Gruinard Bay Caravan Park

Gruinard Bay Caravan Park sits beside a sandy beach at Laide in Wester Ross, on the North Coast 500 route. It welcomes tents and campervans, with toilets and showers on site, and dogs are welcome too. The coastal setting makes the beach a central part of a stay, whether you are stopping during a Highland road trip or spending longer exploring this stretch of the west coast. The park’s season runs from 1 April to 31 October, with bookings taken by telephone or email.

A small burn runs through the campsite, where fishing is permitted on a catch-and-release basis. Beach fires may be possible below the high-tide mark, but permission and any restrictions should be confirmed with the owners on arrival.

For a walk elsewhere around the bay, the route to Eas Dubh starts at Little Gruinard beach car park, combining the sands with a glen walk to a waterfall viewpoint. It is around 3km in total, with boggy, sometimes indistinct paths and a short section beside the road. Mellon Udrigle offers another coastal outing: its 4km circuit crosses rough moorland above the shell-sand beach, with views towards the Summer Isles, Coigach and Assynt; some sections are very boggy. For a contrasting day out, Inverewe at Poolewe has a lochside garden of plants from around the world, including towering Californian redwoods, alongside estate walking trails.