in Lothian District. Orkney has a high number of shingle ridges. This supplementary information modifies the generalisations that are made about the significance of backshore widths to the natural processes associated with the transfer of beach sand to coastal dune ridges.

A special type of coastal edge which is of considerable ecological importance is saltmarsh, and where these areas occur in association with beach, dunes, machair or links they have been noted. Usually this form of saltmarsh 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 frequent occurrence of this ecologically important zone. The high value for Grampian is partly explained by several small saltmarsh areas that are associated with the lower courses of minor streams and drainage channels

20 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109 16.2 233.4 6.9 6126 23283311856 0° 1° 2° 3° 4° 5° >6° verage Distance Average Distribution of Backshore Intertidal % Backshore ange (m) line (m) Gradient° No.of Cases Mean Mean intertidal width A R estern Isles 3.6 1785 2.48 0 20 32 29 13 4 0 30.8 160.3 19.2 yside and Fife 4.6 1817 3.51 0 9 13 egion Spring Tide to 5 fathom Beach Beach Gradients Width (m) width (m) width to mean Strathclyde (Lowland)Strathclyde (H. & I.)Highland 2.7W Orkney 2.6Shetland 833GrampianTa 1058 4.0Lothian and Borders 2.57Dumfries and Galloway AVERAGENATIONAL 2.00 2.9 1140 1.8 5.0 5.4 3.4 840 2.06 439 1600 2600 1230 6 38 2.29 2.56 1.28 3.44 37 3 12 1 9 0 11 18 5 4 32 6 0 not available Values 1 17 17 16 21.1 7 11 9 1 14 3 18.8 146.9 10 21 12.6 10 0 0 127 0 0 4 237 187.2 149.6 0 119 0 1 4.0 14.4 74 24.7 22 10.0 12.1 14 4.5 10.0 125.2 8.4 262.5 48.2 130.8 – 3.2 4.2 20.7 7.8 – R able 2.5 Beach widths, gradients and distances T

21 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

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 total Region 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 links 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 Other Region % % % % % 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 is included in this category.

Hillocky: distinctive, uniform pattern of small dune features. They are usually less than 3m high and 10m in length

Undulating: an uneven surface which lacks the regularity of pattern and size that are diagnostic for the hillocky category.

23 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Table 2.8 Mean maximum dune height and mean maximum blown sand height (all 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 or Region >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 0000 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

Figure 2.5 Sketch block diagram near pipeline landfalls

25 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Flooded and marshy areas

Many machair and links areas contain marshy or flooded areas. Frequently such flooding is seasonal and low lying slacks or hollows may be up to a metre deep in fresh water for the winter part of the year. Such seasonal flooding was not studied in detail during the surveys, but information is available for the dune areas north of Peterhead (Ritchie,1981) where complete flooding to create a “winter loch” is recorded from about mid October 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 fieldwork for the beach survey programme was normally done in summer, it was necessary to interpret such flooding indirectly from morphological and vegetation patterns, since most of the areas that flood in winter become quite dry in summer. Nevertheless, as shown on Table 2.9, an attempt was made to estimate the degree of flooding and 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 of such areas have some form of stream. About one in six of all dune and machair areas are classified as having greater than 10% of their areas as marshy (with or without streams). The areas with greater proportions of marshiness are in Orkney, in Shetland, and in Dumfries and Galloway. In the Northern and Western Isles, many of these marshy areas include areas of ground that are adjacent to fresh water lochs that have been impounded by blown sand or by such constructive forms as bars and spits. There is evidence to suggest that many marshy areas in dunes, links and machair areas would be more extensive were it not for substantial drainage works arising from agricultural improvements. In a few areas artificial drainage has also been introduced to improve surface conditions for building use. A special case of such artificial drainage occurs on golf courses.

2.4 Bare sand areas – erosional and depositional

Most sand dune systems contain areas of bare sand. These surfaces may be extensive as at Forvie and Foveran (Grampian) where they are major landform elements. Bare sand surfaces within the dune and machair/links area are potentially unstable and are normally zones of sediment transport. Around the Scottish coast these surfaces are mainly produced by erosion and as such can be regarded as unstable landforms, particularly where instability has been produced or aggravated by some external factor such as vehicle tracking, excessive rabbit populations, sand quarrying, overgrazing or some form of uncontrolled recreational use. Nevertheless, deposition can produce equally unstable surfaces. Sand accretion is the process by which dunes are created and, in time, these sand accumulations are fixed by vegetation. The redeposition of sand that has been excavated from erosion features, such as blowouts, creates similar features of accretion. Thus bare sand areas are produced by apparently opposing processes, erosion and deposition, but the surface has the common attribute that it is potentially mobile; sand can encroach onto adjacent 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 and foredunes inland can be accomplished. Further, in a young accreting system the proportion of bare sand will be high whereas in an old mature system there should be little or no mobile bare sand areas. For any individual beach/dune system it is comparatively easy in the field to distinguish between erosional and depositional sand surfaces. It is also possible to distinguish between natural erosion and erosion that has been triggered or aggravated by some external factor. To aggregate these different types of bare sand surfaces for all the dune systems of Scotland it is necessary to avoid terms like eroding area or redepositional area 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 the total area of dunes plus links/machair). However, 321 of the 647 beach units in Scotland have little or no bare sand areas, and if these areas are removed from the calculation then the mean percentage area of bare sand in the remainder is approximately 3%. Some of the larger dune and machair areas in Scotland that 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, Brekin in Shetland (29%) and Allasdale (24%) in Barra. Opinan (Wester Ross) has an exceptionally high area of bare sand but most of this is in the extensive transitional area inland from the machair. Sandwick in Uist is also a small beach unit with a very large percentage of bare sand surfaces.

Table 2.10 Localities 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 area which 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 substantial distance landwards of the highest tide level, thereby creating a bare sand surface on the seawards side of this section of the dune front. These surfaces are a continuation of the beach zone but are not normally within the sweep zone of waves even 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 or three 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. of Region 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 very Sand % ratios Area in Hectares extensive bare sand ratios ALL CASES SELECTED 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 CASES SELECTED 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 Cross Mangersta Dalmore Garry Bosta Cul Na Croise Mangersta Morar Mealasta Island Port An T Saoir Garry Traigh Tuath Achaidh Mhor Claddich Morar Sanaigmore Samhnan Insir Tralee Bay Port An T Saoir Sango Bay Basapoll Kervaig Bay Corpach Coast Oldshoremore Sanaigmore Clachtoll Carskey Achmelvich Macharioch Achnahaird Bay Sannox Gruinard South Machrie Mellon Udrigle Sannick Opinan Invernaver Sand of Meal Coldbackle Kirk Sand Melness Sandwick Unst Traigh Allt Chailgeag Lundawick Sheigra Rosinish Oldshoremore Eoligarry Clashnessie Bagh A Dheas Clachtoll Findhorn Achmelvich Rattray Head Traigh na Teampuill Ugie/Lunderton Achnahaird Bay Foveran/Drums Mungasdale Balmedie Gruinard North Coldingham Bay Gruinard South Gullane Mellon Udrigle Gosford Bay Mellanguan Montrose Opinan Barry Sands (East) Sand of Meal Monifieth Brekin Balta Island Sandwick Unst Lundawick Sandside Bay Scrimpo Rosinish Allasdale Sandray Varlish Banff 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 27.3 16 48.5 0 0 3 9.1 000012.400 000013.126.3 and and and Prograding Ridge or rograding Eroding Eroding and Eroding Modified P 16.7 1 2.8 8 22.2 8 22.2 11 30.6 0 0 2 5.6 %%%%%%%%% 00006 00000026.139.19 Neutral Prograding Eroding Neutral Neutral Prograding Neutral, Shingle Artificial 145 22.4 35 5.4 151 25.3 36 5.6 105 16.2 48 7.4 67 10.4 37 5.7 23 3.6 estern Isles 12 12.2 1 1.0 26 26.5 4 4.1 29 29.6 10 10.2 13 13.3 3 3.1 0 0 yside and Fife 6 16.2 2 5.4 2 5.4 2 5.4 9 24.3 2 5.4 4 10.8 0 0 10 27.0 Strathclyde (Lowland)Strathclyde (H. & I.)HighlandW 8 20.0Orkney 31 22.8Shetland 1 16Grampian 2.5 11.8Ta 36 12 25Lothian and Borders 32.7 30.0 18.4Dumfries and Galloway 7 20 3 30 14.7 14 35.7 6.4 7.5 34.1 8 12 35 25.0 6 8 31.8 8.8 2 20.0 7.1 0 4.9 2 6 18 2 20 21.4 0 1.8 4.4 5.0 48.8 14 12 2 7 12.7 3 0 21.9 8.8 2.4 7.5 5 14 0 0 4 10.3 4.5 0 4.8 4 0 0 4 0 9.8 14 6 3.6 43.8 0 7.1 3 4 7.5 4 3.6 4.8 3 14 16.7 2.7 0 0 able 2.14 of coastal edge by region Type T

