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General
One of the most northerly east coast beaches in England, Ross Back Sands
are located near Bamburgh and a little to the south of Holy Island, with
views toward the Farne Islands just offshore.
OS Map Ref: NU 148377
Access & Parking
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.
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, nr.Amble.
Trip Report - 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."
Trip Report - 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!"
Trip Report - 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."
Trip Report
A 'uk.rec.naturist' contibutor visited Ross Back Sands in early September
1998 and sent in the following report:
"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."
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