Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
52 High St., Linlithgow.
&
01506/846-565.
www.livingstons-restaurant.co.uk. Reservations recom-
mended. Fixed-price lunch £20, fixed-price dinner £38. MC, V. Tues-Sat noon-2pm and 6-9pm. Closed
first 2 weeks in Jan, 1 week in June, and 1 week in Oct.
NORTH BERWICK & EAST
LOTHIAN
The royal burgh of North Berwick (
bear
-ick, the “w” is silent) dates to the 14th
century. But in more modern Victorian and Edwardian times, it served as an upmar-
ket holiday resort, drawing visitors to its beaches, harbor, and golf courses where the
Firth of Forth meets the North Sea. About 36km (21 miles) east of Edinburgh, the
town is on a direct rail line from Edinburgh; the trip takes about 30 minutes. Stan-
dard one-way fare is about £6. Bus service from Edinburgh takes a little more than
an hour. An all-day ticket to North Berwick and the region around it costs around
£8. If you're driving, take the coastal road east from Leith, or use the A1 (marked
the south and dunbar) to the A198 (via Gullane) to North Berwick.
At the year-round
tourist office,
Quality St. (
&
01620/892-197
), you can get
information on boat trips to offshore islands, including
Bass Rock,
a breeding
ground inhabited by about 10,000 gannets, the second-largest colony in Scotland, as
well as puffins and other birds. It's possible to see the rock from the harbor, but the
viewing is even better at
Berwick Law,
a volcanic lookout point that rises up behind
the town.
Dirleton Castle
Run by Historic Scotland, the castle dates to the 13th cen-
tury, with surrounding gardens that are apparently just as ancient. It is reputed to
have been completely sacked by Cromwell in 1650, but another story holds that the
building was only partially destroyed by his army but was further torn down by a
local family who desired a romantic ruin on their land. It is a rather grand garden
feature. Highlights include the imposing gate house, vaulted arcades, and a 16th-
century dovecot that resembles a beehive. The grounds include a herbaceous border
that the
Guinness Book of Records
ranks as the longest in the world.
Dirleton, 5km (3 miles) west of North Berwick on the A198.
&
01620/850-330.
www.historic-scotland.
gov.uk. Admission £4.70 adults, £3.80 seniors, £2.80 children. AE, MC, V. Apr-Sept daily 9:30am-
5:30pm; Oct-Mar 9:30am-4:30pm.
Scottish Seabird Centre
From this popular attraction situated on a craggy
outcropping in North Berwick, you can watch all the bird action out on Bass Rock,
whether gannets and puffins, as well as guillemots on the island of Fidra or colonies
12
Dirleton: Prettiest Village in Scotland?
Dirleton, midway between North Ber-
wick and Gullane, has been cited as the
prettiest village in Scotland. It is so pic-
ture-postcard perfect, it's hard to
believe it's a real village at all—it
appears almost to have been created
for a movie set. But it is genuine.
Because the main road bypasses the vil-
lage, there is little traffic. Each cottage
looks like it's waiting to be photo-
graphed, and the standards of home
maintenance are undoubtedly very high.
