Day 11 - Port Seton to North Berwick

Slept soundly last night, but had some bizarre dreams.  A good breakfast and coffee chased them away, and I headed out.  Not long after starting, the trail led past the harbor and onto the beach.  VERY pleasant to walk on nice, firm sand.  Rather windy, though, and some spitty rain started.  Best part of this was that the wind was from behind, so I had a tailwind giving me a boost for about a mile or so.  The trail also included stretches that went through the dunes, which really reminded me of the dune trails at Plum Island in Massachusetts.  No green heads, though.

Scottish bluebell

Tree festooned with rubber work gloves

Kite boarder

Dog whelk shell left on a mossy wall

Door in a wall

Wooden box at the base of a stone wall

Naturally, I had a look inside.  :)

After being blasted by the wind for almost 9 miles, I'd had enough and found a bus stop just outside the village of Gullane.  Caught the next bus to North Berwick, then, since it was too early to check in, I walked to the Scottish Seabird Centre.  Excellent facility, with cameras on several offshore and cliff locations that you could adjust the zoom and specific view of to get live feeds of the many seabirds in the area.  I was able to see the nesting gannets on Bass Rock, kittiwakes, crested comorants, fulmars, and gulls.  There are supposedly a couple of puffins that have arrived in the area recently, but they didn't put in an appearance.

Gannet sculpture outside the Scottish Seabird Centre

Seal sculpture outside the centre.  Really hope I get to see the real thing.

North Berwick coast. The big hill on the right is Berwick Law.

Bass Rock, home to about a quarter million nesting gannets

After leaving the centre, I got my bearings and walked to the Wing B&B, my home for the next 2 nights.  I have a very spacious twin room with a large bathtub (almost as long as I am tall - 5'4") in the en suite that I took advantage of for a good hot soak.  Then I spent a couple of exceedingly relaxing hours in the guest lounge, watching people walking on the beach and seeing the light change as the sun went down.

The B&B is literally right across the street from the beach.  The beach itself is mostly sand, with LARGE areas of a tidepool lover's Nirvana.  If I'd visited here as a child, my parents never would have gotten me off the beach, ever.  I would have clung to the rocks like a barnacle.

Redshank in a tidepool

Tomorrow is my final rest day.  I plan to visit the nearby Tantallon Castle and roam the village of North Berwick.