Aberlady beach viewed from the sea
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Aberlady beach viewed from the sea
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Aberlady Beach

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Details

Beach type
Sandy, Shingle
Aberlady beach viewed from the sea
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Aberlady beach viewed from the sea
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Aberlady Beach is situated on the Eastern outskirts of Edinburgh. It is a fantastic long sandy beach facing the Firth of Forth. It is backed by dunes. At the North end is a line of rocks and beyond it is a little cove which is the naturist section.

Dogs are not allowed as it is part of the nature reserve. There are no facilities, however the Aberlady Car Park has a toilet block.

You can approach it from the Aberlady Bay car park (free during the day, no overnight camping), or from the Gullane beach car park, which is a shorter walk. From the Aberlady car park it is a 30-40 minute steady walk.

When returning there is a handy, but small sign indicating the footpath (Andi is pointing to it in the Gallery).

There is also the occasional moon(?) jellyfish, however I have no idea as to their toxicity, the Captain just avoided them. Possibly this?

The beach is gently sloping and as a result, at low tide it does go out a long way (watch out for the submarines on the way back).

More information here on the Visit East Lothian website.

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Aberlady Bay Beach
Aberlady Bay Beach
12:01 am, Oct 16, 2025
temperature icon 8°C
clear sky
Humidity: 76 %
Pressure: 1031 mb
Wind: 6 mph
Wind Gust: 6 mph
Clouds: 7%
Visibility: 10 km
Sunrise: 7:44 am
Sunset: 6:08 pm
  • Temperature
  • Precipitation
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  • Humidity
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1:00 am
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8°/8°°C 0 mm 0% 6 mph 76% 1030 mb 0 mm/h
4:00 am
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8°/8°°C 0 mm 0% 7 mph 80% 1030 mb 0 mm/h
7:00 am
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7°/8°°C 0 mm 0% 7 mph 84% 1029 mb 0 mm/h
10:00 am
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9°/9°°C 0 mm 0% 6 mph 82% 1028 mb 0 mm/h
1:00 pm
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11°/11°°C 0 mm 0% 4 mph 72% 1028 mb 0 mm/h
4:00 pm
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12°/12°°C 0 mm 0% 1 mph 70% 1027 mb 0 mm/h
7:00 pm
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10°/10°°C 0 mm 0% 2 mph 81% 1027 mb 0 mm/h
10:00 pm
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9°/9°°C 0 mm 0% 3 mph 82% 1028 mb 0 mm/h

Location

Getting there
It's about a 40-45 minute walk from the Aberlady beach car park. There is a nearer (and larger) one at Gullane (instructions to follow when the Captain next visits).
From the Aberlady Car park, cross the wooden bridge into the nature reserve. Follow the path North for about 20-30 minutes. The path forks left and right (double back). See picture in Gallery. Follow the left fork, past the golf course and a sandy hill will eventually rise up in front of you. The beach is the other side. Turn right (North) and walk to the far end where the beach meets the rocky promontory where you will see the cove.
Accessibility notes
It is about a 30 minute level walk to the beach from the Aberlady car park. It is all on the level - until the very last part where there is a climb over the sandy dunes.
Half the route is a decent cinder path, the rest is just a track. If it wasn't for the last part it could be accessible by an adventurous wheelchair user (with decent size wheels), however the last part is a sandy up and over the dune, only possible to be undertaken with a group of people willing to carry the wheelchair.
Naturist information
The beach is a long sweep of sand and at the top (North end) there is a cove (marked out by some rocks), which is the naturist section. Naturists tend to use the North East end of the beach

More information

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Dalbreck

Dalbreck

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