In search of a destination that defines ‘the best of’, Robin McKelvie takes North Berwick at its word by living like a bona fide VIP . . . and discovers a seaside town that lives up to stardom
There is something about North Berwick. Well, there must be, as this East Lothian oasis keeps gracing the lists of the best places to live not only in Scotland but anywhere in the UK. North Berwick stars in round-ups of our finest coastal towns, too, and Britain in Bloom are fans; David Attenborough declared that it boasts one of the “12 wildlife wonders of the world”. So is North Berwick’s exalted status actually deserved?
North Berwick’s fame is nothing new, with a symbolic legacy in the Marine North Berwick hotel. This stately former spa still has a swimming pool with a tiny opening so you can ease outside and soak away in the open air pool as holidaymakers would have done a century ago in North Berwick. VIP hotel guests have included Lord Kitchener – legend has it that when he was in residence the HMS Dreadnought volleyed off a 10-gun salute, rattling the hotel windows.
In Victorian times this seaside resort was known as the Biarritz of the North, a spa town where not just stressed out Edinburghers but Londoners, too, flocked to ‘take the waters’. And what waters they are! Once swimming with Vikings, Jacobites and Cromwell, the Forth widens to its denouement here, celebrating with a sprinkling of shimmering islands. Fidra is draped in romance as the lighthouse-topped real life Treasure Island said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to pen his novel. Craigleith has its puffins in summer. Uri Geller has the isle of Lamb. Not content with plunging Scotland out of Euro 1996 at the hands of England with his famous bobble at that penalty, he bought Lamb for £30,000. A local boatman told me: “Uri reckons Lamb is connected to the Egyptian Pyramids. He came once to camp and almost got blown away on a freezing spring night. I don’t think he’s been back.”
Clean sandy beaches abound in North Berwick too. West Sands fronts a superb golf course and East Sands the remnants of a Victorian-era outdoor swimming pool. The Victorians partied many a night away at the old Pavilion on the historic headland (you can still see the ecclesiastic remnants) that separates the brace of beaches. Today it’s the site of the Scottish Seabird Centre, a Millennium Project. Scotland’s remarkable soaring avians are the stars with the highlight the live cameras on Bass Rock, the world’s largest gannetry, which lies just offshore. The café enjoys a great view of Bass Rock, too.
A boat trip is the quintessential North Berwick experience. Savour the other isles en route, but the climax is, of course, Bass Rock. It was once intriguingly home to imprisoned Jacobites. Today it is uninhabited by man, instead home to that squawking, starched poo-white gannetry. Sula Boat Trips surge out into the sturdy Sula III to get you right up to the birds at a vaulting rock sentinel that could scarcely be more dramatic.
It is not only Attenborough who has waxed lyrical about it. Chris Packham has described Bass Rock as the “most exciting birding spectacle in the UK”. It’s an immersive assault on the senses you’ll never forget as the cacophony, smell and sheer swirling mass of gannets engulfs. North Berwick’s High Street is an assault on the senses in a less visceral way. This throughfare still thrives in today’s straitened times with a flurry of shops of all shapes and sizes. It bursts with old school tearooms, traditional butchers, chintzy gift shops, lifestyle boutiques and delis alive with East Lothian produce.
It scores relatively low on vape shops but fittingly higher on café options. The shops reflect the residents and the visitors of a town that feels more urbane rather than urban. A decade or so ago North Berwick did, though, have a bit of an image problem: some visitors felt it a little staid, maybe a touch too Morningside, rather than raffish Margate. That has all changed as a fresh injection of residents in new housing has helped spice up this popular retirement bolthole. Whisper it: North Berwick 2024-style is turning hip.
A new wave of businesses are the embodiment of this changing face of North Berwick, a town in truth that has always adapted with the times. Bostock brings a hipster bakery haunt energy, recently revamped Alandas offers artisan gelato and the Lockett Bros are all boutique drinks and tasty gourmet treats. You can put together a startlingly fine picnic to enjoy on the sands with a stroll along the High Street.
Chief among the bright newer face of North Berwick is hipster named and orientated Steampunk. The guys behind it started off in a campervan but now they have their own brilliant split-level café, which has been serving top notch coffee for over a decade, using their own roasts. A barista here is keen to stress North Berwick is still very much keeping it real: “We are still a real place with real people leading real lives. I think that is partly what draws people here.”
There is no better way of keeping it real that striding out on the waymarked 134 mile-long John Muir Way, which strives right through the town, heading west across Central Scotland to Helensburgh and also east in search of the famous naturalist’s birthplace of Dunbar.
A short, but rewarding hike is up there with anything in Scotland for effort to reward ratio – North Berwick Law glowers over the town from its 187m-high volcanic perch. Look out for the giant whalebone replica and the ruins of an old Napoleonic War signal station and the bunker that served an air defence role in both World Wars as you ascend.
From the summit the Forth isles unfurl ahead in a vast natural panorama that sweeps through white sandy beaches, huge swathes of greenery, golf courses, castles and the busy machinations of a town geared to ensure visitors can enjoy a taste of the acclaimed high quality of life the residents are blessed with. From here it’s easy to see why people rate North Berwick so highly – a town that more than deserves the swathe of plaudits lauded on it.
Foodie North Berwick
Herringbone
This hipster haunt is bursting with East Lothian- landed seafood chowder and cool cocktails. Seared king scallops topped with black pudding, curried cauliflower puree and Parmentier potatoes is the stand out main. Don’t forget those slick cocktails with one of the town’s gins.
herringbone-northberwick.co.uk
Rocketeer
Sweet North Berwick landed lobster screams boat-fresh goodness here. They have another wee place on the harbour but this is a sturdier affair against the elements. The lobster is best washed down with a glass of the crisp local cider Thistly Cross.
rocketeerrestaurant.co.uk
The Lawn
This is a hotel restaurant well worth staying in for at the Marine North Berwick. Salmon cured in East Lothian tempts to start with local Tweed Valley beef on the main menu. The sweeping Forth and golf course views are the perfect accompaniment.
www.marinenorthberwick/the-lawn
Bed down in North Berwick
Marine North Berwick
Lavish public spaces come bathed in light, landscape art and sweeping views out to the islands of the Forth. Edinburgh architect Frederick Thomas Pilkington fashioned the hotel in 1875 as a hydropathic institute, weaving local stone with Italianate Gothic Revival. Make sure to book a room with a Forth view.
marineandlawn.com
6a North Berwick
The cosy and welcoming B&B oasis is run by a lovely couple. Bright, well-designed bedrooms to hide away in are backed up with a breakfast room peering over their lush garden. They’re even happy for you to chill in their garden.
6anorthberwick.co.uk
No.12 Hotel and Bistro
The newly refurbished 11-room boutique hotel in a great central location has swish rooms kissed with lush fabrics. Visit the bistro downstairs, if you fancy dining in. They can usually get the local lobster in, if you ask in advance.
no12hotelandbistro.co.uk
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