What Americans Don’t Know About Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

An airport where planes land on a beach was something I didn’t know Scotland had. Then I learned about a scheduled flight so short that you could be back on the ground about 90 seconds after taking off. I found both fascinating, although they were two different discoveries in two different island groups.

I was looking into lesser-known things about Scotland in 2022, after six years living in the UK. My great-grandmother was Scottish, but that family connection certainly hadn’t given me a complete knowledge of the country. There was plenty I wanted to learn, including how these unusual flights actually worked.

A beach that is also a runway

The beach airport was Barra. What caught my attention was the thought of arriving somewhere that used sand for its runway, rather than the conventional surface I’d associate with an airport. I thought taking off and landing there sounded pretty cool.

The airport was in a wide, shallow bay at Traigh Mhor, a name I struggled to pronounce. I’d learned that its scheduled flights used a tidal beach, and that was enough to make it stand out from the airports I was familiar with.

I was especially fascinated to learn that the beach wasn’t permanently off limits to visitors. It sounded strange that a place people could use for walking also accommodated planes. The information I found described windsocks signalling when the airport was using it.

A very short flight in Orkney

The other route was between Westray and Papa Westray in Orkney. The scheduled flight time I found was about 90 seconds, and I was amazed by the idea of getting on a plane for such a brief journey. I loved the novelty of it, especially compared with the longer flights I’d normally think of taking.

I also learned about people using the route for practical reasons, including travelling for healthcare, teaching and study. Teachers and students could travel to archaeological sites, while healthcare professionals could reach residents. I was trying to explain how residents might also take the flight to get to a medical facility.

The idea of students travelling by plane for study particularly appealed to me. I joked that my Canadian field trips were to a maple syrup farm, and this sounded cooler. Taking a flight for a class sounded like a very different prospect.

Scotland got the better national animal

Another thing I enjoyed learning about was Scotland’s national animal, the unicorn. I thought that was wonderful. It was a mythical creature, but apparently being real wasn’t a requirement, and I loved that Scotland had chosen it.

I was also struck by the unicorn shown in chains in royal imagery. I’d never really looked closely at that detail before. In the explanation I was reading, the creature represented something powerful and untamed, and it was possible the chain symbolised Scottish kings being strong enough to tame it. I found that much more interesting than simply recognising a unicorn and moving on.

The drink I still couldn’t like

One Scottish thing I’d already tried was Irn-Bru, and I still couldn’t get along with it. I’d tried it a lot of times, but to me it tasted like very sweet liquid cotton candy. I knew plenty of people liked it; I just couldn’t make myself enjoy it.

I thought comparing what different people tasted in it was fun, though. A flavour that seems completely obvious to one person might remind someone else of something different. For me, sweetness kept getting in the way, however much I might want to like it.

Learning these things made me want to find out more about Scotland. Having a Scottish great-grandmother hadn’t stopped so much of this being new to me, and I enjoyed doing the research. The beach landing and that tiny island flight were two discoveries I thought were especially cool.

Editor’s geography and fact check, 2 October 2026: Barra is in the Outer Hebrides; Westray and Papa Westray are in Orkney. Barra’s airport operator confirms its tidal beach runway and tide-dependent timetable; Loganair describes the Orkney route as usually 90 seconds. VisitScotland confirms the unicorn as Scotland’s national animal. These checks support the filmed discoveries, rather than report a journey Alanna took.

Watch my original video about the Scottish island flights that surprised me.