Outdoor Activities: 

Dunbar's Cliff Top Trail

route information

Start:Dunbar Harbour
Finish:Shore Road, Dunbar
Distance:2½km / 1½miles
Time:45 minutes
Terrain:Mostly well surfaced paths, grassy tracks and concrete promenade with several flights of steps.
Directions:Starting in Dunbar Harbour the path climbs steeply up towards the Leisure Centre. Continue straight past the front of the Leisure Centre and then follow the signs for the “John Muir Way”, which will take you down the steps to the promenade. Continue following the path along the coast, taking care along the cliff edge and around the edge of Winterfield Golf Course, to emerge at Shore Road car park by Belhaven Bay.
Public transport:Regular bus and rail services to Dunbar from Edinburgh.
Local services:Dunbar has a variety of independent shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs.
Public toilets in Dunbar and at Shore Road.
dunbar cliff top trail

Dunbar's Cliff Top Trail - PDF download

Dunbar's Cliff Top Trail

points of interest

1

John Muir’s Birthplace Museum
Visit the museum to learn about John Muir's adventures and travels all over the globe, and find out how you can follow in his footsteps.

2

Cromwell & Victoria Harbours and ‘The Battery’
Take time out before starting the walk to explore the two harbours and The Battery – a defensive structure built in 1781 on the columnar basalt of Lamer Island to defend the town from privateers.

3

Dunbar Castle
Successfully defended against the Earl of Salisbury for five months in 1338 by 'Black Agnes, Countess of Dunbar'. At Castle Park, there is an Iron Age promontory fort and an Anglian stronghold. The castle is now home to a large colony of Kittiwakes.

4

Baird Promenade
Paid for and gifted to Dunbar by the local Baird family in 1893.

5

Belhaven Bay
The bay offers a beautiful expanse of golden sands with stunning views of the Tyne Estuary, the Firth of Forth and the Bass Rock. Great opportunities to view birdlife such as cormorants, eider ducks, gulls and waders.