With the warmer weather arriving for the late summer, it's the perfect excuse to get outside and go exploring. Ideal for a day trip to entertain the family, Scotland's nature reserves are filled with incredible things to keep even the most inquisitive minds busy.
One, in particular, is not only packed with spectacular flowering grasslands, with wildlife aplenty but also comes with its very own beach. St Cyrus Nature Reserve is the perfect excuse to head to the northeast to explore this part of the country that deserves way more attention than it gets.
Found on the coast just north of Montrose, it stretches for miles and offers sand dunes, grassland, golden beaches and epic views aplenty.
Nature and wildlife
According to NatureScot, which looks after and maintains the reserve, St Cyrus' coastal location makes it one of the richest and most diverse reserves in Britain. In the summertime, the dunes and grasslands will be a riot of colour with plenty of fascinating plants to enjoy - look out especially for the
Look out for wee beasties like butterflies and moths, while birds such as meadow pipits and stonechats live side by side with peregrine falcons and buzzards - and perhaps most excitingly of all, there are even rare and elusive lizards to be found.
And that's not all, the reserves' viewpoints offer spectacular sea views where you can look out for visiting humpback and minke whales and bottle nose dolphins feeding in the rich waters offshore.
The beach
Running for 3 miles, this golden stretches as far as the eye can see making it ideal for long walks on a sunny day, with the red granite cliffs soaring above you on one side adding a dramatic quality.
If you take a dog, NatureScot advises you to keep it on its lead.
Not far from the northern tip of the reserve is the Den of Finella, a majestic waterfall named after a woman named Lady Finella, said to have killed King Kenneth II after he murdered her son, before jumping into the waterfall to evade capture.
The facilities
There is a small car park with parking available, while there are public toilets next to the visitor centre with two offering baby changing facilities.
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