32 Table 2.15 Occurrence of beach materials

12345 6789Scottish NaturalHeritageCommissionedReport Sand only Sand with Gravelly Mixed Rock Combination Sand with Sand with Sand with Backshore Sand Sandflat Platform of three Rock areas of areas of Shingle with Sand Materials Outcrops Mud/Silt Stones/ Patches Shingle %% %%%%%%% *Strathclyde (H. & I.) 73 53.7 33 24.3 6 4.4 2 1.5 8 5.9 14 10.3 000000 Strathclyde (Lowland) 10 25.0 2 5.0 00001640.0 3 7.5 5 12.5 0 0 4 10.0

33 *Highland 55 50.5 33 30.3 8 7.3 10 9.2 3 2.8 00000000 *Western Isles 57 58.2 35 35.7 1 1.0 1 1.0 2 2.0 2 2.0 000000 *Orkney 15 17.9 51 60.7 0 0 5 6.0 13 15.5 00000000 *Shetland 10 25.0 24 60.0 5 12.5 1 2.5 0000000000 Grampian 13 36.1 5 13.9 0 0 1 2.8 3 8.3 4 11.1 8 22.2 1 2.8 1 2.8 Tayside and Fife 14 37.8 2 5.4 0 0 1 2.7 10 27.0 5 13.5 1 2.7 3 8.1 1 2.7 No. 109 Lothian and Borders 1 3.0 0 0 2 6.1 1 3.0 3 9.1 16 48.5 7 21.2 3 9.1 0 0 Dumfries and Galloway 2 6.3 3 9.4 0 0 10 31.3 1 3.1 3 9.4 00001340.6 NATIONAL AVERAGE 250 38.8 188 29.1 22 3.4 32 5.0 59 9.1 47 7.3 21 3.3 7 1.1 19 2.9

NOTE: Columns 7, 8 and 9 were not included in the survey of Highlands and Islands beaches where they were subsumed under one of the other categories. The regions so affected are marked with an asterisk(*). 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 sediments and other characteristics has ecological implications in that a beach with extensive rock platforms is potentially a richer and more varied intertidal habitat than a pure sand beach. Similarly, a beach with contrasting 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. The sample was not less than 500gm and was removed from the approximate high tide level in the centre of the beach area. Additional samples were taken from dunes, links and machair, as appropriate. The samples were sieved by standard methods and a single statistic, the median diameter, was used to characterise each sample.

Examining all the beach sands by size produces a histogram (Figure 2.6) that shows the relative absence of 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 upper end of the medium grade (ie over 650 microns). These coarser sands come from widely scattered beaches and there is no pattern in the distribution. In some cases the use of the statistic of the median causes problems where the sand sample contains an admixture of fine gravel into the sand matrix. The effect of this is to shift the median to a coarser level, and many of the samples in the 600–650 micron range are of this type. The very 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 there is a tendency for the northwest Highland Mainland and the Northern Isles to have more examples of beaches with a significant proportion of coarse-grained materials. The East Neuk of Fife also has comparatively coarse sands. The beach sands of the Outer and Inner Hebrides and Lowland beaches are almost 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 of transport to their site of collection. In Scotland the possible sources range from glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits to local bedrock outcrops. The complexity of the patterns of glaciation and deglaciation need not be emphasised here, but the net result is to produce a situation where it is almost impossible to suggest the ultimate origin of beach materials. Indeed, those few areas where the beach sands can unambiguously be related 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 shore currents, but also the possibility of wind transport. Where there is recent or past interchange between the beach and the dune, then textural characteristics will be derived from both sedimentary environments.

35 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109 (Excludes cases with zero percent calcium carbonate) Figure 2.7 Calcium carbonate levels in beach sand samples Figure 2.6 Histogram of median sand size beach sands

36 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109 No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % 1.3 7 1.1 6 15.5 81 28.7 150 17.8 93 12.8 67 6.3 33 5.0 26 3.8 20 0.8 4 1.5 8 5.2 27 522 100–150 150–200 200–250 250–300 300–350 350–400 400–450 450–500 500–550 550–600 600–650 Over 650 estern Isles 0 0 44.6 25 10.7 6 21.4 12 8.9 5 1.8 1 7.1 4 3.6 2 0 1.8 1 0 56 yside 0 0 10.3 3 17.2 5 31.0 9 10.3 3 10.3 3 6.9 2 6.9 2 3.4 1 3.4 1 0 29 egion StrathclydeHighland 3.7W 6Orkney 3.0Shetland 5Grampian 0 19.0 31 1.4Ta 31.3 51 1and Fife 11.7 1.4Lothian 0 19 16.6 0 1and Borders 6.1 27 0 18.8Dumfries and 5 13 1.8 35.2 36.2Galloway 29 3 25 0 23.0 11.5 1.2 0 19 3.2 8 12.2 2 6.3 0 0 10 1 5.8 2.4 35.5 2 6.1 11 4 21.9 4 16.1 5 8.7 7 0.6 0 5 0 34.3 4.9 6 11 1 6.5 3.3 4 12.5 1.4 1.8 2 1 3.6 4 1 19.4 26.7 3 0 3 6.3 8.7 28.6 6 8 6 7 1.2 16.7 2 11 6 8 6.5 17.9 163 1 5 9.4 2 16.7 5 3 3.2 25.0 5 0 16.7 1 7 0 2.9 5 7.1 13.3 9.7 0 2 2 4 8 14.3 2.9 0 3.3 4 84 2 1 0 3.6 69 3.1 1 0 1 3.6 9.7 0 6.3 1 3 2 31 32 0 0 3.3 1 30 0 28 R able 2.16 Mean of median sizes beach sand samples by region T

37 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109 00000000 000000000000 0000000000000 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–60 60–70 70–80 80–90 90–100 OTr. –10 OTr. No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % estern Isles 36* 36.7 1 1.0 2 2.0 4 4.1 4 4.1 9 9.2 12 12.2 16 16.6 9 9.2 5 5.1 0 0 yside and Fife 0 0 16 43.2 3 8.1 3 8.1 2 5.4 0 0 4 10.8 4 10.8 4 10.8 0 0 1 2.7 egion NATIONAL TOTALNATIONAL * Relatively large number of unsampled beaches in remote islands and other locations. 97 15.0 233 36.0 54 8.3 39 6.0 27 4.2 29 4.5 41 6.3 35 5.5 38 5.9 32 4.9 22 3.4 StrathclydeHighlandW OrkneyShetland 13Grampian 7.4Ta 14 97 12.7 55.1Lothian and Borders 34 10 30.9Dumfries and Galloway 5.7 20 19 18.2 22.6 10 3 24.4 17 2 2 9 1.7 20.2 1 6.1 6.3 8.2 8 2.8 19.5 5 0 12 25 23 36.4 78.1 5 2.8 63.9 2 0 4.5 7 4.9 3 5 7 21.2 19.4 5 9.4 6 2.8 5 6.0 5 5.5 12.2 13 3 15.2 2 7.4 8.3 1 6.3 5 3 5 1.2 15.2 4.5 7.3 7 2 0 4.0 5.6 7 1 4 1 8.3 3.0 3.6 2.4 7 4.0 1 1 8 5 12.2 1.2 3.0 7.3 7 4.0 1 3 3 2.4 3.6 2.7 9 5.1 3 7 2 7.3 8.3 1.8 15 2 17.9 4.9 9 10.7 1 2.4 R able 2.17 Percentage calcium carbonate in beach sands (Number of cases by Region – all cases) T

38 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Where there is unimpeded movement of material, coarser material should be found in higher energy locations assuming that a supply of coarse material was available in the original sediment source. Much of the Scottish coastline consists of beaches that occur in zones of impeded sediment movement, such as in bayheads, in estuary margins and in sea lochs (see Chapter 2.2), and the necessary conditions for sediments 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 was not 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 for beaches is comminuted shells of many types and species of marine organisms. Attempts to correlate the phenomenon 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 general tendency for the abundance of shell-derived sands to be associated with extensive rock platforms. This is especially true of the Outer Hebrides, Tiree and a few isolated examples elsewhere as, for example, the East Neuk of Fife. It must also be remembered that a high percentage of shell sand may reflect not only a richness of marine organisms within the catchment zone of the beach, but also a dearth of alternative sources such as suitable rock outcrops (eg conglomerates, sandstones, grits), glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits or stream outlets.

Statistics relating to lime content (which is equated with shell content) are given in Table 2.17 which gives an indication of distribution by Region. Figure 2.7 shows the histogram for all beaches with a lime content greater than zero.

