Hidden Gem in Edinburgh

Aberlady Bay on the south shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian was the first statutory Local Nature Reserve declared in Britain, a designation made in 1952 that recognised the exceptional ecological importance of this sheltered bay and its combination of intertidal mudflats, saltmarsh, dune grassland and scrub. The reserve provides outstanding birdwatching throughout the year and the combination of the wildlife interest, the coastal walking and the views across the Forth to Fife and the Lomond Hills makes Aberlady one of the most rewarding natural heritage sites on the East Lothian coast. The mudflats and sandflats of the bay provide feeding habitat for waders and wildfowl in numbers that make it one of the most important estuarine habitats on the Firth of Forth. Pink-footed geese arrive in autumn in large flocks on their way from Iceland to wintering grounds further south, and the bay supports a wide variety of wader species throughout the migratory season. The dune grassland behind the bay supports a diverse plant community and the scrub provides cover for a range of passerine migrants in spring and autumn. The historic connection of Aberlady with the early aviation history of Scotland is provided by the remains of the World War II airfield on the land behind the reserve, and the Aberlady Parish Church with its unusual round apse tower adds an architectural dimension to a visit that is principally focused on the wildlife and coastal scenery.

Seacliff Beach near North Berwick in East Lothian is one of the most beautiful and least visited beaches in southeast Scotland, a small sandy bay backed by red sandstone cliffs with a remarkable combination of natural and human features including a narrow rock-cut harbour that is the smallest harbour in Britain and the ruins of Tantallon Castle on the headland above. The combination of the beach quality, the extraordinary harbour and the castle ruin makes Seacliff one of the most scenically and historically interesting short visits on the East Lothian coast. The tiny harbour at Seacliff was cut from the sandstone rock in the early nineteenth century by the landowner Andrew Loch at a cost that substantially exceeded any practical benefit it could provide for the local fishing industry, an act of eccentric and determined patronage that produced a harbour of remarkable character and minimal capacity. The harbour is cut almost entirely from the living rock of the headland and the boats that used it were small enough to be pulled up the rock ramp into the enclosed basin, a working arrangement of great charm that has been documented and celebrated as one of the most unusual harbours in the British Isles. The ruins of Tantallon Castle on the headland above the beach, managed by Historic Environment Scotland, are among the most dramatically positioned in Scotland, the great curtain wall of the fourteenth-century Douglas fortress rising from the very edge of the red sandstone cliffs in a defensive position of natural power. The combined experience of the beach, the harbour and the castle ruin makes Seacliff an exceptional destination despite its small scale.

Seton Collegiate Church near Longniddry in East Lothian is one of the finest and most complete medieval collegiate churches in Scotland, a late fourteenth-century church of considerable quality that preserves the choir and transepts of the original building in remarkable completeness, including the vaulted choir ceiling and the late medieval stone carvings that make it one of the most rewarding ecclesiastical heritage sites in the Lothians. Historic Environment Scotland manages the church, which is freely accessible to visitors. The church was founded as a collegiate establishment by Lady Janet Seton in 1492, although the fabric includes earlier work from the later fourteenth century when the Seton family first developed the church as a burial place. Collegiate churches, endowed to support a college of priests who sang masses for the souls of the founders and their families, were a major form of late medieval religious patronage in Scotland, and Seton represents one of the most architecturally distinguished examples of this institution. The church's association with Mary Queen of Scots gives it a historical resonance beyond its architectural interest. Mary visited Seton several times, playing golf on the links nearby in recorded accounts that make her one of the earliest named women golfers in history, and the Seton family were among her most loyal supporters. The proximity of the church to the site of Seton Palace, the Seton family seat destroyed in the seventeenth century, makes this corner of East Lothian one of the most layered Mary Queen of Scots landscapes in Scotland. The East Lothian coast near the church provides excellent walking and the nearby Gosford Estate with its Adam house provides further architectural and landscape interest.