Gullane to Yellow Craig, East Lothian

A varied coastal walk, with beautiful sweeping sandy beaches, rocky headland and islands offshore. Lots of geological variety, too, including some spectacular volcanic rocks that give testament to the scale and power of the volcanic activity that helped shape East Lothian.

THE ROCKS: This beautiful stretch of coast illustrates a range of sedimentary and igneous rocks, which pick out the shape of the coastline of the Firth of Forth – the softer sedimentary rocks eroded back to give us the sweeping beaches, while a range of igneous rocks give an interesting variety of headlands and islands.

THE WALK: A fairly gentle walk along the coast from Gullane to Yellow Craig, near Direlton. We’ll be walking on sandy beaches with occasional stretches of rocky foreshore, which may be slippery. Total distance about 6 km. I have classified this as a Moderate Walk: not always on paths, may be rough or slippery underfoot at times. It may be wet, windy or cold. Come equipped with strong footwear and waterproof clothing. Route map.

START POINT: Gullane Beach car park, Marine Terrace, Gullane | Nearest postcode EH31 2BE | Grid ref NT 4768 8314 | What3Words: ///pillows.pining.abstracts

END POINT: At Yellow Craig car park, Ware Rd, North Berwick | Nearest postcode EH39 5DS | Grid ref NT 5159 8558 | What3Words: ///blip.pebbles.tidal

From the end point, it is a short walk into Direlton where there is a regular bus service. If you are coming by car, we can organise a car shuttle: meet at 10:30 at the end point, we can leave some cars here and drive to the start of the walk.