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The wide sands of Ettrick Bay at low tide.
Argyll and Bute

Ettrick Bay

A mile of golden sand on the north-west coast of Bute, looking across to Arran, with a tearoom at the back of the beach.

Welcome

Ettrick Bay is a mile-long sweep of golden sand on the north-west coast of the Isle of Bute, looking across the water to the hills of Arran, and it is the island's favourite beach.

The water is clear and shallow for paddling, the sand is good for picnics, and on still days the bay is a mirror for the sky and the far hills; at low tide it seems to go on for ever.

It is a fine place for birds, with waders and seabirds along the tideline and geese passing overhead in season. The bay was also used by the armed forces to practise for the D-Day landings. There is a car park, toilets, picnic tables and a small children's play area, and the Ettrick Bay Tearoom at the back of the beach serves meals, cakes and ice cream, with a welcome for dogs. It is a short drive from Rothesay.

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The Daily for 1 November, from Scotland with love. A misty lane runs past slate-roofed cottages toward a wooded hillside.
Not farArran Botanical Drinks, Cladach18 milesSee itArran Botanical Drinks, Cladach
Before you go

Ettrick Bay has a car park, toilets, picnic areas and a small play area.

The Ettrick Bay Tearoom is dog friendly.

Where
North-west Bute, a short drive from Rothesay.
Facilities
Parking, toilets, tearoom, play area.

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Where it is

North-west coast of Bute.

Close byOn Bute.
  1. The low brick café at Ettrick Bay on a sunny day, with blue pillars and doors, benches and parasols along the front.Ettrick Bay CaféA beach café at the back of Ettrick Bay on Bute's west coast, for home baking, breakfast and lunch looking out to Arran.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The white shopfront of Musicker on Rothesay's High Street, its name on a green sign above the windows.MusickerA vegetarian café on Rothesay's High Street, opened in 2002 for good coffee and good music.5 miles 10 min by road
  3. Display cases of birds and finds in Bute Museum's hall.Bute MuseumThe island's own museum on Stuart Street in Rothesay, by the castle.5 miles 10 min by road
  4. Rothesay's seafront terraces rising above the bay.Rothesay TownBute's Victorian resort town on a wide bay, with a moated castle, a royal charter of 1401 and celebrated toilets on the pier.5 miles 10 min by road
  5. The Kettledrum café on its corner in Rothesay, a red shopfront with CAFE in white letters above the door.Kettledrum CaféA family-run café and bistro on East Princes Street in Rothesay, for fish and chips, pies and early dinners.5 miles 10 min by road
  6. The castle walls reflected in the moat.Rothesay CastleThe round, moated castle of the Stewarts in the middle of Rothesay, with Scotland's only circular curtain wall.5 miles 10 min by road
Directions
Rothesay Castle's round walls behind its moat.AttractionsIsle of Bute2.2 miles as the crow flies
The front of Ambience on Victoria Street, Rothesay, under its blue awning.RestaurantsAmbience Café5.1 miles
The view from the Ardyne hillside over young birch and spruce to the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Bute across the water and the peaks of Arran on the skyline under a big sky of white cloud.WalksArdyne Trail5.3 miles
The ruin of Toward Castle from the air: its ivy-covered tower and the roofless walls of the courtyard among spring woods, the Firth of Clyde blue beyond.AttractionsToward Castle5.4 miles
The roofless gable of St Mary's Chapel among the graves.AttractionsSt Mary’s Chapel5.5 miles
The Kyles of Bute from high above in warm evening light, the channel running past wooded islands, Colintraive and its ferry slip on the left, the green fields of Bute on the right and the hills far off under the clouds.AttractionsKyles of Bute Viewpoint7.6 miles
Mount Stuart's red sandstone front across the lawns.AttractionsMount Stuart8.8 miles
Scalpsie Bay's sand and the green fields behind, from above.AttractionsScalpsie Bay9.2 miles
A bus on the shore road round the wide sandy bay, the village beyond.AttractionsKilchattan Bay14 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the bay, and when each is next free.

The Hollies, Argyll and ButeThe Hollies
  • Sleeps 18
  • In Tighnabruaich
  • 6 miles from Ettrick Bay
Check datesGlenstriven House, a white Victorian house with grey stone corners, at the top of a gravel drive between lawns, with a wooded hill behind.Glenstriven House
  • Sleeps 15
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 8 miles from Ettrick Bay
Free 2–4 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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CollectionScotland's Best Beaches
More in Argyll and Bute
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