Lunan Bay – A Boardwalk Through the Dunes to Open Sand
Lunan Bay is a long curve of pale sand on the Angus coast between Arbroath and Montrose, backed by dunes and closed in by low cliffs at either end.
From the car park at Lunan Farms a boardwalk leads through the dunes to a viewing platform above the beach. From there the walk is the sand itself: north along the tideline towards the cliffs for as far as you like, and back the same way.
- Time
- An hour to an hour and a half on the sands north of the Lunan Water. The whole bay is two miles long.
- The path
- A boardwalk runs from the car park to a viewing platform above the beach, built in 2025 for wheelchairs and buggies. Beyond the platform it is soft sand.
- Where to start
- The car park at Lunan Farms, off the A92 north of Inverkeilor by the farm's own track, driven at 10mph. It is shut overnight, with the hours on the sign at the entrance, and it fills on fine weekends.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. The car park is shut overnight. Dogs go on a lead from April to July.
- Dogs
- Under close control around the estuary, farmland and dunes, and away from resting shore birds. On a lead from 1 April to 31 July, when birds nest on the ground.
- Children
- Keep children out of the Lunan Water and well away from the fenced ruin and the bank below it.
- Toilets
- In the farm shop beside the car park.
- Before you set out
- Red Castle, the ruin across the Lunan Water, is fenced off and unsafe after a landslip in 2021: look at it from the beach. Stay north of the river and do not wade it. The boardwalk to the viewing platform is due to be replaced, so there may be works.
The walk
The car park is at Lunan Farms, off the A92 north of Inverkeilor. Leave the main road at the Hawkhill junction and after a mile the farm's own track leads on to the car park. Walkers and cyclists share the track, so drive it at 10mph. The car park is shut overnight, with its hours on the sign as you drive in, and on a fine weekend it fills, so come early or have a second plan. The toilets are in the farm shop beside it. A boardwalk runs through the dunes to a viewing platform, built in 2025 so that wheelchairs and buggies can reach the view.
The local charity that built it plans to replace the boardwalk next, so there may be works on the way down. Below the platform the beach is wide and open. The bay is two miles long from end to end, and the Lunan Water cuts it in two. The car park is north of the river, so the walk is the northern sands, out to the low cliffs at the end of the bay and back. Give it an hour to an hour and a half. Stay on this side of the river.
The ruin on the rise across it is Red Castle, fenced off since a landslip in 2021: look at it from the beach and go no nearer. Gannets and terns fish offshore, and dolphins are sometimes seen in the bay. Keep a dog under close control around the estuary and the dunes, and on a lead from April to July, when birds nest on the ground. The currents at the river mouth are strong when the tide is running, so keep out of the water there.
If it rains
The bay has no shelter, and in a strong wind the blown sand stings. On a wild day, go as far as the viewing platform, look out over the bay and leave the long walk for another time.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.