Dornoch – a Beach Play Park and a Pictish Dig
A day.
The route
A family day on both sides of the Dornoch Firth, with a play area by the sands to start and a sand pit full of Pictish finds to end.
Dornoch Beach's playground has swings, climbing forts and a free library of beach toys, and over the firth at Portmahomack, the Tarbat Discovery Centre lets children dig like archaeologists in an old church with a lift. It suits families with babies and young children.
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, 8 miles away.
The day
Dornoch
Swings and sandcastles by the firth in the morning, soup and toasties on the High Street, then over the Dornoch Bridge to dig for Pictish treasure in the afternoon.
About five hours
Dornoch Beach
An attraction
Dornoch Beach has three car parks behind the dunes at the end of Golf Road: the second sits right beside the children's play area, and a charge may apply, so check the signs. The playground has swings, climbing forts, sprung ride-on toys, a trampoline and metal pipes to play like instruments, and the sands beyond are wide and gently shelving. Below the beach wheelchair hut is a free toy library of buckets, spades and beach toys to borrow. Free beach wheelchairs are kept at the top car park, best booked ahead, and the public toilets are by the Coastguard station a few minutes' walk along.
3 min by car
Milk & Honey
Lunch
Lunch is at Milk & Honey on the High Street, between Mitchells Chemist and the Dornoch Bookshop, 3 minutes' drive back into town. It's open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm and shut on Sundays, with lunch from noon to 3pm: two homemade soups a day, quiche, deep-filled sandwiches and toasties, bagels and wraps, and a children's menu. It's small and busy, so there may be a short wait for a table. If it's full, Cocoa Mountain on Castle Street, a minute away, is open every day from 9am to 6pm for hot chocolate and cake.
36 min by car
Tarbat Discovery Centre
An attraction
The Tarbat Discovery Centre is in the old church of St Colman at Portmahomack, 36 minutes' drive over the Dornoch Bridge and through Tain, with a car park beside it. From April to October it opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm; from November to February it's by appointment only on 01862 871351. Adults pay £7 at the time of writing, and under-18s go free. In the Stones and Bones Pit, children aged 4 to 12 dig through the sand with a special trowel for Pictish and medieval finds, and the carved stones of the Picts are all around. The way in is step-free along a gravel path, a lift reaches every level except the crypt, which is down narrow stairs, and there's an accessible toilet on the ground floor.
If it rains
The beach and the play area are out in the weather; on a wet morning, start with lunch and give the afternoon to the Tarbat Discovery Centre, which is all indoors.
Worth a detour
- Portmahomack
The village is just below the museum, with a sandy bay looking west over the Dornoch Firth. Park along the front for a few minutes on the sand before you go.
Dornoch Castle Hotel, a restaurant in Dornoch.
Cocoa Mountain Dornoch, a café in Dornoch.
Photograph by Sarah Takahashi via Google