Table 2.18 Shell sand content within Strathclyde Region

Percentage calcium carbonate – number of cases District or 0 or 0–10 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–60 60–70 70–80 80–90 90–100 Island missing Coll 51000152110 Tiree 00000051249 Mull and Iona 35011112200 Colonsay 02021001120 Jura 07000000000 Islay 15003341100 Bute, Arran 014100000000 and Cumbraes Argyll and Bute 13 47 10 3 5 5 13 7779 (mainland only) Cunninghame 0 22 000000000 Kyle and Carrick 0 28 000000000

The distribution shown on Figure 2.7 for the 550 samples with a calcium carbonate content greater than zero 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 soils and vegetation. As the percentage of lime increases, pH values rise quickly and in the Outer Hebrides values higher 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 and Stronsay (Orkney), in several parts of the Outer Hebrides and in isolated beaches as, for example, Sannick in 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 the North Sea coast (except the East Neuk of Fife) is characterised by low values. Since Strathclyde contains islands, 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 Galloway along with the Districts of Kyle and Carrick and Cunninghame are seen to be areas with very low shell sand content in the beach sediments. Combining this information with the values for the islands and east coast of Kintyre, 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 way of 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 over 6789101112131415 and 6789101112131415 %%%%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%%%%% 0–5 32 5.0 73 11.3 113 17.3 111 17.2 106 16.4 72 11.1 64 9.9 36 5.6 17 2.6 12 1.9 11 1.8 on estern Isles 1 1.0 12 12.2 23 23.5 25 25.5 20 20.4 11 11.2 5 5.1 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 yside and Fife 8 21.6 7 18.9 7 18.9 1 2.7 7 18.9 2 5.4 5 13.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 egi R StrathclydeHighlandW OrkneyShetlandGrampian 2Ta 1.1 7 14Lothian and Borders 6.3 8.0Dumfries and Galloway 26 6 14.8 6 5.5 27 4 7.2 15.3 2 13 1 1 11.8 9.7 14 6.0 37 3.1 16.7 2.8 21.0 7 7 24 10 2 17.1 18 1 28.6 27.8 6.4 10.2 6.0 3.1 25 22 9 22 29.8 5 20.0 22.0 12.5 13.9 4 2 12.1 12 14 6 6.3 10.9 9 5 22.0 8.0 7.1 13.9 7 18 21.2 5 16.4 15.6 5 6 6 2 12.2 11 3 3.4 10.0 7.1 5.6 4 9.1 12.5 5 12.2 5 6 1 6 16.7 5 2.8 7 5.5 1.2 15.2 21.9 1 2 2.4 5 6 2 5 5 5.6 15.2 2.8 15.6 5.5 2.4 0 1 2 5 2 0 15.6 0 2.8 6.1 1.8 0 1 0 2 2 3.1 5.6 6.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.4 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 3.1 5.6 3.0 0 able 2.19 Habitat diversity scores by region T

41 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

By scoring for these categories on a simple presence or absence basis some index of diversity at beach complexes can be gained in that the higher the number of categories present, the greater the probable ecological richness of the area. The average value for all 647 units is 8.79 and for the Highlands and Islands 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 and Grampian have below average habitat diversity scores. This suggests a relative monotony of terrain conditions within and near the beach areas. Fife and Tayside Regions have the lowest scores, with more than half the beach units having a score of less than 7, and there is no beach unit with a score greater than 11. These low scores indicate not only relative uniformity of terrain, but also reflect the comparatively large number 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 Borders Regions 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 in Scotland 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 found on the upper beach and their presence is the main criterion for assessing progradation of the coast. As described in Chapter 2.4, coastline accretion is uncommon around the Scottish coast and extensive areas of pioneer species, including the main dune grasses (which grow well on the upper beach if they are not inundated by sea water) are not common. Many beach areas, including eroding coastlines, have patches of pioneer vegetation colonising localised zones of exceptional sand accumulation. Such areas are usually transient 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 (Ammophila arenaria) 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 northwest Highland mainland. It is also found along the Firth of Clyde coastlines, especially as discontinuous but vigorous patches along the backshore-foredune zone. There appears to be scope for further research into the factors that control the distribution of these two species which are both of vital importance for the creation and 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 pedological conditions are broadly similar, but Sea Lyme is totally absent from some areas for example St. Fergus, yet it is dominant in another – Ugie Beach, and it occurs as extensive patches elsewhere – for example Bridge of Don. And why is it so overwhelmingly dominant in many Orcadian beaches? It has been suggested that Sea 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 above average content of this gas in the local atmosphere. Coastal edge grazing might be another factor. In Orkney its presence might be associated with the amount of seaweed on the upper beach. On the other hand, similar masses of seaweed accumulate on Outer Hebridean beaches. Is its lack of growth there due to 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), and Tayside and Fife. The relatively high value in this category for Orkney is a reflection of a number of cases where 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 by column 4 (Table 2.21) where 16.8% of all cases are so classified. Shetland, Western Isles and parts of the northwest 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 cover in many dune, machair and links areas. Extensive tree cover, however, is uncommon in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Where they exist, they are often experimental plantings – eg at Dunnet Bay – or natural copses of birch and rowan on the margins of the blown sand area – eg Torrisdale Bay. Elsewhere, small groups of trees may be found on the landward margin of the blown sand area or as a small copse in a sheltered hollow, valley floor or, occasionally, as a shelter belt in the transitional area. Such occurrences are recorded in Kintyre, Cowal and Arran. More unusual is the patch of willow-dominated vegetation such as is 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 deciduous and mixed woodland are more common. More than 40% of all lowland beach units have some areas of trees in, or very close to, the dune and links areas. Some distinction has to be made between extensive coniferous forests – such as Culbin, Burghead Bay, Spey Bay (all in Moray), Tentsmuir (Fife) and Ravensheugh (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 extensive coniferous plantation lies on blown sand more than one kilometre inland from the beach. Elsewhere there is a range of situations that have been recorded as having trees of some description on the dunes or links areas. Wooded hillsides adjacent to beaches occur in several parts of the coastline of the Solway Firth and in 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 0000 00038.3 Gardens Machair modified %%%%%%%%%% 1.1 255 39.4 132 20.4 109 16.8 13 2.0 58 9.0 47 7.3 5 0.8 5 0.8 16 2.5 fied Links/ Marram Links only sand Cultivated only Links/ and 7 Unclassi- Marram Sea Lyme Machair/ Marram No blown Parks Sea Lyme Sea Lyme Sea Lyme estern Isles 3 3.1 70 71.4 0 22 22.4 0 3 3.1 yside and Fife 2 5.4 1 2.7 25 67.6 1 2.7 0 1 2.7 5 13.5 0 0 2 5.4 egion Machair Links/ only Formal Machair other R StrathclydeHighlandW OrkneyShetland 0GrampianTa 2Lothian and Borders 1.8 80Dumfries and Galloway 46 45.5 41.8 0 22 0 0 19 12.5 0 0 17.3 26 25 14.8 20 22.7 23.8 7 15 6 13 3 17.1 25 46.9 0 36.1 3.4 29.8 9.1 18 7 1 13 14 15 50.0 17.1 16.7 45.5 3.1 7.4 11 16 0 10.0 39.0 24 2 0 5 13.6 15.6 2.4 6 1 0 0 5.5 2.4 9 10.7 1 3 0 8 2.8 9.1 19.5 7 10 4 8.3 1 31.3 2 2 2.3 2.8 6.1 4.9 5 0 1 1 6.0 3.1 2 0 0.6 6.1 1 0 1.2 1 0 0.9 0 1 1.2 0 0 0 0 8 24.2 able 2.21 Broad vegetation types by region T

44 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

found associated with most of the beaches between Gullane and Longniddry. Mature deciduous woodland is found at the beaches west of Edinburgh and in the coastal park at Silversands in Fife. For various reasons different amounts and types of tree cover occur in many beach areas and give an added dimension to the scenic appearance, to the ecological interest and, in some instances, provide shelter and protection to the dune and links surfaces. Although all stages of the evolution of coastal dunes and adjacent blown sand surfaces are intimately related to different types of vegetation cover which range from pioneer colonisers of the 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

Figure 2.8 Generalised landforms and vegetation

Rich backshore vegetation at Sands of Evie, Orkney.

Grazed machair grassland with higher ridges and steeper slopes retaining a cover of Marram grass.

Sea Lyme, Marram and Orache on the foredune ridge in Stronsay. Note marshy area inland of this narrow dune ridge.

46 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.

47 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 low raised 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.

48 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

3 CHARACTERISTICS AND USE OF THE BEACH RESOURCE

3.1 Accessibility

Accessibility (at a variety of scales) is perhaps the major influence on existing recreational use and the main constraint on potential use. If a beach is inaccessible, then its usefulness as a recreational resource is severely restricted. It may be prized by the seeker of solitude who is able to overcome its remoteness or other difficulties of access, but it will have little recreational value for the general public. Conversely, the accessible beach 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 population and 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 is inaccessible 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 demand for beach recreation is met by mainland beaches which number less than half of the total. Beaches are also unevenly distributed within the mainland. Most of the beaches lie on moderately exposed outer coasts, while the main centres of population are on or near estuaries. While the east coast cities are well located for beach recreation, the main urban centres of west-central Scotland are up to 50km distant from extensive beaches. The disparity between distribution of population and distribution of beaches is reflected in the length of travel involved in beach trips. According to Duffield and Long (1977), the average return distance travelled on a beach trip is 70km, and only 18% of beach trips are under 8km in length. Compared with much 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 along most of their lengths, and of the other significant tourist routes, only the A1 and the A75 and the A92 follow coastlines on which sand beaches are common. The distribution of holiday accommodation and its usage also 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). Beaches are 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 coast and to the east of Edinburgh. Some beaches in Tayside and Fife can be reached by public transport, but in 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. Buses and trains account for a further 26% (Duffield and Long, 1977). The same survey revealed that, in comparison, 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 accessible by public transport.

