Beach camp (south east Scotland)

[andybysea]

Finally got to go on my beach camp trip(fri-sun) my brother came up last weekend to do some diving etc, and then the planned camp trip and the end of his visit,we set off on Friday afternoon for the 2 and a half hour walk to the camp location,

First pic is of me walking down the sometimes scary way down to the beach,



once down we retrived the rations id buried the week before, we'd only took 45l sacks each so the week before id gone and buried some 24hr ration packs and 2litre water bottles to cut down on weight,



once supplies where located we put up a 2 man tent,the grassy area was just to uneven,and rock strewn, so we pitched in the sand and used rocks to hold down the guys,



you can just make out a coconut in the foreground on the beach,wether or not that came off a boat or drifted all the way here is anyones guess, we spent the rest of the first day collecting drift wood for the fire,and exploring the left end of the beach,

here's one of the rock pool wild life,



and another,



i did see a grey seal feeding on the surface on a rather big fish but my batteries had died by then,also saw quite a few deer looking down on us from the cliffs,

next are a couple of our seating area/fire area and our clothes drying area,







heres a couple of scenic shots, parts of it could be anywhere really







the pics used where from my brothers and my camera with about 100 taken so i had to reel myself in with the posting, i dont get to see my brother often as he currently lives in Oxford,and is moving to Dorset next week(he says hes going to join this forum in the next few days) had a great time and the only sign of man for the weekend where the tankers on the horizon, great to unwind for a few days

[MartinK9]

Great pictures Andy, thanks for sharing - good idea for the supply stash

[andybysea]

few more pics of the right end of beach just below the ruins of fast castle,



one of the many caves,



and finally one of my brothers arty ones,

[Shewie]

Great pics Andy

The weather looks to have held out for you, what was it like camping down on the beach ?

[Twodogs]

Fantastic , thanks for that
Twodogs

[andybysea]

fantastic Rich the weather got hotter and hotter, even with 3 days didnt have a chance to look round completely(beach must be almost a mile end to end with other bays to explore at its end) and sleeping on the beach was really comfy as it moulds to your shape, hopefully gonig to do it again in the not to distant future. Loads of drift wood we just used a old fishing crate to collect it.

[dwardo]

I have never tried beech camping, will have to stick it on the list

[Andy2112]

Cracking trip Andy, thanks for sharing, those pic are great.

[naboo_the_enigma]

looks like you had a cracking trip andy, so gutted i couldnt go! sods law as well, i've no work for two weeks now! typical! i must say my tent may have stood out a little though, its a bright orange frame tent! might have struggled getting it down that cliff as well, looks like a fair old drop!

keep me posted for the next one, definitley getting a scotland trip in at some point this summer.

great pics too! as usual.

cheers

dan

[andybysea]

Dan, we are going to be going again later on this summer i will keep you posted if you like, and i wouldnt worry about the colour of your tent, the place is well out of the way and it would only really be visible from the sea anyway, you could always try and put up a hammock where we hung our clothes(in one of above pics)Dwardo beach camping (on a deserted one) is my favorite type of camping,theres plenty to see and do and its very relaxing, i even got my brother to try limpets(i tried them a few months ago and hated them) and he liked the damn things!

[stuart f]

Hi Andy,great pics,i may have to pop over sometime in the near future.Your site looks good,i like the use of the drying line.
Anyway cheers for posting the photos.

Cheers Stuart.

[locum76]

I really like the pictures of the vertically striated rock. Its one of those things that gets me now and again when I start to think about how they were formed and how long it must have taken.

You know, in an ancient sea deposits were laid down, then petrified, then plate tectonics caused them to ripple and bend, then glaciation and erosion exposed them etc, etc ad infinitum.

[andybysea]

If theres interest,maybe we could organise a trip for a few people later in the summer?

[stuart f]

If theres interest,maybe we could organise a trip for a few people later in the summer?

Hi Andy,a nice idea that,and i should of just completed the Beachcomber course with Patrick of Backwoods survival,so i may have a few new skills to try out

All the best Stuart.

[Barn Owl]

I'd try and be there.

[Toddy]

I'd love to go but there's no way I'd manage that cliff

How did folks originally access the castle Andy ?

cheers,
Toddy

[andybysea]

Toddy, i think you can access the castle(ruins) from the cliff top further along from the beach,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Castle .Really there are only two parts down the cliff that are difficult as the path is narrow/sloping/and loose in parts but taking your time its not to bad to get down really,(ive got dodgy knees and was ok) there are no parts that are sheer drops its really at worst steep grass slopes.

