Eyemouth

Eyemouth is a harbour town in the Scottish Borders. With a population of 3580 in 2022, it's the largest of a string of picturesque fishing villages along the rugged Berwickshire coast. Others, also described here, are Burnmouth, Coldingham and St Abbs.

Get in

Eyemouth is 8 miles north of Berwick-upon-Tweed on A1107, a scenic loop off A1 that continues north through Coldingham to rejoin at Cockburnspath.

Borders Bus 235 runs from Berwick to Eyemouth 8 times per day, taking 15 min via Burnmouth and continuing to Coldingham and St Abbs. Both English and Scottish bus passes are valid on this route.

Bus 253 runs 4 times a day from Berwick, then from Eyemouth follows the A1 to Reston, Dunbar, Haddington and Edinburgh.

Bus 60 runs every two hours from Galashiels via Melrose, Earlston, Greenlaw, Chirnside and Ayton, continuing to Berwick.

Berwick is usually the most convenient railway station, with hourly trains on the East Coast main line.

1 Reston is a platform halt opened in 2022, with main line trains every couple of hours, and step-free access to both platforms. It has ticket machines but no other facilities. Scanty onward transport so you need to organise a taxi, though bike-on-train would work.

Get around

The bus will get you between Eyemouth and St Abbs, but you really need wheels to explore along the coast.

The local taxi firm is B & B (+44 1890 751575).

See

• Gunsgreen House by the harbour is a merchant's house built in 1753, then converted into a smuggler's den riddled with secret lifts, stairways and hidey-holes. It's closed for refurbishment.
• Eyemouth Parish Church or St John's is on Victoria Rd by the head of the harbour. When completed in 1879 it was a "Free Kirk", but the schism with the Church of Scotland was resolved in 1929.
• 1 Eyemouth Museum, 2B Manse Rd TD14 5JE, ☏ +44 1890 751701. Apr-Oct daily 11AM-4PM. Local history museum with exhibitions on farming and fishing, including the 1881 “Euroclydon” disaster when 19 fishing boats and 189 fishermen were lost. Adult £5, conc £4, child free. (updated Oct 2024)
• Old Cemetery between High St and Albert Rd is nowadays a small park with a memorial to the 1881 disaster. At the north (High St) end is a curious watchtower cladded with 17th / 18th century tombstone fragments. When cholera struck in 1849 the cemetery rapidly filled, so they laid six foot of earth over it and started over. Existing flat tombstones were simply covered, while standing stones were moved onto the cemetery wall or the watchtower. Georgian / early Victorian cemeteries often had such watchtowers against body snatchers, but by the 1840s the supply of workhouse paupers' corpses for dissection had ended that pungent trade.
• 2 Eyemouth Fort on the headland just west of the harbour is now just a few faint earthworks, though a pair of old cannon have been placed here to mark it. The first fort was built by the English in 1547 and the second in 1557 by Scotland's French allies, but both were demolished within a couple of years of construction when peace broke out.
• 3 Coldingham Priory, Coldingham TD1 5NG. 24 hours. A Benedictine monastery was founded at St Abbs in about 640, the same time as Lindisfarne, governed by Durham. It was re-founded here in 1100 with a new church and upgraded to a priory in 1150. In 1376 it became a pawn in the Anglo-Scottish conflicts, as Robert II wrested it from Durham and awarded it to Dunfermline. Both sides appealed to the pope, who backed their cause, easily done as they recognised different popes. The priory was abandoned in 1606 after the Reformation, smashed up by Cromwell, and the ruin passed into secular hands. The present church occupies the choir of its 13th century predecessor. Free. (updated Oct 2024)
• 4 St Abbs Visitor Centre. Mar-Oct daily 10AM-5PM. Exhibition on the St Abbs area. (updated Oct 2024)
• 5 St Abb's Head. 24 hours. Rocky cliffs which are home to 60,000 seabirds and a lighthouse built by the Stevensons in 1862. Park at the NTS centre and follow the lane. Leave the car there if you later visit St Abbs village, as the road is steep, narrow and congested. (updated Oct 2024)
• 6 Fast Castle is a scrappy ruin on a dramatic headland. The site has probably been fortified from the Iron Age until it was abandoned towards 1600. You can drive or cycle as far as Dowlaw Farm then head northeast across the fields.

