Pencil Beach

This is a small, fairly shallow bay around 300 metres in length and found at the south end of Largs not far from the Pencil Monument, hence the name. There’s plenty of gorgeous soft sand and it’s a lovely place to spend some time relaxing on a warm summer’s afternoon (as I did today!)
It has been considered a safe bathing area since 2006 and, in 2009, the beach won the Keep Scotland Beautiful Seaside Award. This means that there are excellent litter management policies in place, very good bathing water quality, and information boards beside the beach.
There’s no lifeguard and parking might be a bit tricky. The best thing is probably to walk from the town centre, which isn’t far away. Otherwise the parking facilities at the Marina nearby might be the best bet (there’s a café there too).