MapUnited KingdomTiree (Inner Hebrides)Crossapol Bay, TireeTiree (Inner Hebrides)

Crossapol Bay, Tiree

Scotland · Tiree (Inner Hebrides) · Crossapol; Scarinish is the island's main settlement

also known as Crossapol Beach, Tràigh Bhàigh, Baugh Beach, Tràigh Chrosabol

Part of Tiree (Inner Hebrides) →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnerslow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-22 kt

Character: synoptic

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

14 °C in summerWhite-sand open beach on Tiree's south/south-east coast, sand bottom

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug Oct

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Tiree Airport (TRE)

no transfer time published

When it fills in

System-driven wind with no daily thermal to wait for: it blows at whatever hour the Atlantic delivers, overnight included. The forecast sets the session rather than the clock, and the tide matters more than the time of day, because high water in a westerly drops the inside of the bay into the dune wind shadow.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Gott Bay
Soroby Bayno page yet
Balevullinno page yet
Balephuilno page yet
The Mazeno page yet
Loch Bhasapolno page yet

The spot

Crossapol Bay faces south/south-east on Tiree's south shore, right beside the airport village, and it is a windsurf and kite beach rather than a learner lagoon.

Wind

West is the best direction here; south and south-east are the worst, and in the island's usual south-westerly you get starboard cross-onshore across a broad white-sand beach with a sand bottom. Airport statistics give an annual average of SW 15 kt, and the strongest wind runs October-March, though spring and autumn are the windows riders actually use.

The catch: at high tide in a westerly the inside of the bay drops into a dune wind shadow and turns gusty, so plan around the tide even though Crossapol is otherwise rideable through it.

Water

Water is cold all year, roughly 14 C in August and around 8 C at the end of winter. Atlantic swell arrives unfiltered and the beach stops being friendly to less experienced riders when it is big.

Getting there

Services are island-scale: sort the ferry or flights early, arrive self-sufficient, and ask one of the two local schools which beach suits the day before you rig.

The wind

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

SW overall at Tiree Airport; for Crossapol specifically, W is the best direction and S/SE the worst

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

No size guidance specific to Crossapol is published.Across the 17-25 mph course window a 75-85 kg rider is on roughly 10-12 m at the bottom and 8-9 m at the top, and spring and autumn depression days routinely go below that, into 7 m and smaller.Indicative, derived from the island's stated lesson wind range rather than from measured sessions on this beach.

Character

synoptic

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

Typical strength

About 15-22 kt is the stated lesson window, converted from a 17-25 mph guideline, and the island's year-round average is about 17 mph, near 15 kt, which sits below the bottom of that window. Outside summer the Atlantic lows push well past it.

Generally exposed Atlantic wind on a very flat island, but high tide can put the inside of Crossapol in a dune wind shadow during westerly wind.

Annual average at the airport is SW 15 kt with 29 kt average gusts, measured 2000-2026.

Seasonal windows

October to March is the strong-wind season; spring and autumn are the practical windows, because Tiree sits under the Atlantic low track and gets the swell with it.

Learning months

The months named locally for kite and wing courses are May, June, September and early October: summer wind is less consistent, and outside those months air and water are usually too cold to learn in comfortably.

Advanced seasons

March-June and September-October suit advanced windsurfers. In a typical south-westerly Crossapol is starboard cross-onshore.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan97
Feb95
Mar, riders' month88
Apr, riders' month88
May, riders' month90
Jun, riders' month86
Jul83
Aug86
Sep, riders' month92
Oct, riders' month99
Nov94
Dec94

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct.

24 ktJan9°
25 ktFeb9°
20 ktMar8°
19 ktApr9°
16 ktMay11°
17 ktJun14°
16 ktJul14°
19 ktAug15°
20 ktSep15°
23 ktOct13°
22 ktNov12°
24 ktDec11°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	97%	24.4 kt	SSW	7.3 °C	9.3 °C
Feb	95%	25 kt	WSW	7.4 °C	8.9 °C
Mar	88%	19.7 kt	SE	7.2 °C	8.4 °C
Apr	88%	18.5 kt	SSE	8.7 °C	9.1 °C
May	90%	16.4 kt	N	11.5 °C	11.2 °C
Jun	86%	17.1 kt	S	13.3 °C	13.8 °C
Jul	83%	16.3 kt	W	14 °C	14.4 °C
Aug	86%	19.3 kt	WSW	14.5 °C	14.6 °C
Sep	92%	19.5 kt	SSW	13.7 °C	14.6 °C
Oct	99%	23.4 kt	WSW	11.9 °C	13.4 °C
Nov	94%	22.2 kt	S	9.6 °C	12.1 °C
Dec	94%	23.7 kt	SW	7.7 °C	10.7 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Not documented for Crossapol, and not to be assumed. The shallow, find-your-feet gradient the island is known for belongs to Gott Bay and to Soroby next door; Crossapol is an open surf beach on a sand bottom, with swell arriving unfiltered.

Tides

Tidal beach. A 2026 Crossapol tide table shows semi-diurnal tides with heights of roughly 0.8-4.7 m around late-August springs. Crossapol is generally sailable at any tide, except that high tide puts the inside in a dune wind shadow in westerly wind.

Temperature

14 °C summer · 8 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 8–15 °C

Wetsuit

Cold Atlantic water: sea-temperature data gives August average 14.3 °C and February/March about 7.8–7.9 °C. Use at least a 4/3 or 5/3 in summer depending on wind chill; winter normally needs a hooded 5/4-6/5 with boots and gloves.

Conditions

White-sand open beach on Tiree's south/south-east coast, sand bottom. This is a surf, wave and kite/windsurf beach, not a protected flat-water lagoon. Nearby Soroby is reportedly shallow, but that does not describe the Crossapol launch.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

A kite and windsurf beach, and a reasonable place to learn wave riding unless the surf is big. Learners on the island get pointed at Gott Bay and Loch Bhasapol instead, so beginner suitability at Crossapol is kept conservative here.

The scene

What riders come here for

freerideflat waterwave ridingbump and jumpdownwind exploration

Quiet by international kite-spot standards, ridden by Tiree's windsurf and kitesurf regulars and watched by everyone else. Summer brings general tourism, and October fills up around the Tiree Wave Classic.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

2 spots nearby

All 2 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No lifeguard service and no beach patrol. Plan on self-rescue, with the two island schools the only organised help on the water. The emergency route is 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

No rescue arrangement specific to Crossapol has been found in any published source, and response times to an Inner Hebridean beach are not documented.

Launch

Broad sandy beach at the middle of Tiree's south end, free parking above the dunes and marked beach parking nearby on the 2026 visitor map. Sand bottom.

Hazards riders report 17 reported

Wind

Cold water and wind chill year-round
cold water and wind chill year-round

Crowds and zones

Fragile machair and dune environment; vehicles should stay on marked parking/camping areas
fragile machair and dune environment; vehicles should stay on marked parking/camping areas

Waves and currents

High tide dune wind shadow in westerly wind
Old sunken-wreck mast reportedly visible in the middle of the bay at low tide
Open Atlantic swell can make the beach unsuitable for less experienced riders when large
high tide dune wind shadow in westerly wind
old sunken-wreck mast reportedly visible in the middle of the bay at low tide
open Atlantic swell can make the beach unsuitable for less experienced riders when large

Other

remote location with limited services
cold water
proximity to airport
Remote island setting with limited immediate services and ferry/weather dependency
Tiree Airport is at Crossapol and the beach/Tràigh Bhàigh area has been subject to airport coastal-erosion surveys
remote island setting with limited immediate services and ferry/weather dependency
no lifeguard cover or beach patrol; self-rescue only

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no kitesurf-specific permit, zoning or seasonal kite restriction is known at Crossapol. 2026 Tiree visitor guidance asks vehicle campers to use booked croft or campsite pitches and marked day-parking areas; croft camping is 15 GBP per pitch per night in 2026, open from 1 April, with November-March by prior contact.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Ride Crossapol on west or south-west wind; south and south-east are the worst directions here.
Check the tide before you drive down. The bay works through most of it, but high tide in a westerly makes the inside gusty under the dunes.
First time on Tiree, ask Wild Diamond or Blackhouse first: Gott, Balevullin, The Maze or Loch Bhasapol may be the better call that day.
Bring real neoprene even in summer, and boots, gloves and a hood outside the warmest months.
Park on the marked areas above the dunes and keep vehicles off the machair. Croft camping is 15 GBP per pitch per night in 2026 and opens 1 April.
There is no lifeguard and no beach patrol. Sail within self-rescue range, and if it goes wrong the number is 999 for the Coastguard.
May, June, September and early October are the months the island's schools recommend; midsummer wind is the least reliable of the year.
Do not expect Gott Bay's shallow gradient here. Crossapol is an open surf beach and nobody has measured where you can stand.

Getting there

Airport

Tiree Airport (TRE) sits at Crossapol, with flights to and from Coll, Oban and Glasgow. Glasgow-Tiree fares started around 80 GBP one-way in 2026.

Route

Most people arrive on the CalMac roll-on/roll-off ferry from Oban; the crossing takes about 4 hours and reservations are recommended. Loganair flies in from Glasgow and Hebridean Air Services from Oban.

Cost level

high

Staying

Self-catering houses, hotels and lodges, a bunkhouse or hostel, and croft or campsite pitches. Vehicle space on the June-August ferries goes early and houses need booking far ahead. Croft camping was 15 GBP per pitch per night in 2026 on unserviced fenced croft sites.

No-wind days

SUP with Wild Diamond, surfing at Balevullin/The Maze, windsurfing on Loch Bhasapol/Gott Bay, cycling, Vaul golf, beach walks, wildlife watching including basking sharks in summer, and visiting Tiree's cafes, distillery and visitor centre.

Photos

FAQ

Is Crossapol Bay suitable for beginners?

Local school material points learners more clearly toward Gott Bay and Loch Bhasapol, so independent beginner kitesurfing at Crossapol is not well supported.

What is the wind like at Crossapol Bay?

Tiree Airport's overall pattern is southwesterly at about 15 knots annual average, but a Crossapol-specific guide names west as the best direction here and south or southeast as the worst.

When is the best time to kitesurf at Crossapol Bay?

April, May, June, September and October are the recommended months, when spring and autumn Atlantic lows bring the strongest, most consistent wind.

How cold is the water at Crossapol Bay?

Sea temperature averages about 14 C in August and drops to roughly 7-8 C in February and March, so at least a 4/3 or 5/3 mm wetsuit is needed even in summer.

The bigger pictureEverything about Tiree (Inner Hebrides)

Last updated: August 2026