Looking south towards Arran, Lady's Bedstraw beside the path

This is one of the most easily accessible raised beach walks on Bute, yet one of the least well known.  As with the Kilchattan raised beach (see Walk 5) the range of habitats you encounter within a short distance enables you to see a wide variety of species;  my list below records 67 currently in flower, and it is far from exhaustive.  It’s also a very fine coastal walk in its own right, with views across to Arran and Kintyre.

Sea MilkwortStart at the bird hide at the southern end of Ettrick Bay (Grid reference NS 042651).  There is parking for a couple of cars at the hide itself; otherwise use the car park a little further north.  The first section of the walk gives little clue as to what comes later.  Normally you can follow the tractor tracks across the shingle and sand, but at high tide use the slightly overgrown path that edges the shore.  Meadow Crane’s-bill and Tufted Vetch are in full flower here, while on the shore itself you can see Sea Milkwort and Sea Aster.

Burnet SaxifrageShortly you will come to a kissing gate, then a pebble bay, and from thereon the track follows the edge of the raised beach.  The white-flowered umbellifer you will see occasionally is Burnet Saxifrage, a less common plant that is fairly close to the northern edge of its range.  Despite its name, it is neither a burnet nor a saxifrage but a member of the Carrot family.

There is a marked contrast between the vegetation of the drier ground on the edge of the rocky shore and that of the wetter inland area.  On the thin soil of the drier areas, a beautiful and distinctive flora abounds – Lady’s Bedstraw, Wild Thyme, White Clover, Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Eyebright, English Stonecrop, Mouse-ear Hawkweed, Cat’s-ear and Bell Heather are some of the most common ones.

Bell Heather, Mouse-ear Hawkweed and Sea Plantain

English Stonecrop and Wild Thyme

Kidney VetchAfter a more or less level walk along the coast, you come to the first of a number of rocky outcrops; look out here for two of the rarer species you can see on the island.  Kidney Vetch requires a more limy soil than normally exists on Bute, but here on the rocks it has found a suitable habitat;  it has yellow flowers typical of the pea family but in a 'woolly' setting.  The other is Mountain Everlasting (also called Cat’s-foot), best seen a little earlier in the year (for some superb photographs, see the impressive Wildflowerfinder website).

Bog Asphodel and Cross-leaved Heath

Inland there is a much wetter area with its own range of species.  These include Bog Asphodel, Marsh Thistle, Marsh Bedstraw, Marsh Pennywort, Cross-leaved Heath, Whorled Caraway and Common Cottongrass.  

It’s possible, though a little harder going, to follow the coast further south to St Ninian’s Bay and Straad, but the walk described here ends once the rocky outcrops are reached.  Return by the same route (it's about a mile each way). 

Looking north towards Ettrick Bay

Species in flower include: