On 11 November 2018, gather as a community on Culla Bay Beach, Benbecula, to say thank you and goodbye.

Please note: this is a drop in event, there is no pre-booking or registration. Suitable for all ages.

Cula Bay, Nunton, Isle of Benbecula, Outer Hebrides, HS7 5LU

Sand Portrait

Deckhand Duncan MacKinnon was one of 6 brothers in the MacKinnon family who fought in the Great War, two of whom – Duncan and his brother Neil, a seaman – died during the war. Very bright as a child, Duncan went on to work as a teacher and then a shop keeper in Barra. He drowned age just 22 years.

Duncan’s older brother Hector survived a torpedo attack in the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915 to become The Berneray Bard. Hector’s son Duncan, named after his uncle, still lives in Berneray.

On The Day

In addition to the large-scale sand art, the public will be asked to join in by creating silhouettes of people in the sand, remembering the millions of lives lost or changed forever by the conflict.

Carol Ann Duffy has written a poem especially for the moment, to be read by individuals, families and communities on the day

Location Details

Time: 3.30 – 4.30pm

Access: Not wheelchair accessible

Parking: Nunton Steadings, Aird beach access road

Catering: Nunton Steadings

Toilet Facilities: Nunton Steadings

About Pages of the Sea

Film-maker Danny Boyle invites you to join him in marking 100 years since Armistice and the end of the First World War. Pages of the Sea is a unique moment to say goodbye, together, to the millions of men and women who left their shores during the war, many never to return.

You’re invited to beaches across the UK where, over the course of several hours, a portrait of an individual from the First World War will emerge from the sand. And then, as the tide rises, watch as it’s washed away as we take a moment to say a collective goodbye.