Photos of Mangersta Beach
About Mangersta Beach
Mangersta Beach is a small white sand cove on the west coast of Lewis. Cliffs of grey gneiss close the bay in tight on both sides, dropping straight to the rocks at either end. Those cliffs makes a natural frame, so a wide shot from the sand holds the cove, the walls and the open Atlantic all at once. Getting down low lets the wet sand carry the light and pull your eye back toward the water. The rock at the edges is banded and streaked, worn smooth low down and broken higher up, creating interesting contrast. A steep grassy slope climbs from the far side of the burn to a cairn above the bay. From up there the whole cove opens out below, with Mealaisbhal, the highest hill on Lewis, standing behind. This coast faces west, so the evening light is beautiful as the sun drops right down into the endless feeling ocean. Atlantic swell often roll in hard here so those are also fun to experiment with adding to your frames. Grass and wildflowers run right down to the sand in early summer. There is a small parking pull off just past the turn off to Mangurstadhclose to the beach. (Mangersta, Isle of Lewis, Scotland)
