Dirleton: One of Scotland’s Prettiest Villages, a Mighty Castle & the Coast to Fidra

Overview

Dirleton is often called one of the prettiest villages in Scotland — a cluster of honey-stone cottages around a pair of village greens, with a great medieval castle and its famous gardens on one side, and a short run down to a glorious stretch of coast on the other. It sits just a couple of miles west of North Berwick, and it makes a lovely, gentle day out. We parked up here for a day and walked the coast, and it’s well worth doing.

Where it is

Dirleton lies on the East Lothian coast between North Berwick and Gullane, a short drive or a fine walk from either. The village greens, the castle and the church are all clustered together at its heart; the coast and the beach at Yellowcraig are about a mile to the north.

Dirleton Castle

The village is dominated by Dirleton Castle, a romantic red-stone ruin rising from a rocky outcrop above beautiful gardens. There has been a castle here since the 12th century, when the Anglo-Norman de Vaux family, granted the lands by David I, raised the first stronghold; the great clustered de Vaux towers went up around 1240. It passed by marriage to the Halyburtons around 1350 — who added the towering gatehouse — and then to the Ruthvens in 1505.

Its end came in 1650. During Cromwell’s invasion of Scotland the castle was held by a band of “moss-troopers” (raiders harrying the English lines), until Cromwell’s general George Monck brought up his guns, battered it into surrender, and had it slighted so it could never be defended again. It has been a magnificent ruin ever since, cared for today by Historic Environment Scotland.

The gardens & the doocot

Dirleton’s gardens are a destination in their own right. Laid out in the Arts and Crafts style, they include a famous herbaceous border once recognised as the longest in the world, along with topiary, a Victorian garden and a lovely walled setting beneath the castle walls. Tucked in the grounds is a fine 16th-century doocot (dovecote) with over a thousand nesting boxes — once a vital larder of fresh meat and eggs for the castle household.

Yellowcraig, Fidra & the coast walk

A mile north of the village lies Yellowcraig, one of the loveliest beaches on this coast — a curve of sand backed by dunes and pinewood, with a nature trail and, just offshore, the little island of Fidra with its white lighthouse. That lighthouse was built in 1885 by Thomas and David Stevenson, and the island has a special claim to fame: Fidra is said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island — its humped, arch-ended shape echoed in his famous map. It’s a magical spot for a coast walk, which is exactly how we spent our day.

Nearby

• North Berwick & its beaches and coast walk — the seaside town just east.
• North Berwick Law — the volcanic hill, for the big view over all of this.
• Tantallon Castle & the Bass Rock — further along the coast.
• See it in our Castles of Scotland collection.

Sources

• First-hand: Kevin & family, Dirleton & Yellowcraig (own visit; coast walk). Photos to be added.
• Dirleton Castle & Historic Environment Scotland (de Vaux/Halyburton/Ruthven, Cromwell 1650, the doocot & gardens); Yellowcraig & Fidra (the beach, the 1885 lighthouse, the Treasure Island connection).