This short walk crosses two beaches, including the Maze (Tràigh Thòrasdail) which is perhaps the finest on Tiree. The route leads to the site of an iron age fort before returning the same way.
Bog Factor
Sandy beach, dune path, easy walking.
Greenhill (Grianal) parking area.
No bus service on Tiree.
NL938441
The Greenhill (Grianal) parking area is signed just west of the road between Kilkenneth and Sandaig, only park at the indicated spot on the machair just to the left (S) of the small burn which flows onto Greenhill beach. Start the walk by crossing the burn to reach the beach, and turn right along the back of the beach. Between April and June terns and waders nest on the point between Greenhill and the Maze beach, so please avoid heading up onto the headland during this time to avoid disturbing their nests.
Follow a short section of sandy track that leads between the grassy dunes; this leads out onto to the Maze, arguably Tiree's most beautiful beach. Exposed to the wind and waves, Tràigh Thòrasdail was given the Maze nickname by windsurfers who love the challenge of the conditions here.
Continue across the sands until a large buttress of rock outcrops. You can pass these on the seaward side at low tide, but if the tide is higher head up a path at the back of the beach to climb behind the outcrops. The path soon leads to a stile in a fence, cross this and descend to the left to return to the beach beyond the rocks.
Either walk on the sand or the path along the edge of the dunes to the very far end of the beach. Here a gate in the fence leads up to a low grassy mound - all that remains of an iron-age fort on the small headland of Rubha Hanais. The fort would once have had high stone walls and a diameter of over 10m. Its position on a grassy mound right near the shore ensures it remains a great viewpoint for looking back across the beach.
Return to the Maze beach and cross it to retrace the outward route back to the start. The machair in the Greenhill area has traditionally only been grazed by cattle whose dung, uneven grazing and hooves which expose bits of soil are beneficial to the herb-rich grassland.
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