People usually do not walk long distances from their cars (or public transport) to recreation sites, and hence the local aspects of access are important determinants of recreational use. lf the scale of examination is switched from the national to the local, Scotland’s beaches are found to be surprisingly accessible. Although many beaches are on small islands or in remote, sparsely populated parts of the country, around 40% are within 100m of a public road, and over 50% are within 200m. Only 15% are more than 1km from such a road. These proportions apply to island beaches and to mainland beaches alike. Physical accessibility is even 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 motorable tracks 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 which separates them, culminating in some cases in near-vertical cliffs. Such cases are comparatively few. More than three-quarters of the beaches are within 10 vertical metres of the nearest road, and the vertical distance exceeds 25m in under 10% of the beach units. The position of beaches in relation to roads and tracks is therefore generally convenient from the viewpoint of the visitor, as long as he is able to reach the parts of the coastline which contain beaches. For the tourist or casual visitor with no prior knowledge of the existence or location of beaches, the distribution is less favourable. Almost 40% of the beach units are not visible from a 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 tourists or casual visitors. The nearest road type for approximately 40% of the country’s beaches is unclassified or C-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 situated for casual recreational use. For example, only 41 beaches out of the national total of 647 (6.4%) are 100m or less from A-class through roads on the mainland. Without prior knowledge or information about the distribution of beaches, the potential visitor is greatly restricted in his choice of recreational beaches. Many units which are otherwise suitable for recreational use are little used except where their locations are publicised by guidebooks or information services.

At the local scale, access to beaches is also influenced not only by location in relation to the road network, but also by the presence and nature of any barriers to access. One potential barrier is a lack of car parking space. Formal car parks are found in the vicinity of 10% of all beaches and 20% of mainland units, but cars can be parked informally close to many other beaches. Less than one-quarter of the mainland beaches lack car-parking facilities in any shape or form, and in general terms parking problems are found only near a minority of beaches. Nevertheless, such problems may be acute in a few localities, especially at peak periods when the capacities of formal car parks may be inadequate. Where formal car parks are not provided, roadside parking may cause traffic congestion at times, and parking restrictions have had to be applied near some rural beaches (such as Ardneil Bay on the Firth of Clyde) as well as at some town beaches.

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 are associated with approximately 20% of the beaches. On beach car parking can in certain circumstances be even more convenient than parking on links or machair, but is less practised in Scotland than in some mainland 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 links or 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 of beaches, 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 where parking 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 to function as a serious constraint on beach use.

Physical barriers to access are found only at a minority of beaches. Cultivated land separates road and beach at less than 10% of beach units, and usually has fences, which are found at approximately one-quarter of the beaches. Both these types of barriers are mainly to be found in the lowlands, and are rarely encountered near Highland 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 few beaches. Physical and legal barriers to access are of much less importance in relation to beach recreation than geographical distribution and location. On the other hand, warning notices and similar deterrents to access are 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 to discourage access by erecting notices or locking gates. Such landowners constitute a small minority and in general 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 may be a minor or subsidiary activity which interferes little with the dominant land use and requires little or no management. As recreational intensity increases, the degree of interference with other uses may also increase, 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 beach complexes is divided between several individuals and organisations, and various types of formal and informal letting or leasing arrangements apply. It is important to emphasise, therefore, that the ensuing analysis 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 other parts of beach complexes are under private ownership. The nature of ownership of the foreshore is of limited significance for recreational purposes. Access is rarely prevented, and cleansing of the most visited beaches is 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 of development of the coastline and the proportion of foreshore which is owned by the Crown. This relationship is perhaps most clearly demonstrated in relation to southwest Scotland, where most of the foreshore in Galloway 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 stretches of 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 significance for 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 ownership for 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 several beach complexes, especially around the Clyde and Forth, passed into public ownership, to be managed for recreational purposes. Acquisition was frequently followed by the construction of promenades, gardens and play areas, with low dunes sometimes being levelled off and sown with grass. The landward parts of most 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 to the energetic promotion of positive coastal policies on the part of the council (or its predecessor). The most notable example is provided by East Lothian. In a few cases, the regional council, as highways and harbours authority, is also involved in ownership, but in such cases the ownership of near-beach areas is usually incidental to the ownership of other land or structures. In a few cases, regional councils own more extensive areas of beach land, acquired primarily for purposes of recreation. Examples include Dunnet Bay in 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 rehabilitation of eroded machair might be facilitated. Public ownership involving local authorities usually occurs where there are high levels of recreational use (see Section 3.6). It became established either during the growth of coastal resorts a century ago, or more recently in response to growing recreational pressures during the late 1960s and 1970s.

State ownership is less frequent and less closely geared to recreation. A number of state agencies own land around beaches, including the Forestry Commission, the Nature Conservancy Council and the Ministry of Defence. State ownership does not always imply easy public access: footpaths and other attractive recreational facilities are provided on Forestry Commission land at a number of localities, such as Burghead Bay, Tentsmuir and Luce Sands, but ownership by the Ministry of Defence is usually associated with partial or complete prohibitions on access. Such hindrances to access may be significant locally, as for example at Barry-Buddon and the central part of Luce Sands, but are of little importance at the national scale because of 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 the Crofting Counties, and is a much more prominent feature in the islands than on the mainland. Crofting tenure may be sub-divided into croft land and common grazings. The former is usually individually occupied land which has been improved at some time and which may be enclosed, while common grazings are usually unenclosed rough pasture. Croft land resembles other tenanted land in several respects in so far as recreational use and management are concerned. Many crofters have been able to develop caravan sites on their holdings as, for example, on the Arisaig-Morar coast. The growth of recreational pressures on common grazings, on the other hand, has sometimes led to persistent and intractable problems. Communal tenure of the land may not be conducive to initiative in response to changing conditions, and difficulties are usually encountered if attempts are made to apportion the land to an individual or to resume it out of crofting tenure so that recreational developments may proceed. This form of tenure is associated with some of the most fragile and dynamic beach units, and effective management in some cases has been delayed until the areas in question passed into public ownership. Again, problems of this type, although severe locally, are not of outstanding significance at the national level. Only 8% of the mainland beaches are subject to crofting tenure, and they tend 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 the last century has been the slowly growing proportion of public ownership, and this trend may well continue into the foreseeable future. Changes of ownership within the sectors listed in Table 3.2 may be of equal or greater importance for beach use and management. A change from private ownership where the main motive is related to agriculture to one where the main interest lies in tourist enterprises, for example, may be at least as important as a cross-sectoral change of ownership. Over the last twenty years, a number of transfers 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 some countries on mainland Europe, the fragmentation of land holdings on the coast, which is often associated with 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 the development-control policies of the local authorities are capable of controlling any problems which might emerge as a result of tendencies towards fragmentation. But planning and management for the public interest also inevitably become more difficult if ownership is fragmented into numerous tiny patches, and the monitoring 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 are sometimes informal and involve little more than an agreement by the local authority to cleanse and perhaps mow small areas of otherwise unused privately owned land between road and coast as, for example, in Wigtown District. In other cases such agreements are more formalised, and involve both a greater 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. As yet very few access agreements under the Countryside (Scotland) Act) have been negotiated for sand beaches. While access per se is not a widespread problem, these agreements provide a basis for agreeing arrangements for adequate management, and it seems possible that increased use may be made of them in the future. It is also possible that formal management agreements may become more widely used tools of coastal management. If management agreements (whether formal or informal) do become more widely employed, the relative importance of landownership in coastal land use and planning may decrease, and recreational 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 intensively used rural areas.

3.3 Scenic quality

Many of Scotland’s beaches are located in parts of the country where landscape quality is high. More than half 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 usually attractive in its own right, and at the local or regional scale it is a landscape component whose relative value 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 regarded as more attractive than those where sand occurs alongside pebbles or other sediments. The extent of the sand, 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 a beach is the colour of the sand: pale or white sand is probably regarded more favourably than sand of a greyish or indeterminate hue. Pure sand beaches, of a pale colour and enclosed by rocks or cliffs, are found mainly in the Highlands and Islands, and especially on the west coast of Lewis and Harris, Tiree and other Argyll islands, and northwest Sutherland. Many of these beaches are composed of shell sand and are associated with machairs whose bright green summer colours contrast with the greys, browns and duns of the surrounding terrain. Likewise these smooth, grassy swards contrast with the rougher textures of neighbouring rock and bogs. The attractiveness of the contrasts in colour and texture between the beach complex and its setting is further enhanced by hilly or mountainous backdrops. Where there is a pronounced vertical 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 the Highlands and Islands. The main concentrations of beaches of the highest scenic quality are in west Harris and southwest Lewis, in northwest Sutherland, and in Islay and Colonsay. In addition, many of the beach complexes in these areas are almost untouched by built development. Although they have not totally escaped the hand of man, they seem to conform to the stereotype of the idyllic, unsullied beach, and their perceived scenic 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. Most of the lowlands may lack the amplitude of relief which contributes so strongly to the quality of the setting of many of the beaches in the Highlands and Islands, but a setting in a bold cliffline or wooded backdrop may at least partly compensate. Most of the major sectors of mainland coastline contain highly attractive cliff-foot beaches: in the northeast there are examples such as Aberdour Bay; in the southeast there is Seacliff, and in the southwest Knock and Killantringan Bays. A backdrop of trees may contribute forcefully to atmosphere and scenic quality as well as to shelter. Beaches in wooded settings are rare in Scotland and have a scenic quality of their own. Burghead Bay, Culbin Sands and Littleferry on the east coast combine a backdrop of coniferous forests with more distant Highland views. In the southwest, Cardoness Shore has an unique combination 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 landscape element as in the cases of Gairloch (Wester Ross), Sandaig (W. Inverness-shire) and Dorlin (Moidart) are distinguished by their high scenic quality. Beaches composed of shell sand and associated with woodland or mountains are amongst the most attractive visually, especially if these attributes coincide with intricacy of coastline 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 composed of white shell sand and associated with rich green machair enclosed by hilly moorland are less widely distributed in Europe, although they are more numerous in Scotland than the woodland type. Outwith Scotland, their main concentration is on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. At the international level, therefore, the most 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 not exclusively 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 conservation

