SMOKIES AND SUNSHINE

While Scotland's West Coast often gets the plaudits, Sue Greenwood heads east for historic sites, coastal routes and sunshine

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We had a week free and decided to explore the East Coast of Scotland. Dunbar is a small town on the North Sea coast about 30 miles east of Edinburgh. It is only just in Scotland, but we felt it was a good place to break our journey, because sometimes it's nice to visit places off the well-trodden tourist trail.

We chose to stay at The Belhaven Bay Camping and Caravan Site on the edge of Dunbar. Belhaven Bay is within The John Muir Country Park, named after renowned conservationist John Muir, who was born in Dunbar on 21 April 1838.

Sunny Scotland

A short walk from the campsite brings you to the coastal path and the beach. The wide expanse of sand when the tide is out is spectacular, and in 1918 it was actually used as a temporary airbase. Sopwith planes from the torpedo regiment used to land here to load their torpedoes, as it was too dangerous to load them at their original base. Those airmen must have had nerves of steel!

Now Belhaven Bay is home to dog walkers, surfers, paddleboarders and beach lovers. When the tide is out, a bridge is useful for pedestrians to cross the water channel. When the tide is in, the bridge becomes the bridge to nowhere (famous in Dunbar), as it becomes partially submerged in the tidal water and impassable. There is a surf school by the beach and a fast-food truck, but it is a lovely place to sit and watch more energetic beach lovers or have a walk along the foreshore. There is parking for campervans by the beach.

The Visit East Lothian website bills Dunbar as being the 'sunniest place in Scotland' and we almost believed it when, after weeks (possibly months) of rain at home, we arrived in bright sunshine. Dunbar, being a coastal town, would be expected to have a harbour, but in fact it has two, named Victoria and Cromwell.