Ross Back Sands - Northumberland

Getting There

StreetMap

OS Map Ref: NU 148377

Going north on the A1, turn right on to the minor road to Ross just beyond the village of Belford (note: 1/2 mile beyond the B1341 turning for Bamburgh) The village is about two and a half miles from the A1.

Travelling south on the A1 from Berwick, turn left just beyond the village of Buckton on to a minor road to Elwick, beyond which a left turn leads to Ross. Parking is possible in Ross or along the lane which runs out toward the coast. From this lane a path leads across fields to dunes and the beach.

The total distance from Ross to the sea is about one mile. Once on the beach, nudity is acceptable either to the north or south of the path - up to a mile in each direction.

Description
A long sandy beach with dunes behind and said to be "surprisingly deserted even at weekends" . Clean golden sand and unpolluted, but chilly, sea - "a delectable spot" for naturists. Lack of access at either north or south ends of the beach gives admirable seclusion and few, if any, passers-by.

"The lane from the village leads ultimately to a farm but passes between two rows of bungalows and cottages; a sign politely asks visitors not to park in this residential area and, although parking is not forbidden (?), it would be churlish not to comply, as well as counter-productive. Parking is therefore restricted to the verge in the lane from the village to this residential area but there was plenty of room. I would estimate the walk from the village to the beach to be nearer two miles than one, and that from the parking area to the beach at a little under a mile but I haven't checked this on the relevant OS map

There were a few people on the beach, no more than a dozen or so and mostly within a hundred yards of the path. However ... there was one bathing suited gentlemen who seemed keen on exploring further afield.... The dunes to the south of the beach were quite flat and offered little shelter from the wind, though they were very grassy, with some form of animal droppings much in evidence. The dunes to the north were much more substantial and appeared to offer effective shelter from the elements but, since rain impended, we were unable to explore. As we left a surprising number of bird watchers appeared from the dunes with an impressive array of cameras and binoculars. Clearly a popular spot with ornithologists."

Facilities
Are you kidding?

Water Quality
Not monitored officially, but said to be qualitatively excellent.

Nearby Beaches
To the north: Cheswick Black Rocks.
To the south: Druridge Bay, near Amble.

Selected Visitor Comments

June 2004

"Ross Back sands is a huge expanse of golden sands backed by extensive sand dunes. Use common sense - i.e wearing clothes until about 400 metres from where the right of way footpath from Ross meets the beach. Families with children rarely go beyond that. From there, for about 2km as far as the beacons opposite Holy Island you can safely go unclothed either on the beach or in the dunes. The sea is usually cold even in mid summer and cool winds are common. I have often seen couples, groups and single people (male and female but more males) just sunbathing. A nice place. Take your litter home and try not to disturb nesting birds to the north of the beach. Respect others privacy."

May 2004

"We visit the beach about three times yearly between end May and end Sept. Beautiful long beach, with very few people about - textiles or nude. Textiles tend to stay close to the path to the beach. spoilt only by the fact its quite a long walk, approx mile or mile and a half from where one can park one's car to the beach.[We] have visited nine times in past few years and have only met two other naturists - both male - and about 10-15 textiles, although they didnt seem to mind our appearance. Even saw two bikini-clad women walking along beach. later saw one sans bikini......a convert!"

August 2003

"This beach is one of the best in the country, with fine golden sand and excuisitely beautiful views of Holy Island to the north and Bamburgh Castle to the south.
Even in high summer there are only around a dozen or so people on this massive beach, which stretches for about a mile to the south of the access track and about two miles to the north. Apart from some serious walkers, most textiles don't venture far along the beach, and those who do don't seem to mind seeing naturists. Naturists (usually just one or two but on a good day as many as four or five) gather about 0.5 mile to the north of the track."

2010

fossil girl, Alnwick 2010-06-01
Beautiful beach and spectacular views of Holy Island and Bamburgh Castle. Beach [was] full of families (clothed) but beach is big enough for all and we were soon naked!

The Tibetan Hat 2010-06-22
Cracking beach. OK, the quite barmy right of way to the shore requires a trek through a knee-deep bog, but when you get there... wow! There's soft sand, literally miles of space, sat below the dunes you're even sheltered from the prevailing breeze, it's bliss! The girlfriend and I were the only nude people there with one or two clothed families around, but again all that space means it didn't seem an issue. Water cold, let's call it refreshing(?), and looked clean.
Staggering views along the much castled coast. Lots of birdsong too. Have I said bliss yet?
I confess that walking back we followed some apparent locals who knew a route back to the car park that avoids the bog. There are signs expressly forbiding this, so I wouldn't want to make a habit of it. Plan for that bog and call it one of the charms of the beach.
See you there sometime!

Wild Swim in Sea 2010-09-06
Take notice of the trek from Ross village and remember where you come out from the dunes to reach the beach, as everywhere looks quite similar! If you are the last one to leave, you may be lost and in trouble! Another point is to beware of rip current. I swam at somewhere near those bright floating balls at the south part, and found myself in difficulty. I tried very hard. Fortunately it was low tide and I could stand on the seabed after a while, and had a rather difficult walk back to the shore. Personally I don't like a sandy beach too much as I have got sand all over my body and difficult to get rid of it. But this is a nice area in general, with nice scenic view.

Negasbare 2010-09-11
The path always gets flooded during winter but usually is dry by Easter. This year was an exception and it stayed under water for many weeks - take the field to the left if it's impassable.

6 Newby 2010-09-13
First visit today and it was stunning.