Best beaches in Grampian

A dune-backed stretch of the Moray Firth running seven miles, with a genuine surfing reputation and regular dolphin sightings offshore.

A National Nature Reserve backed by red sandstone cliffs, where dolphins, seals and around seventy recorded bird species share the same stretch of coast.

Cullen's beach sits beneath a Category B-listed railway viaduct built in 1886, its sand punctuated by the sea stacks known as the Three Kings.

This beach sits beside the Findhorn Foundation, an eco-community founded in 1962 that still draws visitors from around the world.

A few miles from Cullen, Sandend has built a genuine surf reputation, often likened to Cornwall's surf beaches without the crowds.

Balmedie backs onto the Sands of Forvie, confirmed as the fifth-largest sand dune system in Britain — a genuinely vast stretch of open coast.

Cruden Bay's golden, pink-tinted sand runs beneath Slains Castle, the ruin said to have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula