It's probably not a surprise to see that my local beach has only one thread from 2013 on here given that I live in Scotland!
Balmedie beach is a flippin' long beach just north of Aberdeen and south of a golf course built by some dude that sits in an oval office across the pond. It's not an offical naturist beach, but has a local rep and the locals turn a blind eye (in my experience so far at least - I've literally had dog walkers wander by while I've been sunbathing naked).
Due to it's size, you could spend all day wandering around the textile areas looking for somewhere to strip off, so here's directions to the southern area I use:
Firstly, you don't have to bother with the road that goes to the beach. It is only wide enough for one vehicle, has several large speedbumps and there are two sets of posts on the way to the smaller carpark (next to the abandoned toilets) which stop larger vehicles getting through. It's also quite a walk from the small carpark to the nude area of the beach. Instead, there is another small carpark at the end of Eigie Close, which is on the western edge of the Balmedie houses. It's used by the local dog walking brigade and there's no barrier or anything so it's perfectly ok to use. From here, walk through the trees in the direction of the beach and you'll find a path which runs around the perimeter of the big rectangle of grass and bushes that seperates the Balmedie houses from the dunes. Follow the path south, keeping the perimeter fence to your right and the beach to your left. You'll pass the end of Chapelwell Wynd and the path will become a grassy trail. After a while you'll come to the southern fence and the path turns towards the beach. After passing a lot of rabbit holes, you'll come to a hill between you and the beach. There's a sandy (fairly steep) path. Climb the hill. At the top, you'll see a small bridge below you, and another hill of similar size. Cross the bridge (it is safe I promise - it's seen a whole tribe of runners at once) and climb the second hill. Et viola - you'll see the beach (total time to walk from the car park to the beach itself usually takes no more than 20 minutes). From here it's up to you which direction you go, depending on the surrounding activity. There's plenty bushes to hide behind if anybody passes. It may be better to go a little north from here as there is usually a burn that divides this section of the beach with the main textile area, which means you're less likely to see any textiles wandering (especially during high tide). If you're lucky, there won't be many wandering around south from you (they get onto the beach from Blackdog) and you can go that direction. They're a good distance away though, so you'd have plenty time to cover up or hide if they decide to walk your direction. If it's really quiet, I've seen myself dancing on the actual beach with nobody in sight, but this may have been because I was there just after a summer shower!
Hope all this helps somebody - the amount I've written probably makes it look much more complicated than it actually is and it's well worth a visit if you're close by on a good day, and it's much less windy than Tentsmuir beach ;D
I agree that Balmedie beach is fantastic on a good day. When I stay Ed in Aberdeen I used to park near the entrance to the Blackdog Rifle Range, if the Red flags not flying just walk through the range and down onto the beach, your then directly on an area commonly used by naturists.
I am working in Aberdeen in July and plan to visit Sunnybroom Club and attend a swim. If the weather is decent enough, I’ll try to visit Balmedie. Thanks for providing directions.
I love being in my skin