Visiting North Berwick
Edinburgh is a very busy city with great transport links to the surrounding areas and we like to venture to the coast often. North Berwick is a brilliant place to visit as the popular little town is filled with visitors and their dogs. We mean it when we say there are dogs everywhere. For this reason, it makes a day out with your active dog very enjoyable.
For us, we can either drive directly from home to North Berwick or be more adventurous and get the train. The walk for us to the train station takes 45minutes, so on the way I couldn’t resist popping into my favourite urban plant & coffee shop for a coffee and a seat amongst the plants. The staff love dogs, always offering belly rubs and water. Dogs are made to feel very welcome, but they don’t have dog treats, so Arrow feels very hard done by!
Princes Street Gardens
We continue our walk to the train station and pass by the well-known Princes Street Gardens, which lies between Edinburgh Old Town and the New Town and has Edinburgh Castle standing over it. The park leads you to the train station entrance so it’s the perfect opportunity for Arrow to run off her energy before getting on the train. Make sure you don’t admire the castle for too long or you will miss the train!
On the Train
The train to North Berwick from Waverly, Edinburgh is 30 minutes. At times, this route can be busy, but there is plenty of room to find a suitable space.
Walks on the Beach
As soon as you get off the train you can see the sea and with a tug of the lead, and a fast-paced walk, Arrow leads the way to the beach. Depending on where you enter the beach you may have to cross the golf course, so dogs on leads and watch out! The beach stretches for miles, West Bay Beach, the harbour, and Misley Bay beach are very popular. If you walk west, Broadsands beach stretches for miles and has lovely clean sand. We like to walk out and then turn back towards the busier beaches and the town. From the beach you can see the mighty Bass Rock which stands more than 100 metres tall and is home to many bird species.
Bass Rock
We like to walk out and then turn back towards the busier beaches and the town. From the beach you can see the mighty Bass Rock which stands more than 100 metres tall and is home to many bird species.
Buttercup Cafe
After an hour’s walk, with Arrow enjoying a swim and playing with lots of other dogs, we headed into North Berwick town for some lunch. Nearly all shops are dog friendly and very happily hand out dog treats! We struggled to find a spot for lunch because it was a very sunny day when we visited. We decided to get lunch from Buttercup Cafe and sit in the benched area opposite. While I placed my order with one lady, Arrow was getting dog treats and lots of attention from everyone else. 5 stars from Arrow as we left with a handful of treats, alongside my toastie!
North Berwick High Street
It is a lovely little town with a very nice dog friendly high street, so we popped into a few shops for a browse. We really like “Why Not” as it has a deli, lots of arts, crafts, clothes, and a garden area all under the same roof. Again, more dog treats were given to Arrow from the friendly staff.
After a shopping spree, it was time for a cafe visit at Steam Punk. With another coffee for me, and a delicious brownie, Arrow had a water break and was served up gravy bones at the counter (I didn’t get a photo as they were so busy but it was really cute and made her day!!)
Heading Home
We were enjoying our time sitting out in the sun so much that before we realised it, the train was due and we had to dash to the station. We covered a normally quick 5-minute walk from the main town centre in about 2 minutes!
An enjoyable train ride home, followed with another walk back through Princes Street Garden before reaching home.
The people of North Berwick understand that dogs are part of the family, and the shops are very friendly. It is the perfect adventure for anyone looking to escape the city for the day.
