Just over the border between England’s far North and Scotland lies East Lothian, a beautiful, peaceful county with all sorts of exiting hidden secrets to discover. There’s deliciously pretty countryside, an epic coastline offering a variety of beaches and some of the UK’s most interesting geology, castles and breweries, lovely little towns, great pubs, an awesome history, plus plenty of adrenaline-fuelled fun. And it’s all just a stone’s throw from Edinburgh. So let’s go explore.
Awesome East Lothian – A brilliant place to explore
First, let’s talk spas. Yes, East Lothian has them and they are wonderful. You can relax in luxury at Fletcher’s Cottage Spa at Archerfield House, or join Future Proof Retreat for a wellness experience to remember, with Yoga, Emotional Freedom Tapping, Reiki, Meditation, Breath work, Yoga Nidra, Cold Water Therapy and more.
Nature’s magic pops up everywhere
Head for the coast, look out to sea and there’s Bass Rock, a majestic 160m high lump of rock that’s home to 150,000 gannets in the breeding season, one of the most amazing sights on earth for bird lovers. The rock is actually a huge volcanic plug, basically all that’s left of an ancient volcano. You can take a boat trip to the rock to see the birds close up along with the lighthouse and the remains of a castle and chapel.
For more volcanic plugs, which stick out high from the surrounding softer rocks, visit Edinburgh where the plug is where the castle stands high above the city. There are more, called ‘laws’, at North Berwick, and at Traprain near Haddington.
Aberlady Bay is true natural magic, a Local Nature Reserve dating back to 1952. The reserve is full of gorgeous walks accessed via a long wooden footbridge nicknamed the ‘footbridge to enchantment’. There are two mini-submarines wrecked there, and the shells you find on the beach are unusually big and exciting, like shells from a tropical beach. Just bear in mind you can’t take your dog because of the wildlife.
Dramatic castles and gorgeous sandy beaches
Dizzying Tantallon castle, made from bright red sandy rock and set high on cliffs, is magnificent, once home to the infamous Red Douglas family. Built in the 1300s, you can still sense its power, and the views of Bass Rock are amazing. It’s just one of many castles in the county.
Whitesands is a really nice beach, rarely crowded, a long crescent of soft white sand with shallow waters to play in. Either side there’s rocky coastline, with an excellent golf course towards the small scenic town of Dunbar. The weather here is unusually warm thanks to the balmy local microclimate.
The beach is backed by a semi-industrial landscape that’s just as fascinating as the world-class geology along this little bit of coast, from Dunbar to the lighthouse at Barns Ness just a few minutes away. More about that later.
The dunes and grassland make it great for walks and low tide reveals a load of rock pools full of fascinating sea life, perfect for the kids. Brittle starfish, sea anemones, shrimp and fish are just a few, along with loads of different sorts of sea weed, fossils, and colourful pebbles.
Bridges to nowhere, heritage centres and cool aircraft
Belhaven Bridge is fun, nicknamed the Bridge to Nowhere across the Beil Water, over which there’s the glorious golden sandy beach at Belhaven Bay. At high tide the bridge gets cut off, looking like it’s floating on the surface of the water. It’s a spooky sight and perfect for Instagrammers.
Visit the 1722 Waggonway Heritage Centre to know more about the oldest rail route in Scotland, packed with artefacts, models, maps, plans and photographs. You’ll also discover how salt and coal were mined then exported.
Did you know there’s an actual, genuine Concorde plane to see here? It’s in the National Museum of Flight, a fascinating sight at East Fortune Airfield and just one of countless amazing planes to admire.
Booze, glorious booze – plus ancient monuments to die for
Then there’s the booze… you’ll love Belhaven Brewery, which started life back in 1719 and holds the record as the oldest working brewery in Scotland. You’ll find it in Dunbar, home to the country’s best-loved Belhaven Best Ale and Belhaven Black stout plus a range of tasty craft beers and ales made with local water, barley and a unique kind of yeast. There’s even a cool secret garden at the brewery to explore along with its own pub where you can sample the wares. Then there’s Glenkinchie distillery, where the famous Johnnie Walker whisky is made, dating back to Victorian times and also offering the chance to sample a dram. They even do whisky cocktails. Yum.