[locum76]

I'd be up for a trip there.

[Toddy]

How accessible is the site for a small boat from the sea ?
Any idea of how close a put in with a safe car parking nearby could be ?

It really does look a cracking site

cheers,
M

[Shewie]

Now you've gone and done it Andy

[Toddy]

Well......we haven't had a coastal one yet
There's something kind of timeless, though I think I really mean sortof a time out of normal time, about a beach and that eternal sea

cheers,
Toddy

[Shewie]

Well......we haven't had a coastal one yet
There's something kind of timeless, though I think I really mean sortof a time out of normal time, about a beach and that eternal sea

cheers,
Toddy

Yes is does sound good, I've never done a full on coastal camp in this country. I've camped on the beach in Biarritz which was cool and sea lochs on the west coast before.

There's something about staring into the fire with the sound of waves lapping up behind.

Can't wait, got any dates yet Andy ?

[Toddy]

Poor lad, there he is, nice quiet site, beautiful bit of the world, no one to bother him, and now we all want to come and play

cheers,
M

[Prawnster]

Fantastic pics, just my sort of thing, coastal bushcraft.

Was there any oppurtunity to do a spot of fishing? Nothing better than grilling your catch for supper.

[andybysea]

Hi all, im not really bothered what dates really so long as its a weekend,maybe i should open another thread judging interest and dates? im off to France for a couple of weeks in June but apart from that im ok for most weekends, Toddy you could possibly get access by boat from one end of beach,see pic



this is at the southern end of the beach and its the only bit to the sea thats open the rest of the beach has a rocky reef running along it, there is no really close parking to the beach, thats probably(along with access) why its so quite, but there are a few parking spots that i know of,what we did was walk from my house without rucksacks,and my misses dropped our rucks to us at Pettico wick for the final walk in(just over a hour weve got it down to) There are a couple of people i know in the village who have boats (diving schools etc) weather they could drop us off and pick us up would need to be found out,and it would cost, unless someone has a RIB/ which would be excellant and could be moored up at the beach otherwise its the trek in on foot im afraid which is a nice coastal walk all be it up and down(mostly up).

[stuart f]

How accessible is the site for a small boat from the sea ? cheers,
M

Hi Mary,the vision that just ran through my head after reading that went something like this,theres us lads on the beach next to the fire when all we hear is "hello lads i,ve made it,i ,ve had Jeeves anchor the yacht just off shore,tell you what i'm Knackered,we are just back from Monaco for the grand prix,.I tell you what i could murder a cuppa is the Kelly Kettle on".

Sorry i could,nt resist,i thought you might a bit of cheering up after whats all gone on with the site

All the best Stuart

[Toddy]

Yacht indeed, and there was me thinking about the feasibility of a canoe

Oh, and if I do make it, if the kettle's on I'll bring the tablet


cheers.

M

[stuart f]

Hi Mary,i think Pease bay might be the closest put in point to Fast castle,it also has a car park and caravan site,i will try to find a link.

Cheers Stuart.

[andybysea]

Stuart, i tried aa route planner but it doesnt seem to recognise pease bay?(been there bodyboarding) but never walked that way to beach in question, the closet put in point for a canoe would be Pettico wick but its a bit tricky getting the canoe down to the slip(two people could probably manage it) as its only a couple of miles North from Pettico, the shortest way walking would be parking down near Lumsdaine and heading straight for the coast but having never been that way couldnt tell you if you could park down there,or if theres suitable access through the farm land. Really for average fitness people parking up and walking in from either St Abbs,or Coldingham isnt really to much effort and it has a proper set up coastal route (including gates and stlyes) for access.You could park up at Coldingham bay car park,and follow the coastal path right along or park up at St Abbs and do the same,depending on fitness and pace it would take between 1.5-2hrs.

ps i have seen sea kayaks moored up at the beach a couple of times so it is do able, but it would need to be a very calm day with the wind being kind(its always windy round here) following the coast though there are plenty of put in points(small bays) to have a rest along the way.

pps Prawnster i didnt take my rod with me but judging by the size of the fish the seal was chewing on, there are good size ones out there already,and there are plenty of rocky out crops to fish from.

[andybysea]

Ive set up a post in meet ups section to see if anyone fancies a meet here and to organise dates etc.