Bain's Beach, Lerwick

About Bain's Beach, Lerwick

Bain's Beach is a small patch of coarse sand off Commercial Street in Lerwick, set between the old lodberry warehouses on the waterfront. Centuries of trade and shipping through the harbour have left ballast, dropped goods and broken glass in the water, and it washes up here. Shetland's official tourism site singles it out for sea glass.

Sea glass at Bain's Beach, Lerwick

Sea glass 'of every imaginable shade' among the sand, mostly whites, greens and browns with some cobalt blue, plus pottery fragments and occasionally a marble or perfume bottle stopper.

Visiting Bain's Beach, Lerwick

Getting there

Off Commercial Street, between the Lodberries, in central Lerwick.

Safety

Check the tide times before you go and head out on a falling tide, so you're never cut off. Keep away from the bottom of cliffs, wear sturdy shoes on rocks, and only take sea glass and other man-made rubbish: pebbles, sand and shells should stay on the beach.