Join us in coastal heritage surveys of your local area

Each year we plan walks along changing coastlines around Scotland to update coastal heritage records. We warmly welcome volunteers joining in the surveys. They are very enjoyable ways of discovering the hidden history of your coast and sharing your knowledge of it with others. The results feed into Scotland’s regional and national historic environment records.

In 2024 we carried out surveys of the island of Stronsay in Orkney, parts of Harris in the Western Isles and part of the Kintyre peninsular. The best way of following the surveys is through our Facebook page. You’ll find reports of all of our recent (and lots of other stuff too!) on the Reports pages.

Plans for 2025

We are looking at planning surveys in parts of the Dornoch Firth in Highland and parts of Shetland next year. If you are local to these areas and would like to be kept informed, please email Joanna jh105@st-andrews.ac.uk.

What’s involved?

The surveys involve walking the coast and using the SCAPE app to update records of existing sites and record new ones. We organise walks to coincide with low tides. We walk around 6-8km of coastline and are out for about 5 hours.  The surveys will vary in ease of access and terrain. If you register your interest, we will tell you about the detailed routes and times a week or two before a survey so that you can choose which ones you would like to join. No experience is required, and we will help you out with everything you need to know.

Start exploring now

To start exploring coastal heritage sites in your area now, register as a user on the Sites at Risk page. Then download the free SCAPE app for Android and iOS to access and contribute to information about all sites on the coastal heritage database when you’re on the coast.