Seapinks and a beautiful Hebridean beach

It’s that time of year again and since seeing my first thrift/seapinks about a month ago in Galloway, I’ve seen plenty more!

On a sunny day in North Uist, a long walk across the machair brought us to this beach, near Balranald Nature Reserve.

A great improvement in the weather brought calm seas and crystal clear water.

Sunglasses were essential!

Swirly Lewisian gneiss on the headland

The beach is fringed by sand dunes which run its entire length. In one section, sandmartins had created a row of holes near the top of the dunes and were busy flying in and out of their nests.

Behind the dunes is a wide open expanse of machair and the early machair flowers were in bloom. These were all small flowers such as wild pansies and storksbill that grow close to the ground in the dry sandy soil.

Wild pansies and storksbill. The swathe of white in the background is daisies!

Storksbill

Last year’s seapinks post came from another beautiful North Uist beach, Hosta. Click on the photo below to view it.

Thrift at Hosta