Gullane - coastal town in East Lothian, Scotland, UK

Gullane is a seaside village in East Lothian, in central Scotland. It's surrounded by golf courses, notably Muirfield, a regular venue for the Open Championship. It's also a commuter town for Edinburgh and in 2020 had a population of 2810.

Get in

Gullane is 20 miles east of Edinburgh on A198, which hugs the coast of the Firth of Forth north of A1. Exit A1 at Haddington and follow A6137 north to Aberlady then join A198 east into town. Bicycles aren't allowed on the new A1 and the scenic route is along A198 winding through the coastal villages.

East Coast Buses X5, 124 & X24 run from Edinburgh Fountainbridge along Princes St (close to but not into the bus station) then via Musselburgh along the coast road to Gullane, continuing to North Berwick. They run daily every 30-60 mins, taking around 80 mins.

The nearest railway station is at North Berwick 3 miles east. This has hourly trains from Edinburgh which also stop at Drem 2 miles south of Gullane.

Get around

The buses to North Berwick run through Dirleton, which is on an old loop of road 200 yards north of the bypass.

See

• Gullane Bents 📍 are the sands and dunes of Gullane Beach. By car take Sandy Lane, 2nd left after entering the village from the west, which leads to a large car park. There's a broad curve of golden sands, with rocks at the eastern end and low cliffs to the west. The dunes, which in the 20th century were just blowing sand, are becoming grown over as the council has sought to stabilise them. This may have been overdone, as there's nowadays quite a thicket of blackthorn.
• Luffness Castle 📍 was originally built in the 12th century but smashed up on several occasions. The present version is mostly 19th century and is a private family home, no tours.
• Myreton Motor Museum, off Avenue Rd, Aberlady EH32 0PZ, 56.0045°, -2.8246°, +44 7585 356931. Daily 10:30-16:30. Small but fascinating collection of vintage vehicles and motor memorabilia. Adult £7, conc £6, child £3 2023-01-11
• National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield EH39 5LF (B1347 three miles south of Gullane), 55.9955°, -2.7174°, +44 1620 897240. Apr-Oct daily 10:00-17:00, Nov-Mar Sa Su 10:00-16:00.. Shows the history of 20th century flight, with an aircraft collection in four hangars including British Airways Concorde G-BOAA, De-Havilland Comet 4C, Vulcan bomber and Boeing 707. Adult £12.50, conc £10.50, child (5-15) £7.50 2023-01-11
• Dirleton Castle, Dirleton EH39 5ER (2 miles east of Gullane), 56.04572°, -2.77846°. Daily Apr-Sept 09:30-17:30, Oct-Mar 10:00-16:00. Impressive castle dating from about 1240, smashed by Cromwell in 1650. It's set in well kept gardens. Adult £6 2019-10-21

Do

• John Muir Way is a long-distance coastal trail. The route is obvious both ways: eastbound follow the shore by Yellowcraigs into North Berwick, and onward to Tantallon Castle, Dunbar, and the cliffs of Berwickshire. Westbound leads you to Luffness and Aberlady, a bird reserve; you can't short-cut across this bay as it's muddy. The trail continues east via Craigielaw and Seton Sands to Musselburgh.
• Muirfield Golf Course (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers), Duncur Rd, Muirfield EH31 2EG, 56.0417°, -2.8280°, +44 1620 842123. Visitors only Tu and Th. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers wrote the first recorded rules of the game in 1744 when they were based at Leith Links. They moved to Muirfield in 1891 and the course regularly hosts the Open. Visitor bookings are taken up to a year in advance and fill up quickly. The course is 6728 yards, par 70. 18-hole round Nov-March £110, April-Oct £270 and two rounds £400 2019-10-22
• Gullane Golf Club, West Links Rd EH31 2BB, 56.02906°, -2.85019°, +44 1620 842255. Three 18-hole links courses, plus a children's course. Courses 1 (laid 1884; 6162 yards par 71) and 2 (laid 1898; 5976 yards par 71) have been used for qualifying for the Open Championship. No 3 (laid 1910, 5259 par 68) is shorter but still challenging. Much easier to get a round here than at Muirfield, but you should still book in advance. The three main courses all start from the clubhouse at the west end of the village. The children's course is accessed from the old village green, just east along Main St. 2019-10-22
• Other nearby golf courses are Luffness, Craigielaw and Kilspindie towards Aberlady, and Archerfield near Dirleton.

Buy

• Coop Food is on Main St, open daily 07:00-22:00. Tesco and Aldi are three miles east on the edge of North Berwick.

Eat

• Greywalls and Bonnie Badger both have outstanding restaurants, see "Sleep". Other village centre choices include The Main Choice, Super Fry and The Old Clubhouse.
• La Potiniere, Main St EH31 2AA (opposite Bonnie Badger), +44 1620 843214. W-Sa 12:30-13:30 & 19:00-20:20, Su 12:30-13:30. This upscale restaurant gets rave reviews. 2019-10-21

Drink

• The Old Clubhouse on East Links Rd does bar meals and is open daily 11:00-23:00.

Sleep

Accommodation prices take a big hike around major golf events.

• Mallard Hotel, East Links Rd EH31 2AF, +44 1620 843288, info@mallard-gullane.co.uk. Family-run, basic hotel overlooking the golf courses. 18 rooms. B&B double £130 2019-10-21
• Greywalls Hotel, Duncur Rd EH31 2EG (by Muirfield golf course on east edge of village), 56.0422°, -2.8194°, +44 1620 842144. Highly-rated hotel, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901, and retaining an Edwardian style. With acclaimed Chez Roux restaurant. B&B double from £360 2019-10-21
• The Bonnie Badger (formerly Golf Inn), Main St EH31 2AB, 56.035°, -2.831°, +44 1620 621111. Stylish small hotel with outstanding restaurant. B&B double from £260 2020-05-22
• There's also accommodation in Dirleton a mile or two east. Bridget Bardot and other cast stayed here while filming on location for the 1967 "Two Weeks in September" / À cœur joie.

Connect

As of Aug 2022, Gullane and its approach roads have 4G from EE and Vodafone, but a poor signal from Orange and Three. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• A little way east is North Berwick, with the "Law" rearing up behind town, and the Bass Rock and other islands out to sea.
• Further east is the fishing village of Dunbar, then the cliffs of Berwickshire stretch to the English border.
• Inland is the small market town of Haddington, the Glenkinchie whisky distillery, and the rolling Lammermuir Hills.
• Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh is barely 20 miles away.