Sandwood Surf

The NW tip of Scotland is pretty harsh and forbidding much of the time, but fabulous if you get it right. Most years I do try and spend a night or two listening to the Sandwood surf rolling in.

This year my chance came in early June – a bit breezy but a forecast of solid sunshine is not something to ignore. Sandwood means a long drive and an early start, but at least it’s in daylight!

I’ve hiked cross-country on my last couple of visits, but took the easy route this time. The John Muir Trust maintain a good trail from Blairmore to the southern end of Sandwood, and it’s only ninety minutes or so.

Once across the Sandwood River you’re pretty much into trackless terrain all the way north to Cape Wrath. The hill on the far side isn’t very high, but the sun was hot and I was sweating a bucket or two by the time I reached the top.

There are plenty of places to pitch up but I do like this spot, perched above the surf. The surf can be a bit rumbly and you’ll catch the breeze, but the view is magnificent.

Mixed Fishing

I grabbed a quick coffee and then made my way down to the beach for a couple of hours. I’d taken mackerel, sandeel and some iffy ragworm along, so cast a mini-smorgasbord into the Sandwood surf. No takers, other than hundreds of mini-shrimp creatures which made the most of a free meal – every cast!

Failing miserably to get a bite, I switched tactics as the tide fell and set up some fly gear. The Strathchailleach river cascades into the sea a few hundred metres from my tent, so I made my way across. Whilst the waterfall kills any chance of seatrout, the burn does hold plenty of suicidally hungry tiny brownies.

This little stretch is exceptionally pretty and was well sheltered from the strong north easterly breeze. I spent a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours clambering around the rocks and casting into little peat coloured pools.

The brownies were plentiful, but miniscule too. This is one of the better ones!

I gave the beach another half hour as the sun sank towards the west, but it was quite chilly now in the strengthening wind, so I headed back to the tent for dinner and a beer, watching the sun disappear.

This far north, the sun doesn’t give up until around 10.30, and there isn’t much real darkness. I’d been up since before 4 in the morning so was pretty tired by now, so hit the sack just after the sun went to bed.

Sunrise

Next morning was calm, so the midges had their breakfast at my expense 🙁 Thankfully, a combination of sunshine and Smidge discouraged them before too long, so I had a play with the drone and hyped myself up with a strong coffee.

This morning I headed a little further north and fished a little bay. It’s still part of Sandwood but is only rarely accessible from the main beach except on bigger tides.

Despite less wind, the Sandwood surf was a little stronger this morning. I persisted with a rolling ledger and sandeel and was eventually rewarded with a decent take.

Just a small seatrout, but quite welcome after a very quiet session yesterday. Quickly unhooked and returned.

Waterfalls and Wee Trout

I fished on for a little longer, then took a wander along the beach to the Strathchailleach waterfall. Even in low water conditions this is still quite impressive, thundering into a deep narrow cleft in the cliffs.

I hit the river again, picking up a few more small trout before heading back to my tent.

Time up, I packed away my little Vango and headed back to the main beach. The path back always feels longer on a return trip!

Share this: