1: Lighthouse, Sea Bird Colonies and a Mysterious Head in the Rocks at St. Abbs
Lovely 4 mile walk in the St Abbs nature reserve (2 - 3hrs walk).
Easy trail
Hardly any hills (110m ascent)
Coffee and pastries on the way from Bostock Bakery in East Linton.
Pack a picnic to have next the lighthouse.
Combine the day out with a trip to Coldingham Bay and the fantastic beach there.
Getting to the Start
St Abbs is a one hour drive from Edinburgh along the A1. There is plenty of parking at the nature reserve itself: Northfield, Eyemouth, TD14 5QF. It’s a pay and display car park with parking costing £3 for all day and free to National Trust members.
Frustratingly, there are no buses from Edinburgh but if you take a train to Berwick Upon Tweed there is a direct bus to St Abbs which leaves every 90 minutes.
We've done this walk a few times now and always stop on the way for coffee and pastries at Bostock Bakery at East Linton (Dunbar Road, EH40 3DE) as it’s just a quick and easy stop off the A1. It’s an old garage converted into a fantastic bakery and if you haven't packed a picnic they have lots of amazing sandwiches and savoury pastries.
Highlights
Stunning views of dramatic coastline
Can have a quick paddle in the sea in many points of the walk
Veer off track a few metres (to the west of the lighthouse) and you’ll see the most insane colonies of seabirds hidden in the cliffs
Varying landscapes of farm land, beaches, cliffs and rolling hills.
Good toilets at the car park in St. Abbs!
Walk Description
Once you arrive at St Abbs nature reserve car park, there are helpful signs showing the route. Walk out of the car park down past the Old Smiddy Cafe and Gallery (and good news there are also good clean public toilets here too) and then turn left towards the coast. The trail is really easy to follow immediately rewarding you with amazing views. There is a gradual climb with lots of benches to stop and admire the scenery back to St Abbs and Eyemouth in the distance before you start to go round the headland towards the lighthouse.
We always have a picnic at the lighthouse and take a break to try and spot seals out at sea and even gannets diving for fish. The nature reserve is famous for its wildlife particularly for bird watching. There is a lot of grassland around the lighthouse for kids to play and its really safe but the cliffs themselves are high and exposed so worth keeping away from edge. You can hopefully get a bit of a feel for how near to the edge the trail is and whilst it never feels dangerous it’s definitely worth keeping kids and dogs close by.
After the lighthouse the trail drops down to St Abbs Head itself which is the best spot to take in the coastline. From the walkway out to sea (which you can see in the photos below) on a clear day you can see for a miles down the coast as well as get up close the weird head / face like rock of St Abbs.
From far point of St Abbs Head itself the walk back to the car park is through lush green land with a loch to the left. The coast views sadly disappear but there are lots of beautiful open fields to enjoy.
TOP TIPS
If we’ve set off early from Edinburgh we’ll combine this trip with an afternoon at the beach at Coldingham Bay a ten minute drive away. It’s a lovely sheltered beach with easy parking and a shop that hires out wetsuits if you fancy jumping off the rocks into the beautiful clear pools to the edge of the main beach.