Go back in time at dramatic Chesters hill fort, one of the country’s best-preserved ancient forts with massive earth ramparts and deep ditches. It is huge and remains just as impressive 2000 years after it was built. You can even see the remains of homes inside the fort’s great walls and defences.
Preston Mill offers more recent social history, East Lothian’s last working watermill, which closed in the late 1950s. Now it’s open to tourists, perfect for finding out how millers did their old-school flour milling magic.
Quaint Dunbar
The Dunbar Battery is in the middle of scenic Dunbar Harbour, a cool open air venue for all sorts of fun from music to arts and performances. Dunbar Castle overlooks the tiny, ancient harbour, so badly ruined it’s hard to believe it was once one of Scotland’s strongest fortresses. You can’t actually get to the ruins themselves but the views from the harbour’s edge are stunning.
Dunbar is also home to the DunBear, a huge brown bear sculpture made from steel. He’s there to commemorate John Muir, the famous naturalist born in Dunbar, who went on to help create some of the best-known National parks in the USA. He’s high up on Bear Hill close to the A1 road, which runs parallel to an ancient Roman road called the Great North Road.
John Muir Country Park, also named after Muir, is another natural treat for visitors, offering miles of gorgeous great outdoors for natural history lovers. It’s stuffed with birds, plants and other exciting living things and incorporates some of the most beautiful chunks of the East Lothian coastline.
Going inland
Inland there’s the pretty, rolling Lammermuir Hills, forming a natural boundary between the county and the Scottish Borders. There are numerous walks and cycling routes to enjoy here, with stunning views to photograph. The beautiful Whiteadder Reservoir offers space to picnic as well as sailing, wild swimming and fishing.
If you’re with the kids, the Jump In Trampoline Park in Musselburgh is huge fun with 100 trampolines to play on, an obstacle course, foam pits, dodge ball, giant airbags, slam dunk basketball, fun for toddlers and a cafe.
Last but not least, the geology
Rocks might not sound like much fun but along the coast at Barns Ness, near Dunbar, there’s millions of years worth of geology to marvel at, clearly visible on the earth’s surface and a thrill for curious people of every age.
Park at Whitesands car park and every pebble you pick up along the shore has a fascinating history. There are fossils to find, everything from fossilised horse teeth to shells and worm casts. Some of the smoothed beach pebbles are a rich purple-brown colour studded with amethyst crystals, and the volcanic rocks you can find are really colourful as well, some also full of gorgeous crystals.
There’s an ancient limestone pavement, fossil coral reefs, fossil roots, worm burrows, and a genuine volcanic cone to discover. Plus an exciting experience for shell-seekers. The small curve of beach just before the lighthouse is brilliant for finding tiny, colourful striped orange, black and yellow shells left by the tide in drifts parallel to the waves.
Walk the shore from White Sands Car Park to the Barns Ness lighthouse, a tiny distance, to traverse hundreds of millions of years on foot. There’s sandstone, mudstone and a coal seam, all packed with fossils. You might even find a fossil leaf in the coal. These rocks date back 320 million years old, laid down when the land that is now Scotland sat just south of the Equator in a shallow tropical sea. Rivers created the mudstone and there were mangrove swamp-like forests.
There’s even a ‘magic’ pond, something children find fascinating. Walk towards the lighthouse and on your way you’ll find a small green valley backed by little cliffs, far higher than the tide reaches. When the tide’s up a rock-filled saltwater pool appears out of nowhere. When the tide goes down, the water disappears.
There are old limekilns, now blocked off for safety, and there’s still an active quarry just inland, along with the Dunbar Cement works, which turns the local limestone into cement. Complete your voyage of discovery by admiring the 345 million year old red cliffs made from ancient volcanic ash, hinting at the region’s violent past.
So… that’s just a small slice of what’s available in East Lothian, a lovely place that is often missed by people going direct to Edinburgh. Stay awhile instead, and fall in love with the mellow vibe of this lesser-known county.
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