Swimming spots near St Andrews
13 swimming spots within 30 km of St Andrews, 13 of them designated bathing waters monitored by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Nearest first — the closest is St Andrews (West Sands), about 1 km away.
1 carrying a caution. 12 with no current pollution alert. 10 rated Excellent under the EU Bathing Water Directive, which describes four seasons of samples rather than today.
- St Andrews (West Sands)1.1 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- St Andrews (East Sands)1.1 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Kingsbarns10.4 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Crail (Roome Bay)14.1 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Broughty Ferry14.4 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Anstruther (Billow Ness)14.7 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Monifieth15.3 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Lower Largo16.7 km from St AndrewsCaution
- Elie (Harbour) and Earlsferry17.0 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Elie (Ruby Bay)17.2 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Carnoustie18.3 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Leven19.0 km from St AndrewsGood to go
- Arbroath (West Links)26.2 km from St AndrewsGood to go
Browse the wider area
Common questions
- Where can you swim near St Andrews?
- 13 sea, lake and river swimming spots lie within 30 km of St Andrews, spread across 1 area. This page lists them by distance from the town rather than by county, because a boundary is not what decides where you drive.
- What is the nearest beach to St Andrews?
- St Andrews (West Sands) in Scotland, about 1 km away. It is the closest of the 13 listed here; the next few are within a short drive and each shows its current status, so the nearest is not always the one to pick.
- Is the water clean near St Andrews?
- 13 of these 13 spots are designated bathing waters with published monitoring, from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Monitoring covers bacterial quality only — it says nothing about tides, currents, swell or cold-water shock, and nothing here is a clearance to swim.
- Which spots near St Andrews have the best water quality?
- 10 of them hold Excellent, the top classification under the EU Bathing Water Directive, based on bacterial samples across the previous four bathing seasons. That describes a four-year record rather than the water today — each spot page shows both.
- Can you swim near St Andrews right now?
- 1 of the 13 is currently flagged, and 12 have no current pollution alert. These change day to day, so check the individual spot before you travel.