A beautiful wide beach with dunes, river and caves.
Strathy Beach is about 12 miles away from The Captains to the east and takes about 25 minutes to drive there. The beach carpark can be reached either by taking the Strathy East road just after the Community Hall, or continue round and take a very sharp, dog-leg turn in front of the ruined cottages.
The car park next to the cemetery is large and, conveniently, has a wooden hut that includes a public toilet and enough space to change your clothes - particularly handy if you wish to go surfing.
The route down to the beach is relatively steep but pleasant, over grass kept well-trimmed by rabbits and sheep, and through the coarse marram grass of the sand dunes.
Following this path down brings you out towards the east end of the beach, close to the rocks. The geologically minded of you might notice that the rocks here differ from the common grey banded metamorphic rocks closed to The Captains, being layers of sedimentary rocks on a steep tilt. At low tide you can walk around the rocks to another "secret beach" section, or, if you feel brave enough, you can squeeze through the narrow cave to reach it too. At the back of this beach is a large cave, which is dark and damp but can be a handy place to shelter in a shower.
Local legend has it that this larger cave was the home for many years of a shipwrecked sea captain who took shelter here after the destruction of his ship, following a pursuit by pirates, so has become known as Captain Ivy's Cave.
Alternatively, take a stroll along the beach to the west, following the strandline to see what has been washed up. At the west end a river comes down and crosses the beach, but keep an eye out for nesting plovers amongst the rocks.
Notes for visitors with limited mobility:
There is a large parking area and easy access to a disabled public toilet. The car park is located at the top of the dunes and allows a good view over the beach but there is no easy access path down to the beach.