Dornoch – A Beach at Dusk and a Dram in the Castle's Bar
A few hours.
The route
Dornoch's beach runs for miles along the firth below the town, wide, pale and backed by marram dunes, and it's at its loveliest as the evening light goes.
Then it's a few minutes up the hill to Dornoch Castle, the old bishops' palace across the green from the cathedral, whose whisky bar is known to whisky lovers far beyond Sutherland. Dogs are welcome on the sand and in the bar.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Links House at Royal Dornoch in Dornoch.
Book supper at Dornoch Castle Hotel
Book supper at Dornoch Castle Hotel on 01862 810216 or through OpenTable: dinner is served every day from 6pm to 9pm, and if your dog is coming to dinner, say so when you book, as space is limited.
The day
Dornoch
Sand underfoot and the firth going quiet as the light fades, then a seat in a castle bar with a long shelf of rare whisky.
About three hoursAbout 1.5 miles on foot
Dornoch Beach
An attraction
Park in one of the beach car parks behind the dunes at the end of Golf Road, a few minutes below the town; a charge may apply, so check the signs. The public toilets are beside the Coastguard station, about five minutes' walk along. Then simply walk: the sand is wide and flat, with the Dornoch Firth on one side and the dunes on the other, and you can go as far north towards Embo as the light allows. Dogs are welcome on the beach all year. It's best on a long summer evening, when from mid-May to early August it stays light past half past nine. In midwinter the sun is down by about 3.30pm, so come in the afternoon, or keep the walk short and go straight to the fire.
3 min by car
Dornoch Castle Hotel
A drink
Dornoch Castle Hotel is on Castle Street, 3 minutes' drive back up into town, across the green from the cathedral; park on the streets round the Square. Its whisky bar is a partner bar of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and rated the top whisky hotel on whiskybase.com, with shelves of independent bottlings and single malts, and tasting flights to try. The house Negroni rests in a demijohn on the bar. Dornoch Distillery, one of the smallest in Scotland, works in the old fire house at the back of the garden; there are no tours. Dinner is served every day from 6pm to 9pm, sometimes in the bar by the fire on a quiet winter night, and there's a small children's menu. Book a table on 01862 810216 or through OpenTable. Dogs are welcome in the bar and the garden; say ahead if yours is coming to dinner.
If it rains
On a wet or wild evening, keep to a short walk on the sand, or skip it and go straight in: the bar is warm, and in winter dinner is sometimes served there by the fire.
Where to stay