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

Gott Bay, Tiree

Scotland · Tiree (Inner Hebrides) · Argyll and Bute · Scarinish

also known as Traigh Gott, Traigh Mhor, Tràigh Mhòr, The Big Beach

Part of Tiree (Inner Hebrides) →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlylow 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 · cross-shore

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

15 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy May Jun Sep Apr

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

10 min

On the clock

10:00

There is no thermal cycle to wait for. The wind is frontal, so it is either in or it is not, and it can arrive or shut off at any hour of the day or night. Tuition starts at 10:00, which marks the practical start of the day rather than a wind time.

The mark is the clock time the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The fade after it is not an end time, and not a promise of wind.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Balevullinno page yet
Crossapolno page yet
Balephuilno page yet
Hough Bayno page yet
Loch Bhasapolno page yet
The Mazeno page yet

The spot

The teaching bay

Gott Bay is Tiree's east-coast kite bay and the island's main teaching venue. It is a broad crescent of sand about 4 km wide, with a large shallow area that makes it one of the more approachable places in Scotland to learn in real wind.

Water and shape

Inside the bay the water runs flat to choppy with small waves possible, and the horseshoe shape means you can walk the beach and find a section that comes out cross-shore for most directions. The dominant wind is south-westerly, and Tiree Airport averages about 15 kt from SW in observations through July 2026.

Cold and hazards

Cold, though: the sea nearby sits at 13-16 C in late summer and 7-9 C in late winter, so a full suit is the year-round answer. The launch is huge and it is not hazard-free, with rocks and reefs scattered through the bay, tidal shallows, remote-island weather and the harbour and ferry lane in the south-east corner.

Best timing

Come in the windy shoulder season, spring into early summer or September and October, if wind is the point of the trip; July and August suit lessons and family weeks but run lighter and busier.

The wind

Direction

cross-shoreSW

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Progression happens in the 17-25 mph band, about 15-22 kt, and the island's year-round average sits near 17 mph. A 75-85 kg rider covers most of that with a 9 m and a 12 m.The frontal days that make spring and autumn worth the trip call for a 7 m, and a 14 m or a foil earns its place in the lulls between systems. Bring more of the small end than a mainland trip would need - the days you travelled for are the strong ones.

Character

synoptic

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

Typical strength

15-22 kt (17-25 mph) is the band that makes for good progress, and the island's year-round average is about 17 mph. Atlantic fronts routinely push well past that, and there is no upper limit to plan around other than your own.

Generally clean for the UK because Tiree is low, flat and exposed, but the wind is frontal/synoptic and can be very strong, fast-changing and gusty in Atlantic weather systems.

An exposed Atlantic island with wind all year. March through June plus September and October are the windiest months and the best for advanced wind sports; May, June, September and early October are the ones singled out for kite tuition.

Lessons run 4 April to 24 October in 2026. The wind is frontal rather than thermal, so a good week is a sequence of systems rather than a daily cycle.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

20 ktJan9°
19 ktFeb8°
17 ktMar8°
14 ktApr8°
12 ktMay10°
12 ktJun12°
12 ktJul13°
13 ktAug14°
15 ktSep13°
17 ktOct13°
18 ktNov11°
19 ktDec10°

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

Modelled monthly averages. Highlighted: the months riders and schools name (Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Mar).

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (1980-2016 (satellite-era reanalysis climatology)), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthKnots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	20.2 kt	S	6.1 °C	8.9 °C
Feb	18.8 kt	S	5.6 °C	7.8 °C
Mar	17.2 kt	S	6.7 °C	7.8 °C
Apr	14.2 kt	W	7.8 °C	8.3 °C
May	12.4 kt	W	10 °C	10 °C
Jun	11.6 kt	W	12.2 °C	11.7 °C
Jul	11.6 kt	S	13.3 °C	13.3 °C
Aug	12.6 kt	S	13.9 °C	13.9 °C
Sep	15.1 kt	S	12.8 °C	13.3 °C
Oct	16.9 kt	W	10.6 °C	12.8 °C
Nov	18.4 kt	W	8.3 °C	11.1 °C
Dec	19.3 kt	S	6.7 °C	10 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 1980-2016 (satellite-era reanalysis climatology)

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.

Tiree Airport, UK · Weatherspark (NASA MERRA-2 reanalysis) · 1980-2016 (satellite-era reanalysis climatology)

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Shallow gradient over sand, so you can find your feet a reasonable distance out across the roughly 400 x 1,000 m shallow area, with little to no shore break. The bottom is not clean: scattered rocks and reef patches sit in the middle of the bay, so wade the line you intend to ride before you trust it.

Tides

A tidal sandy bay with a large range. The walk to the water, the depth of the shallow teaching area and the amount of usable beach all change materially through the tide, so pick your section for the state of the tide as well as for the wind.

Temperature

15 °C summer · 8 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 8–14 °C

Wetsuit

Full suit year-round. Balevullin, round the island, peaks at 13–16 °C in August, which is a 4/3 mm plus boots for most sessions; the winter minimum of 7–9 °C means a 5/4 or 6/5 with boots, gloves and hood.

Currents

No rip currents or anything of that kind inside the bay - it is about as forgiving a piece of open water as Scotland offers.Rocks and reefs are scattered through it, and the harbour and ferry approach sit in the south-east corner, so treat the water near the pier and around the rocky patches with more caution than the open sand.

