Farr Bay, Bettyhill

Farr Bay on the east side of the north coast village of Bettyhill is a stunningly scenic location. It is a tight inset bay with rocky sides and a lovely sandy beach at its head backed by dunes and an area of machair. The sides of the bay are rough and rocky and waves sweep along them before crashing on to the lovely sandy beach. The beach is a 5 minute walk from the car park at the bottom of the hill at the east side of Bettyhill and is a fantastic spot. It is on the North Coast 500 route and accommodation is available in Bettyhill.

Please note: This page is in development but in the meantime I hope you enjoy the small selection of photos. Please check back for more photos, information & an interactive map – coming soon.

An unusually abstract shot for me but one that brings out the nature and character of some of my favourite rock; Lewisian gneiss. On the east side of Farr Bay Lewisian gneiss outcrops forming sharp jagged stacks and ridges on the foreshore below the cliffs. The background of the bay is over exposed, blown out, with a 2 second shutter speed in the early evening. The rich pinkness of the rocks stand out against the moving waters and the rock conveys something of the ancient. The Lewisian gneisses are the oldest rocks outcropping in the UK and range from around 3 to 1.7 billion years old. They most usually outcrop in the far west of the Highlands and in the western isles, including Lewis, but at Bettyhill have been caught up in the younger Moine rocks by ancient thrusting and folding and are part of the ‘Lewisian inliers’.

Purchase prints of photos in a wide range of sizes and media at my online store at Redbubble.

Purchase prints at Redbubble.com button image
Find out more about purchasing from Redbubble here.

Discover and explore Northern Sutherland through the articles and links below.

Search for accommodation using Booking.comBuy guide books and maps from Amazon
Buy maps from the Ordnance SurveyCheck out reviews at TripAdvisor
Late afternoon on beautiful Ceannabeinne beach (Traigh Allt Chailgeag)
Ceannabeinne Durness – Grey November Day but Still Beautiful
Saturday was a grey day in the far north, there was some mizzle in Caithness to start. The forecast had seemed okay so I set out with my boy to head west and do something. No firm plans, just a need (on my part) to get out of the house ...
Read More
Dawn Over the Kyle of Tongue, Northern Sutherland
Ben Hope Summit Camp
Back in July I had a free weekend that coincided with good weather in the north west. This generally seems to be a rare occurrence with good weather appearing to only happen during the working week. Whilst having climbed Ben Hope many times I had never spent a night high ...
Read More
Photo of a Puffin surveying the geo around Wester Clett, "Puffin Island"
Puffin Colony – Wester Clett, Sutherland
Just on the Sutherland side of the Sutherland/Caithness border, on the coast at Drumhollistan Moss, is a complex series of deep geos, or coastal inlets, with a steep sided island called Wester Clett in the middle. Wester Clett has been popularly named "Puffin Island" and the surrounding geos as "Puffin ...
Read More

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: