North Berwick Harbour & the Scottish Seabird Centre

North Berwick Harbour & the Scottish Seabird Centre

North Berwick harbour and its boats.
North Berwick’s pretty harbour — a working past, a sailing present, and a world-class seabird spectacle just offshore.

Overview

The harbour is the heart of North Berwick — a snug old fishing haven tucked between two sandy bays, now busy with yachts, kayaks and boat trips. Out on the rocky point beside it stands the Scottish Seabird Centre, gateway to one of the greatest wildlife sights in Britain: the gannets of the Bass Rock.

The harbour

North Berwick has sheltered boats here for centuries. The old harbour once ran a busy fishing and ferry trade; today it’s a cheerful mix of small yachts, kayaks and pleasure boats, with an old open-air tidal pool alongside and the sands stretching away on either side. It’s a lovely spot for a potter, whatever the weather.

North Berwick harbour and its kayak store.
The busy little harbour.
Lillie the dog out on North Berwick harbour wall.
Lillie out on the old harbour wall.
The old outdoor tidal pool by North Berwick harbour.
The old outdoor tidal bathing pool by the harbour.
Kayaks racked at North Berwick harbour.
Kayaks racked and ready by the harbour.
Colourful kayaks by the water at North Berwick harbour.
A splash of colour on the quay.

The Scottish Seabird Centre

Right on the point stands the Scottish Seabird Centre, a much-loved wildlife visitor centre that opened in 2000. Its great trick is a bank of live cameras trained on the islands offshore, letting you watch gannets, puffins and seals up close without disturbing them — and from its terrace you look straight out to the Bass Rock. It’s a brilliant stop for families and a great place to warm up with a coffee and the view.

The Scottish Seabird Centre on its rocky point at North Berwick.
The Scottish Seabird Centre, right out on the point.
The Scottish Seabird Centre above the shore at North Berwick.
The centre looks straight out to the Bass Rock.
Steps to the Scottish Seabird Centre on the rocks, North Berwick.
Down onto the rocks by the Seabird Centre.
The path out to the Seabird Centre, North Berwick.
The path out along the point.
The rocky point at North Berwick with the Bass Rock beyond.
The rocky point, the Bass Rock out in the Forth.

The Bass Rock & its gannets

The reason for all those cameras sits two miles out in the Forth: the Bass Rock, a great white-topped volcanic island that is home to the largest colony of Northern gannets in the world — well over a hundred thousand birds, so many that the rock turns white with them and the very species, Morus bassanus, is named after the place. In season, boat trips run from the harbour out around the Bass and the Isle of May. There’s more on our Bass Rock & the coast page.

A gannet display at the Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick.
A flock of model gannets — the Bass Rock colony in miniature.
Model gannets, the Bass Rock colony in miniature, North Berwick.
Thousands of gannets nest on the Bass just offshore.
A boulder on the sand with the Bass Rock out to sea, North Berwick.
A boulder on the sand, the Bass out beyond.
Green weed and rock at the water’s edge, North Berwick.
Green weed and rock at the water’s edge.
The beach curving round to North Berwick harbour.
The West Bay curving round to the harbour.

Nearby

Sources