Conditions

Mostly flat to choppy inside the horseshoe bay, with small/gentle waves possible, especially toward the eastern corner or when swell wraps in. The bottom is sand with scattered rocks/reefs rather than a clean obstacle-free lagoon.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Beginners use Gott for shallow water, calm sections and school tuition; intermediates get freeride/freestyle space; advanced riders use Tiree's broader beach choice and wave venues when Gott is not the desired setup. Strong frontal wind and cold remote water mean independent beginners should use a school or local briefing.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreeridefreestylebig airsmall waves

Who it suitslearning

Quiet island watersports scene with two established local schools, visiting wind/kite/surf travellers and lots of space compared with mainland UK beaches. Summer brings more general tourism and school activity; windy shoulder months draw more dedicated riders.

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, patrol or paid safety cover exists at Gott Bay. In an emergency the call is 999 for the coastguard. The nearest all-weather lifeboat is the Severn-class stationed at Tobermory on Mull, which routinely works the waters around Coll and Tiree - a long transit, so an offshore response is not quick.

During lessons the schools supervise their own students and nobody else. Ride with somebody, carry a phone in a dry pouch and tell someone ashore your plan.

Launch

A very long crescent of sand with road access along much of the bay and vehicle access onto the beach itself, so riders pick the section that suits the day's direction and their level.The horseshoe shape means most wind directions come out cross-shore somewhere along it.Park in the designated areas and keep vehicles and rigs off the machair grassland behind the beach.

Hazards riders report 15 reported

Wind

very strong and gusty wind common (Tiree is one of the windiest inhabited places in the UK)
Cold water, wind chill and remote island logistics make equipment failure and fatigue more consequential than at mainland urban spots.
Tiree's wind is Atlantic frontal/synoptic, so squalls, rapid direction shifts and strong gusts are realistic hazards.
Frontal Atlantic wind, so squalls, rapid direction shifts and strong gusts are realistic hazards with no thermal rhythm to predict them.
No lifeguard or shore-based rescue; the nearest all-weather lifeboat is on Mull and any offshore response takes a long time to arrive.

Crowds and zones

The bay includes the Tiree harbour/ferry area on the south-east side; stay clear of ferry, pier and mooring operations.
The Tiree harbour and ferry area sits on the south-east side; stay clear of ferry, pier and mooring operations.

Bottom

Gott Bay is strewn with rocks and reefs, including scattered rocks through the middle of the bay.
Gott Bay is strewn with rocks and reefs, including scattered rocks in the middle of the bay.

Waves and currents

Large tidal range and shallow-gradient sand can make the walk to water, depth and usable teaching area change through the tide.
Large tidal range and shallow-gradient sand change the walk to the water, the depth and the usable teaching area through the tide.

Other

cold water and remote location - limited services
changeable Atlantic weather
airport flight path proximity on the island's east side
Beachside machair is fragile; park only where appropriate and avoid driving or rigging on sensitive grassland.

Rules & access

1 min read

No kitesurf permit, zoning or seasonal restriction applies to Gott Bay in 2026.

Scotland's statutory right of responsible access covers the beach; in practice that means parking only in the designated areas, keeping vehicles and rigs off the machair grassland behind the beach, and staying clear of the harbour, pier, ferry lane and moorings in the south-east corner of the bay.

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

Check the Gott Bay forecast against the Tiree Airport observations; the airport is close enough to show real island wind, but the section of the horseshoe you pick decides your angle.
Wade the line you plan to ride before you commit to it. There are rocks and reef patches in the middle of otherwise clean sand.
Ask Wild Diamond or Blackhouse which part of the horseshoe suits the day's direction before you launch on your own.
Bring a full cold-water quiver and spares. The island is remote, no shop will bail you out mid-trip, and the water is cold in August.
Do not ride alone. There is no lifeguard and no patrol, and the nearest all-weather lifeboat is at Tobermory on Mull.
Keep clear of the pier, the ferry lane, the moorings and the reefy patches; the beach is long enough that there is no reason to be near them.
Park in the designated areas and keep vehicles and rigs off the machair behind the beach.
Book ferries, beds and lessons early for July-August and the October event period.

Getting there

Airport

Tiree Airport (flights from Glasgow by Loganair; Hebridean Air Services also links Oban/Coll).

Route

Fly Glasgow to Tiree in about 45 minutes, or take the ferry from Oban, a 4-hour crossing with reservations recommended. Distances on the island are short, but a car or van helps because you pick the beach by the wind direction.

Transfer

10 min

Cost level

high

Staying

Small island supply: croft camping, campsites and self-catering, with few hotels or inns. Book early for summer, the Tiree Wave Classic and the school-holiday weeks.

No-wind days

Surfing, SUP, kayaking, bike hire, beach walks, the Ringing Stone and Dun Mor walk, birdwatching and general island touring.

Photos

FAQ

Is Gott Bay suitable for beginners?

Yes, beginners use Gott Bay for its shallow water, calm sections and local school tuition; the standing area is roughly 400 by 1,000 m.

When is the best time to kitesurf at Gott Bay?

March, April, May, June, September and October are the windiest and best months for the island; kitesurfing lessons run from early April to late October.

What is the wind like at Gott Bay?

Wind is dominantly southwest, synoptic and Atlantic-driven, with an annual average of about 15 knots from Tiree Airport statistics.

Are there kite schools at Gott Bay?

Wild Diamond Watersports runs most of its kitesurfing and wingfoiling tuition on Gott Bay, and Blackhouse Watersports also teaches beginner through advanced/wave kitesurf lessons on Tiree.

What are the main hazards at Gott Bay?

The bay has scattered rocks and reefs, includes the Tiree harbour and ferry area on its southeast side, and has a large tidal range that changes the usable teaching area.

The bigger pictureEverything about Tiree (Inner Hebrides)

Last updated: August 2026