Just an hour from Edinburgh, Berwickshire is a naturally beautiful region in Scotland’s southeast, imbued with maritime heritage, and yet shamefully under-visited. Its coastline runs south from Cove Harbour, just a few miles south of “Sunny Dunny” Dunbar, all the way to the English border, where Berwick- upon-Tweed topples just over onto the English side (and has toppled onto the Scottish side more than once). Perhaps one reason this part of the Scottish Borders has been overlooked as a travel destination is because it’s so unassuming.
It’s a place of big skies, high cliffs, working fishing harbours and quiet beaches, and yet Berwickshire either doesn’t realise how attractive it is, or doesn’t want everyone else to know. A certain amount of obscurity worked in the region’s favour in the 18th century, when smugglers brought in contraband such as brandy, tobacco and tea, utilising the many sea stacks and hidden inlets that characterise the coast to conceal their cargo. Today, kayakers and paddleboarders nose in and around these same coastal features to reach otherwise inaccessible beaches, or to get closer to the thousands of seabirds that breed on the St Abb’s Head National Nature Reserve from April to July.
An outdoorsy vibe has been adopted further along the coastal path, too, particularly on the section between St Abbs and Eyemouth, luring locals from Edinburgh, many of whom have holiday homes here – some of them have even decided to relocate to the ar.