Culbin Sands RSBP Reserve

Culbin Sands

The Culbin Sands are known in Gaelic as Bar Inbhir Èireann.

Nowadays the name "Culbin Sands" means a beach, but formerly the name meant a large area of loose dune sand desert which is now the Culbin Forest. In its heyday, the dune system was the largest in Britain.

This long strip of pristine beach is owned by the RSPB, due to its excellent bird habitat, home to Eurasian oystercatchers, Eurasian curlews, common redshanks and other birds. It is made up of a curious mixture of sand and long grass, but gets muddier further westwards. Much natural driftwood ends up on the sands. Three sand spits enclose a large salt marsh known as 'The Gut'. The largest, known as 'The Bar', is the largest spit in Scotland.

Towards Nairn, the beach is home to a wintering population of pale-bellied brant geese, one of only two in Scotland. The birds belong to the Svalbard population.

In 1888 and 1889, the dunes hosted breeding pairs of Pallas's sandgrouse, the only time this has ever been recorded in Scotland.

The sands had a reputation for shifting, engulfing homesteads. This was due to removal of marram from the dunes for thatching, as the roots helped to hold the soil together. The Forestry Commission sought to stabilise the dune in much a similar method by planting scrub, before giving the land over to forestry.

Shaped by the tide and wind Culbin Sands is an ever changing dynamic system.

Once part of one of the largest sand dune systems in Britain, the remaining sand dunes along with the saltmarsh, mudflats and shingle make up a complex and dynamic system shifting with the wind and tides. Nairn Bar, part of the Culbin Bar SAC, is one of the finest examples of a storm shingle ridge in Europe can be seen from the sandy East Beach part of the reserve.

Longshore drift and shingle thrown up by big storms in the Moray Firth build the sand and shingle bars whilst fragile saltmarsh is protected in the shelter on the landward side of the bars, creating a delicate mosaic of vegetation which can be easily damaged by the trampling of feet, hooves, bikes and illegal vehicle access.

Culbin Sands boasts a beautiful sandy beach where you can spot sea ducks, oystercatchers and ringed plovers. Admire pretty dune plants and flowers as you stroll along the sands and take in the views.

Facilities include nature trails, picnic areas and a car park at East Beach with public toilets. Nairn is the nearest town which is served by train and bus services.

Findhorn Bay

Aerial photo of Findhorn Bay, with the east end of the Culbin Forest at right and the estuary of the River Findhorn at centre.

The 'Bay' is not a true bay at all, but a large tidal basin. It is enclosed by the villages of Kinloss and Findhorn to the east, and Culbin Forest to the west. It drains the river Findhorn and the Muckle Burn.

Opposite Findhorn Village, the beach is home to a mixed colony of grey and common seals. Common eiders can be seen offshore and European herring gulls fly around the general area. On the southern side of the bay, there is a brackish pool frequented by waders such as the greenshank in migrant season.

In the winter, the bay is home to a roost of at least 10,000 pink-footed geese. The flock is exploited by fowlers, leading to some tensions locally with animal lovers.

The bay is deepest in the channel leading out to the Moray Firth, reaching up to 10 metres. Other than that, the bay is predominantly shallow, the average depth being circa 2 metres. Due this safety, and lack of strong swell, the bay is popular with amateur sailors and windsurfers.

Culbin Forest

This huge forest is almost completely owned by the Forestry Commission. It is split by several large paths and smaller tracks in between. The densely covered areas off these paths are difficult to traverse. Most walks are taken beginning at the south of the forest at Wellhill Car Park and ending at the beach. Among the trees there are several strange monoliths bearing messages, and at one tree there is a small plaque commemorating its planting by Prince Charles. Although mostly made up of tall pines and coarse ground cover, Culbin also has many more open, sandy patches in the forest, where small younger trees have recently been planted. The grassland areas are very suitable for butterflies. There are several ponds which act as oases to the local animals. Hill 99, a towering wooden structure which blends in subtly with the canopy, provides an excellent viewpoint. The wildlife amongst the trees is very discreet although birds can clearly be heard singing everywhere.

The forest hosts breeding crested tits. The forest is also an important site for the Kentish glory moth (Endromis versicolora), which exploits the forestry activity carried out by the Forestry Commission. The timber felling generates spaces for birch saplings to take root, the larval food plant of the moths, which prefer saplings under three metres tall. The moths follow the timber felling around the forest, and the adults can be seen in April and May.

Plan a visit

Please have a look at RSBP official site for more information about visiting Culbin Sands.