Instagrammable East Lothian.
The camera LOVES East Lothian with its abundance of photographic opportunities. Stop your ‘followers’ in their tracks with images of stunning historical architecture, breath-taking views, beautiful beaches, impressive sculptures and amazing eating and drinking spots.
We have put together some of the best photographic locations and instagrammable spots around the county for you including; bears, boats and breakfasts, all begging to be captured on camera and all just a short walk or drive from Auldhame House.
If you love photographing the coastline, Seacliff beach, within walking distance from the apartment, should be your first port-of-call. Here, you can photograph the stunning Bass Rock, with its eponymous lighthouse. It is a steep-sided volcanic rock and is home to a large colony of gannets. The rock is uninhabited, but historically was settled by an early Christian hermit (St. Baldred in the 7th Century), and later was the site of an important castle, which after the Commonwealth period was used as a prison. The island belongs to Sir Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple, whose family acquired it in 1706, and before to the Lauder family for almost six centuries. The Bass Rock Lighthouse was constructed on the rock in 1902, and the remains of an ancient chapel survive.
The Bass Rock features in many works of fiction, including some by Robert Louis Stevenson. More recently Seacliff has featured in Netflix’s Outlaw King, Hollywood’s Mary Queen of Scots and more recently A Castle for Christmas featuring Brooke Shields.
Another stunning photographical spot within a short walk of Auldhame House is Tantallon Castle, the last truly great castle built in Scotland. William Douglas, a nobleman, built the mighty fortress in the mid-1300s, at the height of his power. The castle was besieged by: James IV in 1491, James V in 1528 & Oliver Cromwell in 1651. Cromwell’s army caused such destruction that the medieval fortress was abandoned after this last attack.
Another stunning photographical spot within a short drive of Auldhame House is the Dirleton Castle, one of Scotland’s oldest surviving pieces of architecture. Aside from its historic presence, the building itself is stunning. After paying the small admission fee, head into the grounds to take a great shot of the castle from the bowling green. As you make your way around to the front of the castle, you’ll be spoiled for choice. This castle truly is photogenic from almost every angle, inside and out.
Within 5 minutes from the apartment, enjoy the historic harbour town of North Berwick. Its stunning harbour can be found next to the Scottish Sea Bird Centre. You’ll see plenty of classic boats as you enjoy the stunning coastal views and in Summer theses plus the picturesque beach huts and Lobster Shack are a wealth of colour on camera. Just a small walk from the harbour, the high street of North Berwick is the town’s main shopping street. Colourful shop fronts and signs help to contribute to a busy but aesthetically pleasing view of this one-way street. It’s not long, but diverse, and there are plenty of unusual shops and cafes to peruse and with aesthetically pleasing coffee shots aswell as unusual eateries such as the Big Blu Pizza van that appears outside Steampunk on Friday’s at 5pm. The Lodge Grounds also offer lovely photographic opportunities, including a stunning aviary with lots of colourful birds.
For the hikers among us and those looking for a little exersion, North Berwick Law is a tame walk, standing at just 200m high. It won’t take you long to reach the top, where you’ll be rewarded with a gorgeous 360-degree view of East Lothian, Firth of Forth, Fife and beyond. The top is easy to spot because of the iconic whale jawbone replica. There has been a whale jawbone at the top of this hill since the early 1700s and it wasn’t until 2005 that it had to be replaced with a replica due to rot.
Having spotted the Bass Rock from the top of North Berwick Law, you will not want to miss your chance to get a close up shot of it. It is home to more than 150,000 gannets at the peak of the season. The Bass Rock has been described as one of the 12 wildlife wonders of the world by none other than Sir David Attenborough. There are a variety of options for photographing the Bass Rock and it is even possible to get an organised boat trip, which will give you a close-up view of the volcanic creation.
If you aren’t wearing your sealegs, take the impressive drive along the coastal road towards Drift, a new shipping-container café with knockout views of diving gannets and the Bass Rock. Tantallon Castle itself sits on a dramatic clifftop, this semi-ruined fortress is all about the drama. Get the right angle, and you can capture the impressive Bass Rock and the castle in one shot. Closeby, a Distillery has opened, NB Gin, whose award-winning gin was pictured in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding album.
Next, make your way inland towards East Linton to explore Preston Mill, a charming rural building which comprises of a watermill, doocot and millpond, which dates back to the 16th century, but was actually still in use up until 1959. It was featured in the iconic Outlander TV series and underwent urgent repairs after the mechanism which allowed its water wheel to turn broke. The National Trust for Scotland launched an appeal to raise money to restore the water wheel and within two weeks, £12,000 had been donated by people from around the world. Sam Heughan, who plays the lead role of Jamie Fraser in the Outlander TV series, was among those to thank everyone for their support. As well as being an iconic sightseeing spot for Outlander fans, if offers a wonderful photographic opportunity aswell as a fascinating history about how historic watermills work.
Venture on from East Linton towards Dunbar to find the intriguing and unusually named ‘Bridge to Nowhere’. This footbridge can be found on the fine sands of Belhaven Bay, part of John Muir Country Park and looks somewhat peculiar at high tide, but at low tide it straddles the Biel Water. Marvel at it as you explore the length of this very long and rather stunning beach at Belhaven.
Keep making your way east and you’ll get to Dunbar itself, which hosts another fantastic harbour and the ruins of Dunbar Castle. Make sure you get here while the tide is in so that you can get a shot of the colourful fishing boats sitting on the water. On a blue-skied day, this is an excellent spot to stop and take a wander, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the seals who come in to the harbour for a mid morning snack! From here you can take another boat trip out to the Isle of May - the bird and nature photographers paradise.
Before you leave Dunbar and head back to Auldhame House, make sure you visit East Lothian’s newest photographic gem, a steel sculpture of a bear, made in tribute to conservationist John Muir. The welded artwork, standing at five metres high, was sculpted by Scottish artist Andy Scott, the man behind the Kelpies. The work of art is in tribute to Mr Muir, who was born in Dunbar in 1838 and is symbolic of his travels through America's wild places. It is located off the A1, near the Spott Roundabout in Dunbar.