…on Dunbar shores.
4 August 2026: Quiet at day’s end, after the excitement of Tantallon. It’s not a classic sunset evening, but there’s some interesting light where the Firth of Forth merges into the North Sea.
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4 August 2026: A splendid ruin on the East Lothian clifftops, just a couple of miles to the east of North Berwick. It’s a great place to explore, with dark spiral staircases and unexpected rooms. The views over the coast are great, especially that of the Bass Rock, white with many thousands of gannets. However, I suspect the best views of the castle are from a little way off…
Explorations over, we have to visit North Berwick. The sun is coming out, and it’s beginning to feel warm – the ice creams are just what’s required. A little later, we’re heading back to Dunbar – and a sunny spotlight is lighting Tantallon across the golden cornfields, a spectacular inverse silhouette against the dark seas and sky beyond (yes, the best views are from a little way off…) Moments later the spotlight has moved off the castle (and there was nowhere to stop for a photo), but the image is etched into memory…
Tantallon Castle – Historic Scotland
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…and lake. There’s only one true lake in Scotland – that’s the Lake of Menteith, in the western part of Stirling. A few miles south-west of Dunbar is Pressmennan Lake, and the handful of other lakes, is man-made. It’s a mile or so in length, narrow, in a steep-sided valley with wooded sides – and on a warm afternoon like this, it’s a very pleasant place to be!
Pressmennan Wood: Woodland Trust
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The clifftop paths to the west of Dunbar are the most spectacular, without a doubt, but to the east there’s a quiet and pleasant shoreline way, lined on one side by Dunbar golf course, and the other by ragged rocks and the North Sea. It’s another fine, dry and sunny day, but there’s a biting east wind. We’ll find a sheltered spot amid the rocks, to sit in the sunshine for a while, before retracing our steps to the baker’s shop for goodies to go with our afternoon tea.
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No, not that Tyne! This Tyne rises at Tynehead in Midlothian, not far south of Edinburgh, and flows into the North Sea near Dunbar, at the mouth of the Firth of Forth. We’re at Haddington (apparently known as the ‘hidden toun’, it doesn’t seem hidden to me!) for a light lunch and a short stroll. It’s a cold day, so we’re not hanging around, but it could be worth a return visit. (The cakes at the cafe looked wonderful, but I don’t think we’d have done justice to them after our lunch – another good reason to revisit Haddington…)
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A leisurely wander above and along the shoreline at Dunbar, from the western cliffs to the harbour. It’s a fine sunny afternoon, with the waters of the Firth of Forth reflecting the blue sky. It’s great to be out and about.
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Monday 3 August: Dunbar is noted for its summer sunshine. After the early rain has passed, it’s certainly sunny, but with an amber warning for storm Floris and winds gusting to the mid-60mph range, the sunshine isn’t the most obvious aspect of the weather. I’ll take a careful walk out to see if I can capture something of the wind on the camera. Avoiding camera shake could be tricky… There’s a strong wall beside the path which provides some shelter for a few shots of the sea and the waves. Beyond, beside the golf course (no-one playing today!), the wind is picking up loose material from the beach – I’m getting sandblasted (and it won’t be doing the camera any good). I’ll turn my back to the wind and head for home.
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Tuesday 25 June and Wednesday 26 June: Montrose, the ‘East Neuk’ of Fife and Dunbar. It was a gloomy Tuesday evening in Montrose. Better tomorrow? No! Scotland’s east coast was suffering from a ‘haar’ (what my mother called a ‘sea fret’). The fishing villages – we visited Crail and St Monans – can be very picturesque with a spot of sunshine; they were eerily quiet in the mist. By evening, we’re in Dunbar, and I’m stretching my legs before calling it a day.
A quiet evening along the cliff path at Dunbar, followed by an afternoon in Haddington. Not much time for photography
…
Friday 14 October: Dunbar. A fine sandy dune-backed beach, accessible (except at high tide) by Dunbar’s ‘bridge to nowhere’. If the tide is in, there’s an alternative route (which I’ll have to follow on my return) via the John Muir Way, past tidal marshes, home to numerous wading birds.
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