Home » Gruinard Bay
The headland at the north end of this picturesque beach offers great low tide exploration.
Where the sand turns to rocky shore, seagrass and kelp provide shelter for numerous fish, shellfish and other marine life. Rare and fragile fragile maerl can also be seen here.
Be aware that the small northern headland becomes cut off at high tide.

Trail leaflet

Download the trail leaflet for offline access to site information

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Facilities

Parking

Gallery

What other people say

How to get there

By road

From Ullapool, drive south along the A835, turning west onto the A832 to Gruinard Beach. Parking is available across from the beach.

The nearest electric vehicle charging station is in Gairloch (16 miles away).

 

By rail

The nearest train station is Achnasheen (44 miles away)

By bus

Buses are provided locally by George Rapson Travel

Get directions

Driving

Public
transport

Walking

Cycling

Provided by Google Maps

Local conditions

Here is the wind forecast and tide times for this snorkel site. It is your responsibility to assess whether these conditions are suitable for snorkelling.

Other considerations

More information

  • The Ullapool Sea Savers are a group of young people in Ullapool who work hard to raise awareness of and protect marine life, both locally and globally. The Scottish Wildlife Trust are proud to have supported their formation and inspiring activities. Visit their website and social media channels to find out what they’re working on and lend your support.
  • Connect with Seaful, a UK charity helping more people to reconnect to the ocean and waterways, for their mental health benefits, and to nurture stewardship of our blue spaces.

Wildlife warning

Please be a responsible snorkeller; do not touch, take or tease wildlife.

This area is home to breeding seabirds (April-September) and seals (harbour seals June-July, grey seals August-December). Please behave responsibly and stay distant, wildlife should be left undisturbed. For more information see sealalliance.org and nature.scot. Avoid disturbing ground-nesting birds and livestock; follow the Outdoor Access and Marine Wildlife Watching codes.

Stay safe

  • Be aware that the small northern headland becomes cut off at high tide.

Snorkelling can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk. Information is provided free of charge; it is your responsibility to check the conditions present on the day and assess whether it is safe to snorkel.

Please read our top tips to being a safe and responsible snorkeller.

Look out for the following species on your snorkel...

Fish
Small-spotted catshark
Ballan wrasse
Butterfish
Poor Cod
Crustaceans
Shore Crab
Velvet Swimming Crab
Hermit crab
Brown crab
Molluscs
Painted topshell
Dog whelk
Flat periwinkle
Common limpet
Other invertebrates
Snakelocks anemone
Common cuttlefish
Dead man’s fingers
Lightbulb sea squirt
Jellyfish
Lion’s mane jellyfish
Moon jellyfish
Barrel jellyfish
Stalked jellyfish
Starfish and urchins
Common starfish
Common Brittlestar
Sunstar
Common urchin
Marine plants
Cuvie kelp
Maerl
Seagrass
Bladder wrack

Species records

Visit the NBN Atlas to see all species records from this site

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Top tips

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Snorkelling can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk.

Information is provided free of charge; it is your responsibility to check the conditions present on the day and assess whether it is safe to snorkel.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust strives to provide accurate information but cannot accept responsibility for changes, errors or omissions.

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