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 and planning authorities) of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Beaches so classed are widely distributed, but are 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 and east Sutherland. The main effects of this notification are in relation to planning applications, on which the advice of the Nature Conservancy Council must be sought, and in the specification to the owner or occupier of a range of management operations affecting the scientific interest of the site on which consultation is required with the Council. Approximately 9% of beach complexes are in SSSIs classed by the Council as Grade 1 or Grade 2. These key sites are widely distributed, but lie mainly outwith the central belt. Most of the major sectors of the coastline have some key sites, but they are rather more numerous on the Solway and Moray Firth coasts than elsewhere.

Beach areas designated as National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are even smaller in number and extent. Less than 2% of Scotland’s beach complexes are in National Nature Reserves. The island of Rhum, which is owned by the Nature Conservancy Council, accounts for three of these beaches. Others are widely scattered from the Monach Isles and part of South Uist in the west to Tentsmuir and Forvie in the east. Where the NNR is under the ownership of the Nature Conservancy Council, management may be solely or primarily for purposes of nature conservation, but in the cases of NNRs in private ownership the sites are usually 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 Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Examples involving beaches include part of the Loch Fleet beaches 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 the preparation 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. Beach complexes are amongst the most dynamic of geomorphological systems, and for this quality their scientific interest is often high. Such sites include outstanding examples of coastal landforms and also areas where the physical processes involving beach, dune and machair are highly dynamic. These sites offer opportunities for studying the forms and rates of development of beach complexes. As well as being of intrinsic scientific interest, such research is also likely to be productive for the management and use of beach complexes. Examples of beach complexes which are of outstanding geomorphological interest include the Morrich More (Easter Ross), Invernaver (North Sutherland) and parts of the western seaboard of Uist in the north 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 by their extent, complexity and dynamism. It is noticeable that many of them are also outstanding for the biological interest. This coincidence is not the result of pure chance; the variety of component parts in the geomorphological 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 of management for conservation; if a feature is undergoing rapid (natural) change, is the goal of managing change a desirable one? But if change extends to a state of degradation, the end result may be a wide extent of bare and sterile sand which may be of little value for any use. In many cases, therefore, long-term interests 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 every beach in the country, as will be discussed more fully in Section 3.6. In some cases, the intensity of recreational use is such that it is the primary or even the sole use as, for example, in the resort beaches of the lowlands. It is more usual for recreation to co-exist with agriculture or other uses of beach complexes, at least in their landward parts.

Grazing

Grazing is by far the most widespread of the non-recreational uses and occurs at almost every blown-sand area 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 inaccessible machairs are grazed by sheep only and are subject to little direct management. In many instances, the machair grazings are not physically enclosed from the surrounding rough grazings and grazing pressures on the sweet machair grasses may be high although overall the local grazing intensity is low. Many machairs in 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 or machairs. It tends to be associated with rather less remote areas than those subject only to sheep grazing and it is relatively most important in areas such as Orkney, parts of the Argyll islands and the Clyde coast as well as on some of the more rural beach complexes on the east coast. Cattle grazing is less strongly associated with crofting tenure than sheep grazing, and it is usually found on links held as part of owner occupied or tenanted farms. The areas so used are usually fenced and subject to greater management inputs than in the cases where there is extensive sheep grazing.

Most machairs and many links have been subjected to grazing for many decades and probably for centuries. The ubiquity of the practice is such that its significance is difficult to assess in light of the paucity of ungrazed beaches which may be used for comparison. It is usually assumed that grazing is likely to reduce the stability of vegetated blown sand by reducing vegetation cover. Its significance depends on the setting and dynamism of the beach complex and on its intensity and duration. Light seasonal grazing has a lesser effect than intensive year-round grazing. Secondary effects of treading, trampling and rubbing by grazing animals may be as significant as the primary effect of grazing itself and, in particular, such effects may 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 grazed machairs lying within common grazings on parts of the northwest mainland and Western Isles. In these cases, the machair sward is often closely trimmed and presents little barrier to sand blow. Rubbing and burrowing by sheep on deflation faces on these machairs detract further from their stability. The main effects of grazing by cattle, on the other hand, are probably found on the landward slopes of dunes to which they have access. Combinations of grazing and trampling may tend to suppress marram and, depending on site and intensity, may hasten the development of vegetation resembling that of links, or create bare sand patches. Rabbits also have both physical and botanical effects. Patches of bare sand around their burrows may be exploited by wind erosion and, on machairs where rabbit densities are high, there may be a shift in the floristic composition such that Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), a species unpalatable to rabbits and domestic 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. As yet, little quantitative information is available about its effects on the blown-sand environment, and little experimental work has been undertaken. Recently, some experimental work on grazing effects has been carried out at machair sites as part of the Beach Management Project run by the Countryside Commission for Scotland (CCS 1978), and it is hoped that this work can be continued and extended so that the significance of grazing on blown-sand substrates may be more fully assessed. Conservation of grazings on links and machairs is a desirable goal from a number of viewpoints, and especially from the agricultural one. In the north and west, the lime-rich machairs are usually of much higher grazing value than the surrounding acid moorlands, while in other parts of the country the free drainage and shelter associated with many dunes and links are useful assets for the wintering of cattle. Grazing use will probably continue to be the 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 more experience 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, where extensive machair plains have for long been cultivated for cereals and root crops. Cultivation in these areas was formerly geared mainly towards the production of crops for human consumption, and for many centuries machair soils were valued for their lightness and ease of cultivation as compared with neighbouring areas of peaty moorland or rocky ground. Cultivation has contracted markedly even in the relatively short period since the Second World War and is now geared largely towards the production of fodder crops, although potatoes are still grown. Cultivation on Hebridean machairs is usually confined to small patches on the machair 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. The typical site of cultivation is a raised beach where marine sediments are veneered with blown sand. The raised beach usually takes the form of a gently sloping bench not exceeding a few hundred metres in width between an old cliffline and the shore. Where the raised beach occupies a narrow bayhead or where it is inaccessible to agricultural machinery, its use may be confined to grazing, but where it is more continuous and more accessible, it is often given over to the production of barley or early potatoes. This kind of cropping is characteristic of parts of the coastlands of southwest Scotland and is perhaps best developed around Girvan. On the east coast, where depths of blown sand on the raised beach are sometimes greater and the soils are excessively dry, cultivation is less extensive.

Cultivation usually precludes other land uses and is of some significance for recreation. Cultivated land is usually 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 links or machairs.

Extraction

Extraction of sand or aggregate takes place on approximately one-fifth of Scotland’s beach complexes. The site of extraction may be on the beach itself or on blown-sand deposits. In general terms, sand extraction is more 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 purposes and as a building material. The level of use of shell sand in land reclamation and reseeding work has fluctuated in recent decades, but the taking of sand for building material has increased in some localities in accordance with demand from oil-related developments. Large scale sand extraction is principally associated with some beach complexes in Orkney, Shetland and, to a lesser extent, Lewis. It is not confined to the more distant islands, however, and some beaches on the Clyde coast (for example Brodick and Girvan) and elsewhere have been seriously affected. If extraction rates from the beach exceed natural rates of sand supply, the taking of sand is likely to lead to accelerated erosion of the coastal edge. Extraction from pits in dunes or machair may avoid this problem, but this can result in unsightly and possibly dangerous pits and perhaps in modifications to the water table. Extraction pits are sufficiently large or noticeable to be regarded 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 Severity Low 10 9 Present: Medium 4 2 High 2 1

Although the number of beach complexes seriously affected by extraction may be relatively low, the effects are usually of major significance. The taking of sand or aggregate may lead to irreversible changes in the beach environment and, unless matched to natural rates of sand supply (which are seldom known with precision), 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 concern since 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 it does 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 of the recreational environment, and in others almost the whole of the landward part of the beach complex is occupied by factories or similar buildings. The industrial use of beach complexes is strongly concentrated along short stretches of coastline on the Clyde and Forth coasts and at Aberdeen. Recreational demand in these areas is high because of the large local populations. A wide range of types of industry is found on beach complexes, but chemical and fertiliser plants are prominent, often associated with large structures which cannot readily be landscaped, and in some instances with smoke or other forms of 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 military installations as adverse features

Beach Complexes (percentages)

All Mainland Absent 90 83 Severity Low 6 10 Present: Medium 1 2 High 3 5

Table 3.4 indicates the proportion of beach complexes judged to be adversely affected by industrial or military installations. The proportion is higher than the occurrence of present-day industrial and military use would suggest and it is clear that the mainfand beaches, where accessibility is easiest and recreational value greatest, are disproportionately affected.

Forestry

Commercial forestry is practised at only a few beach complexes, notably on the south shores of the Moray 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 sand dunes. 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 associated with large beach complexes where there are extensive dunefields. On the other hand, forestry rarely excludes recreational use and, indeed, positive provision of picnic sites, car parks and other recreational facilities has been made in state forests at the coast. In some instances, the attractiveness of the beach environment has been enhanced by afforestation which has resulted in a type of beach setting which is rare in Scotland compared with some other parts of Europe (see Section 3.3) and mobile dunes have been stabilised. Care will be required when felling begins because dune grasses have generally been excluded under the shade of dense forest canopies and unprotected sand surfaces will be susceptible to wind 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 recreation on 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 mainland beaches only. Almost one third of Scotland’s beaches are estimated to have fewer than five visitors per day in summer. Compared with England and much of mainland Europe, both the proportion and absolute number of almost unused beaches are high. In this respect, Scotland may resemble lreland and Norway, but on the European scale this pool of almost unused beaches, which in some cases may be regarded almost as wilderness beaches, is a rare asset. The majority of almost unused beaches are on the islands, especially on the smaller islands which lack car ferries and other means of easy access. Of the others, several are in the more remote and inaccessible parts of the Highlands, but most other parts of the country have occasional examples (see Plate 2). The main concentration is on the south shore of the Moray Firth, and the group there includes both a few long beaches, such as Whiteness Head, and smaller cliff-girt units, such as Findlater and Whyntie Head. Beaches in the lowest category of intensity of use are almost invariably some distance from roads, and they are usually small and little publicised. In a few cases, access is prevented by military use or for other reasons, but in most cases there are no barriers to access if the visitor is prepared to walk some hundred metres from a public road. Those who do so will usually be rewarded by the privacy afforded by the absence of other recreational parties and by a beach environment on which the hand of man has fallen relatively lightly.

Most of the beach units estimated to have in excess of 500 visitors per day during peak season are close to urban areas. The major concentration is on the east side of the Clyde coast and on parts of the Firth of Forth and Solway, where they are associated with large caravan sites and holiday villages. The most used beaches in the Highlands are near major resorts, such as Dornoch, Oban and Nairn, or close to busy roadsides or large caravan sites in rural areas such as Wester Ross. The most used beaches are all on the mainland, except for two cases on Bute and Cumbrae which closely resemble their counterparts on the neighbouring mainland coast of the Firth of Clyde. At peak periods many of the most used class of beaches have visitor numbers well in excess of the lower class limit of 500. Beach populations at localities such as Ayr may reach three or four thousands, and the duration of high usage, on both the annual and diurnal scales, is often much longer than on more lightly used units. Esplanades and promenades on the main urban beaches attract recreational use far into the evening and there is also a much higher level of winter use than in most rural beaches. Although no figures are available on daily totals at beaches, it may be speculated that the most heavily used beaches have visitations that are at least four orders of magnitude higher than at the least used class. In terms of annual numbers of visitors, figures range from over 100,000 at some town beaches 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 this class are on the Clyde and Forth coasts, but there are also others in less populated parts of the Highlands and in such cases there is usually a strong association with easy accessibility or with caravan sites. Forty per 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 26 visitors per day, compared with approximately half of all units. The strength of the relationship between accessibility and intensity of use is illustrated in Table 3.6 where estimated day recreation class is cross tabulated 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 as shelters, putting greens or play areas. These facilities are associated mainly with urban beaches and in most cases such provision has existed in some form for several decades. There is a strong degree of correlation of this kind of facility with the most heavily used beaches, but some of the beaches which have become heavily used in the post-war period – for example, some of the intensively used Highland beaches – do not have a typical set of urban beach facilities.

Table 3.6 Estimated day recreation (visitors per day)

No. of Distance from public road Visitors 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 these facilities have been available in most urban beaches for many years, their provision outwith the main resorts has been mainly during the 1960s and 1970s. Litter bins may be provided cheaply, but the construction and 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 varying intensities. 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 of caravanning 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 these licensed sites, but most of them also cater for touring vans. Approximately 30% of the licensed beach sites have approved capacities of 30 or fewer units and almost two-thirds may accommodate up to 100 caravans. On the other hand, there are several large caravan sites with capacities of over 300 units, and one can take up to 600. Most of the large sites are in the lowlands, especially on the Clyde coast where static caravans offer a sizeable amount of self-catering accommodation close to beaches. Parts of the coasts of 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 licensed caravan parks is in the form of so-called wild caravanning, where few if any facilities are provided. Wild caravanning 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 approved caravan facilities. The main adverse impart of such use is vehicle tracks, which in a very few cases have been exploited by wind erosion. It appears that most of the areas exploited for casual camping and caravanning 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, although development control policies have been generally restrictive, as with caravan sites. The number of beach complexes that have been affected by chalet developments is small and siting is often confined to the landward margins of the beach complex. On the other hand, some of the beaches on the Clyde and Forth coasts and in parts of Galloway have holiday huts or shacks dating back to the 1930s. These are sometimes located in conspicuous positions close to the coastal edge, and in some cases have fallen into serious disrepair. In the majority of cases, these shacks predate planning controls and the problem which they constitute in the beach landscape cannot easily be resolved.

Although the Scottish coastline has not been without problems arising from the development of caravan sites and similar holiday accommodation, these problems have usually been on a relatively small scale and have usually been localised along a few parts of the coastline. For the most part, Scotland has been free from the pressures that have led to the development of extensive coastal caravan sites along parts of the coastline of England and Wales. In a few parts of the country, most of the accessible beaches may have been developed to some extent for caravanning, but these developments are rarely continuous and are complemented 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 of the Highlands is the golf course. Golf courses exist at approximately 12% of beach complexes. Many miles of coast are occupied by golf links whose typical setting is the lower part of the dune backslope and the post-glacial raised beach. Golf links are especially frequent on the east side of the Firth of Clyde and on the south side of the Firth of Forth, as well as in parts of Angus and on the coast north of Aberdeen. The standard and levels of management are usually high, and potential threats to stability, such as rabbits and incipient blow outs, are usually checked quickly. But the seaward part of the foredune ridge is usually outwith the golf course and receives less management although it may be subject to considerable levels of recreational use. The typical setting of a links golf course is on the outskirts of a resort or other town. The town beach may be used intensively for recreation, but is also intensively managed for that purpose, usually by the district council. Towards the outskirts of the town, intensity of management often decreases more rapidly than intensity of recreational use, and symptoms of recreational pressures, such as litter and trampling damage, become all too apparent. In localities where these pressures are high. it may be worth considering whether access agreements or similar measures could be of value in ensuring both the protection and continued 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-tidal beach and backshore. Although recreational pressures may exert some effects on the beach fauna, and may also 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 from trampling is often a noticeable symptom of recreational pressure. The environmental impacts of recreation are difficult to quantify, but an indication of their magnitude may be obtained by scoring their occurrence on a presence/absence basic and, where present, by further scoring according to low, medium or high severity. 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 35 Present: Medium 16 26 High 7 15

Table 3.8 Litter

Beach complexes (percentages)

All beaches Mainland beaches Absent 46 21 Low 37 47 Present: Medium 15 26 High 3 6

From the tables, it is clear that the environmental effects of recreational use are widespresd and occur to some extent on most of the mainland beach complexes. The effects become apparent when levels of recreational use cross very modest thresholds, but intensity of recreational use is not the only variable which influences them. A key factor is the standard and type of management and, in particular, the provision of paved surfaces near the coastal edge. The construction of a seawall and access steps protects the most vulnerable part of the beach complex which, in the absence of protection, may undergo severe deterioration with moderate levels of recreational use. Many of the most intensively used beaches are equipped with durable access points and benefit from efficient systems of cleansing and litter collection, but the condition of the flanks of these beaches and of beaches where recreational use has increased sharply during the last two decades may be less satisfactory. Suburban beaches and those in easily accessible rural areas much visited by holiday makers may be identified as the main locations suffering from environmental problems arising 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 partly responsible. Burnt patches resulting from picnics or barbecues are frequently found in both settings, and are often associated with cans and broken glass. While the control of incipient blow outs and the removal of litter 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 has been provided (for example, at Yellowcraig and Balmedie), but all too often the heavy recreational use to which many suburban and rural beaches are subjected takes place in partial managerial vacuum. Changes in land ownership or control and land management have tended to lag behind changes in land use. These lags 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 from improved farmland and previously unused for any purpose. This type is more common in the Lowlands than in the Highlands and perhaps poses even greater problems than the former. In the absence of clearly defined ownership, use and management, the coastal-edge strip may quickly deteriorate with the dumping of refuse as well as the onset of recreational pressures. While it has been demonstrated that some of these strips can become useful, cheaply managed recreational assets (for example, in Wigtown District), their potential usefulness 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 interactions between an altered and unaltered barrier island system in North Carolina. in Coastal Geomorphology D.R. Coates (Ed.) Binghampton. pp. 239–258.

Mather, A.S. and Ritchie, W. (1977). The beaches of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Countryside Commission 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. 17th Coastal 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 regional aeolian sand drift from surface wind data. The approach was suggested by Bagnold (1951) and developed by Fryberger (1979). Winds are evaluated and defined in terms of potential for sand movement by applying a weighting equation to routine percentage frequency of speed and direction data as provided by Meteorological Office Summaries. The weighting equation has been derived from a modification of the Lettau 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 drift g = gravitational constant c” = empirical constant based on grain diam. p = rho/density of air V* = shear velocity V*t = impact threshold velocity, or minimum shear velocity required to keep sand in saltation.

Additionally C” = C’ (d/d*)n

C’ = universal constant for sand d = mean diam. sand moved d* = 0.25mm (standard size) and n = empirical constant approx. equal to 0.5

Surface conditions, in addition to shear velocity, control the rate of sand drift. These include mean grain diameter, degree of surface roughness, amount and kind of vegetation cover and amount of moisture in the sand. Evolution of these parameters for a large number of localities would be impractical therefore wind energy 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 diameter ii) no vegetation iii) no bedforms larger than ripples iv) a presumed threshold wind velocity.

This has been determined from Belly’s experimental results for 0.3mm sand and expressed in terms of wind speed at a 10m ht using Bagnold’s formula

2 Vt (10m) = 5.75 V*t log –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 on Meteorological Office Summaries.

Having made these assumptions equation 2 can then be used to produce a number which expresses the relative amount of sand potentially moved by the wind during the time it was presumed to blow – ie actual rates of sand drift cannot be predicted but the method can be usefully employed in regional comparison in terms of available wind energy.

By substituting values for equation 2 for each of the wind speed classes weighting factors for each speed class 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 the summaries represents the length of time that the wind was presumed to blow from a given direction at a given speed, therefore, –

Q V2 (V Vt)t (4) t = time wind blew, expressed as a percentage Q = annual rate of sand drift

To evaluate the potential relative sand drift at a station the weighting factor for each speed class is multiplied by its percentage frequency for each direction. This is illustrated from the Leuchars Summary for the lowest speed class:

Method of computing potential sand drift from percentage frequency wind data using weighting equation (Leuchars Annual Summary 1962–77)

Speed 350–00 020–040 050–070 080–100 100–130 140–160 Weighting Class Factor Knots %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

Speed 170–190 200–220 230-250 260-280 290-310 320-340 Weighting Class Factor Knots %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 total for each direction produced. These totals can be used to construct a circular histogram or sand rose which will represent graphically both the amount of potential sand drift and its directional variability from the twelve compass 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 which sediment moved.

Vector unit totals from the different directions can be resolved into a single resultant – referred to as the resultant drift direction (RDD). This represents the direction to which sand would tend to drift under the combined influence of winds from the different directions. The magnitude of this direction can be found using Pythagorean 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 Seas USGS Prof. Paper 1052.

This appendix was kindly provided by Maralyn Robertson-Rintoul.

71 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

APPENDIX 2

KEY FOR FIGURE 1.1

1 Gillfoot Bay 35 Carleton Bay 2Mersehead Sands 36 Lendalfoot 3 Sandyhills Bay 37 Ardwell Bay 4Whiteport 38 Ardmillan 5 Brighouse Bay 39 Woodland Bay 6 Carrick Shore 40 Girvan 7 Airds Bay 41 Girvan North 8 Cardoness Shore 42 Dipple 9 Newton Bay 43 Dowhill Port 10 Mossyard 44 Matthews Port 11 Garlieston 45 Turnberry Bay 12 Rigg Bay 46 Broad Sands 13 Back Bay 47 Maidenhead Bay 14 Front Bay 48 Port Carrick 15 Monreith Bay 49 Culzean Bay 16 Philip and Mary 50 Croy Brae 17 Craignarget 51 Bracken Bay 18 Auchenmalg Bay 52 Heads of Ayr 19 Luce Sands 53 Greenan 20 New England Bay 54 Doonfoot 21 Kilstay Bay 55 Ayr South 22 Drummore Bay 56 Ayr Newton 23 Cairngarroch Bay 57 Prestwick Bay (Prestwick) 24 Maryport Bay 58 Prestwick Bay (Troon) 25 Portlogan Bay 59 South Bay (Troon) 26 Ardwell Bay 60 Barassie 27 Float Bay 61 Irvine Bay (Gailes) 28 Knock and Killantringan Bays 62 Irvine Bay (Irvine) 29 Broadsea Bay 63 Irvine Bay (Ardeer) 30 Dally and Dounan Bays 64 Stevenston 31 Lady Bay 65 South Bay (Saltcoats) 32 The Wig 66 Horse Isle 33 Ballantrae Bay 67 North Bay (Ardrossan) 34 The Whilk 68 Seamill-Ardrossan

72 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

69 Seamill South 105 Rhunahaorine 70 Seamill 106 Ronachan 71 Ardneil Bay 107 Dunskeig 72 Largs Bowen Craigs 108 Loch Stornoway 73 Millport 109 Kilberry 74 Fintray 110 Cretshengan 75 Kilchattan Bay 111 Millars Bay 76 Stravanan Bay 112 Stotfield 77 Scalspie Bay 113 Ormsary 78 St. Ninians Bay 114 Loch Caolisport 79 Etterick Bay 115 Kilmory 80 Sannox 116 Bagh na Doide 81 Brodick 117 Carsaig 82 Lamlash 118 Crinan 83 Whiting Bay 119 Ganavan 84 Kildonan 120 Ledaig 85 Torrylinn waterfoot 121 Tralee Bay 86 Drumadoon 122 Port Ellen 87 Machrie 123 Kilnaughton 88 Kilbride 124 Traigh Bhan Oa 89 Kilfinan 125 Killeyan 90 Skipness 126 Laggan Bay 91 Grogport 127 Gartbreck-Ardlarach 92 Carradale 128 Bridgend 93 Ardnacross 129 Uisgeantuidhe 94 Polliwilline 130 Claddich 95 Macharioch 131 Lossit Bay 96 Brunerican 132 Machair Bay 97 Dunaverty 133 Saligo Bay 98 Carskey 134 Traigh Bhan 99 Lossit 135 Sanaigmore Bay 100 Machrihanish 136 Ardnave 101 Port nam Marbh 137 Killinallan 102 South Glenbarr – Bellochentuy 138 Bagh an da Dhoruis 103 Muasdale 139 Ardtala 104 Tayinloan 140 An Doirlinn

73 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

141 Port Mor 177 Kilkenneth 142 Corran 178 Hough 143 Glenbatrick 179 Sraid Ruadh 144 Shian Bay 180 Bhasapoll 145 Corpach Bay 181 Balephetrish 146 Glengarrisdale Bay 182 Creagan Coast 147 Bagh Gleann nam Muc 183 Vaul 148 Tarbert Bay 184 Salum 149 Oronsay 185 Caolas Urvaig 150 Traigh nam Barc 186 Brock 151 Ardskenish 187 Gott Bay 152 Machrins 188 Scarinish area 153 Kiloran Bay 189 Baugh Heanish 154 Croisebrig 190 Traigh Bhagh 155 Loch Staosnaig 191 Sorobaidh 156 Cable Bay 192 Hynish area 157 Port a Chapuil 193 Gunna 158 Traigh Cill Mhic Eoghainn 194 Caolas Ban 159 Port Uisken 195 Feall Bay/Crossapol Bay 160 Ardalanish Bay 196 Port ant Saoir 161 Traigh Gheal 197 Hogh Bay 162 Knockvoligan 198 Cliad Bay 163 Fidden 199 Bagh na Trailleich 164 Fionnphort 200 Traigh Cill Ionnaig 165 Traigh Mhor Iona 201 Traigh Thorastain 166 A’Machair Iona 202 Traigh nan Uan 167 North Iona 203 Traigh Bhousd 168 Traigh ant Santachaidh 204 Traigh Logabhaisg 169 Gribun 205 Traigh Tuath 170 Calgary Bay 206 Sorisdale 171 Bagh Chrossapol 207 Loch Gorten 172 Loch Buie 208 Loch Breachacha 173 Carsaig Bay 209 Bagh a Ghallanaich 174 Balephuil 210 Galmisdale 175 Bharrapol 211 Bay of Laig 176 Greenhill 212 Camas Sgiotaig

74 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

213 Kilmory 249 Stoneybridge 214 Sahmnan Insir 250 Howmore 215 Un-named 251 Eochar to Dremisdale 216 Tarskavaig 252 Linique 217 Camasunary 253 Guallan 218 Glen Brittle 254 Southwest Benbecula 219 Talisker 255 Culla and Aird 220 Fiscavaig 256 Ballivanich 221 Coral Beaches 257 Rosinish 222 Camas Ban 258 Baleshare 223 Mingulay Bay 259 Kirkibost 224 Pabbay Barra 260 Paible 225 Sandray Main Beach 261 Balranald 226 Sandray Sheader 262 Tigharry and Hougharry 227 Bagh a Deas 263 Hosta 228 Vatersay Bay 264 Scolpaig 229 Traigh Varlish 265 Foshigarry 230 Uidh 266 Vallay 231 Halaman Bay 267 Sollas 232 Borve 268 Oronsay 233 Allasdale 269 Newton 234 Eoligarry 270 Monach Is. 235 Traigh Scurrival 271 Boreray 236 Traigh Cille Barra 272 Berneray West Coast 237 Fuday 273 Berneray Beasdair 238 Coilleagh Phrionnsa 274 Pabbay Chaisteil 239 Rhuban 275 Pabbay Baile Fo Tuath 240 South Glendale 276 Killegray 241 Smerclett 277 Ensay 242 Garrynamonie 278 Traigh a Siar 243 Kilpheder 279 Corran Taransay 244 Daliburgh 280 Paible Taransay 245 Frobost and Askernish 281 Northton 246 Milton 282 Scarasta 247 Bornish and Kildonan 283 Borvemore 248 Ormaclett 284 Borvebeg

75 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

285 Nisabost 321 Ardnamurchan Pt. 286 Seilebost 322 Sanna Bay 287 Crago 323 Kilmory 288 Luskentyre 324 Achateny 289 Husinish 325 Camas an Lighe 290 Traigh Mheilen 326 Cul na Croise 291 Cravadale 327 Ardtoe 292 Mealasta Island 328 Dorlin 293 Mealasta 329 Back of Keppoch 294 Mangersta 330 Bunacaimb 295 Carnish 331 Traigh 296 Ardroil 332 Camusdarroch 297 Traigh na Clibhe 333 Achaidh Mhor 298 Traigh Valtos 334 Morar 299 Traigh na Berie 335 Sandaig 300 Traigh Mhor (Little Bernera) 336 Ard Bhan 301 Un-named (Little Bernera) 337 Applecross 302 Bosta 338 Sand 303 Dalmore Bay 339 Redpoint South 304 Dalbeg Bay 340 Redpoint North 305 Barvas 341 Opinan 306 Dell 342 Loch Kerry 307 Cross 343 Gairloch 308 Swainbost 344 Strath 309 Eoropie 345 Little Sand 310 Port of Ness 346 Seana Chamas 311 Garry 347 Camas Mor 312 Traigh Mhor Tolsta 348 Cove 313 Giordale Sands 349 Mellangaun 314 Sheilavig Mor 350 Mellon Charles 315 Gress 351 Slaggan Bay 316 Traigh Rebac 352 Mellon Udrigle 317 Coll 353 Gruinard South 318 Tong 354 Gruinard North 319 Melbost 355 Camas a Chruthaith 320 Branahuie 356 Mungasdale

76 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

357 Achnahaird Bay 393 The Ayre 358 Garvie Bay 394 Melberry 359 Achmelvich 395 Rackwick 360 Clachtoll 396 Bay of Creekland 361 Stoer 397 Warebeth 362 Clashnessie 398 Bay of Skaill 363 Scourie 399 Marwick 364 Traigh na Teampuill 400 Birsay 365 Traigh Shourie 401 Sands of Evie 366 Oldshoremore 402 Bay of Meil 367 Oldshorebeg 403 Sands of Wideford 368 Sheigra 404 Redbanks 369 Sandwood 405 Sand of Ness 370 Kervaig Bay 406 Sand of Beeman 371 Keoldale 407 Sand of Ouse 372 Kyle of Durness 408 Sandside Bay 373 Balnakeil Bay 409 Newark Bay 374 Creag Thairbe 410 Dingyshowe 375 Sango Bay 411 Copinsay 376 Sangobeg 412 Burray Links 377 Traigh Allt Chailgeag 413 Ayre of Cara 378 Achininver 414 Honeysgeo 379 Talmine 415 Newark Bay 380 Melness 416 Sandwick 381 Coldbackie 417 Sand of Wright 382 Torrisdale Bay 418 Scapa Bay 383 Invernaver 419 Waulkmill Bay 384 Farr Bay 420 Bay of Sandgarth 385 Armadale 421 Veantrow Bay 386 Strathy 422 Mae Banks 387 Melvich 423 Scrimpo 388 Sandside Bay 424 Saviskaill 389 Thurso Bay 425 Sands of Woo 390 Murkle Bay 426 Bay of Tafts 391 Dunnet Bay 427 Wasbist 392 Sannick 428 Garth

77 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

429 Bay of Tuquouy 465 Sand of the Crook 430 Mae Sand 466 Bight of Scarma 431 Bay of Noup 467 Inganoust 432 Grobust 468 Sand of Rothiesholm 433 Bay of Skaill 469 Bay of Bomasty 434 The Ouse 470 Bight of Baywest 435 Pierowall 471 St. Catherines Bay 436 Bay of Brough 472 Stursy 437 Bay of Swartmill 473 Sands of Odie 438 Northwick 474 Papa Stronsay 439 Southwick 475 Cumley Bay 440 Bay of Moclett 476 Mill Bay 441 Bay of Greentoft 477 Sumburgh 442 Sandyland 478 Pool of Virkie 443 Sealskerry Bay 479 Quendale 444 Sands of Mussetter 480 Scousburgh 445 Sands of Doomy 481 Rerwick 446 Bay of London 482 St. Ninians 447 Mill Bay 483 Maywick 448 Doun Helzie South 484 Banna Minn 449 Doun Helzie North 485 Sands of Meal 450 Blackskaill Bay 486 Sand Voe 451 Scar 487 Reawick 452 Whitemill Bay 488 Melby 453 Otterswick 489 The Crook 454 Bay of Sandquoy 490 Tussleby Sand 455 Bay of Sowerdie 491 Kirk Sand 456 Bay of Scuthvie 492 Housa Voe 457 Bay of Lopness (East) 493 West Ayre Hillswick 458 Bay of Lopness (West) 494 Sand Voe 459 Bay of Newark 495 West Sandwick 460 Tresness Bay 496 Brekin 461 Sty Wick 497 Lundawick 462 South Bay 498 Burga Sand 463 Linklett Bay 499 Burra Firth 464 Northness 500 Wick of Skaw

78 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

501 Inner Skaw 538 Rosemarkie 502 Norwick 539 Whiteness Head 503 Balta Island 540 Nairn West 504 Skeo Taing 541 Nairn East 505 Huney 542 Culben 506 Sandwick 543 Findhorn 507 Sand of Sand 544 Burghead Bay 508 Wick of Tresta 545 Cummingstown 509 Mid Yell 546 Hopeman 510 Swarister 547 Covesea 511 Gossabrough 548 Stotfield 512 Lingness 549 Lossiemoutn East 513 Eswick 550 Cullen Bay 514 Sand of Sound 551 Findlater 515 Gulberwick 552 Sandend 516 Sandwick 553 Whyntie Head 517 Levenwick 554 Boyndie Bay 518 Freswick 555 Banff Bay 519 Sinclair’s Bay 556 New Aberdour 520 Kilmote 557 Rosehearty 521 Crakaig 558 Fraserburgh Bay 522 Kintradwell 559 Inverallochy 523 Brora Dalchalm 560 St. Combs 524 Brora South 561 Strathbeg 525 Littleferry – Golspie 562 Rattray Head 526 Coul Links 563 Rattray Bay 527 Embo 564 Kirkton 528 Dornoch North 565 Ugie-Lunderton 529 Dornoch South 566 Peterhead 530 Cuthill Links 567 Sandford Bay 531 Morrich More 568 Cruden Bay 532 Inver-Arboll 569 Collieston 533 Portmahomack 570 Sands of Forvie 534 Wilkhaven 571 Foveran-Drums 535 Balintore 572 Menie-Pettens 536 Nigg 573 Balmedie 537 Cromarty 574 Blackdog-Murcar

79 Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 109

Appendix 2 (continued)

575 Bridge of Don 612 Pettycur 576 Aberdeen 613 Burntisland 577 St. Cyrus 614 Silversands 578 Montrose 615 Peatdraught 579 Lunan Bay 616 Fishery Cottage 580 Arbroath 617 Cramond 581 Elliot 618 Portobello 582 East Haven 619 Fisherrow 583 Carnoustie 620 Seton-Longniddry 584 Barry Sands North 621 Gosford Bay 585 Buddon Sands 622 Greencraig Bay 586 Monifieth 623 Aberlady Bay 587 Barnhill 624 Gullane 588 Broughty Ferry 625 Muirfield 589 Tayport-Tentsmuir 626 Longskelly 590 Tentsmuir Point 627 Yellowcraigs 591 Kinshaldy 628 Broadsands 592 Leuchars 629 North Berwick West 593 St. Andrews West 630 North Berwick East 594 St. Andrews East 631 Milsey Bay 595 Airbow 632 Quarrel Sands 596 Cambo 633 Carty Bay 597 Balcomie 634 Seacliff 598 Crail 635 Peffer Sands 599 Anstruther Town 636 Ravensheugh Sands 600 Anstruther West 637 Belhaven Bay 601 Elie East Links 602 Elie Wood Haven 638 Dunbar Bathe 603 Elie Centre 639 Dunbar East 604 Earlsferry 640 Whitesands 605 Shell Bay 641 Barns Ness 606 Largo Bay 642 Thortonloch 607 Largo Town 643 Pease Bay 608 Lundin Links 644 Coldingham Bay 609 Leven 645 Linkim 610 Kirkcaldy 646 Callercove 611 Kinghorn 647 Eyemouth

80