Do

Fishing boats in the harbour

• Eyemouth Rib Trips explore the coast as far as St Abbs Head.
• Beaches: the Berwickshire coastline is rugged, and access is difficult from the cliffs. Eyemouth has a small sandy strip north side of town. The best is Coldingham Sands, follow Fishers Brae east from Coldingham.
• Golf: Eyemouth GC is on Gunsgreen Hill east of the harbour. White tees 6404 yards, par 72, visitor round £48.
• St Abbs is a popular site for diving. The area is part of a voluntary marine reserve, with Cathedral Rock a submerged double arch, and the signature beast is the wolf fish. These hideous creatures normally live in deeper waters but here inhabit rookie-diver depths.
  • St Abbs Diving offers a dive boat and shore bunkhouse or B&B accommodation.
  • Dive St Abbs offers a dive boat and shore B&B accommodation.
• Eyemouth Leisure Centre, North Street, Eyemouth TD14 5ET. Swimming pool and gym. (updated Oct 2024)
• Berwickshire Coastal Path teeters along the cliff tops from Berwick via Eyemouth, St Abbs and Cockburnspath to Dunbar. At Cockburnspath it meets the Southern Upland Way and at Dunbar meets the John Muir Way to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Helensburgh. Use OS Landranger Map 67 for this and other hikes in the area.
• Herring Queen Festival is an annual civic event in Eyemouth. The next is probably 19 July 2025, tbc.

Buy

• Most folk do their shopping in Berwick, where Morrisons Supermarket is conveniently placed north end of the bypass. Alcohol may be cheaper here as it is not subject to the Scottish minimum price.
• Co-op Food is on Eyemouth High St opposite the Old Cemetery, open daily 7AM-10PM.

Eat

St Abbs Head

Useful to know: the word for an edible crab in Berwickshire and East Lothian is "poo". But not elsewhere, so don't be asking for one in a snooty Edinburgh restaurant.

• Oblò, 20 Harbour Road, Eyemouth TD14 5HU (by harbour), ☏ +44 1890 752527. M Tu 9:30AM-8PM, W-Su 9:30AM-11PM. Great reviews for food quality and service. (updated Oct 2024)
• Takeaways are Giacopazzi on Harbour Rd, Chu Hoi on Chapel St, Q'Kurdi Grill on Market Place, and China Pearl on High St.
• Ebbcarrs Cafe is by the harbour in St Abbs, open daily 10AM-4PM.

Drink

• The Fleet is a grand little pub off Chapel St, open daily noon-11PM.
• The Tavern west end of High St has good grub, open daily 10AM-midnight.
• The Contented Sole is at 3 Old Quay by the mouth of the harbour, open daily noon-midnight. It's okay as a pub but the food does not impress.

Sleep

Coldingham Priory

• The Ship's Quarters, Harbour Rd, Eyemouth TD14 5HT (by harbour), ☏ +44 1890 769515. Comfy welcoming B&B in an 18th century tavern. B&B double £100. (updated Oct 2024)
• The Home Arms, 39 High St, Eyemouth TD14 5EY (midtown), ☏ +44 1890 751316. Pleasant small guest house. B&B double £90. (updated Oct 2024)
• Sea Aire is a gravel park for motorhomes on North St. No touring caravans or campers.
• Parkdean is a chain resort north edge of town with cabins and static caravans, but it doesn't take touring caravans or campers.
• 1 Eye Sleep Over, Toll Bridge Road, Eyemouth TD14 5GN, ☏ +44 1890 750913. Basic motel but clean. No meals, but a 15 minute walk gets you into town. Double (room only) £70. (updated Oct 2024)
• 2 First and Last Inn, Upper Burnmouth TD14 5SL, ☏ +44 1890 781889. Pub with meals and rooms. B&B double £95. (updated Oct 2024)

Connect

As of Oct 2024, Eyemouth and the road from Berwick have 4G from O2, Three and Vodafone, and 5G from EE. Coverage is patchy in St Abbs, Coldingham and along A1107 north to rejoin the A1 at Cockburnspath.

Go next

• Berwick-upon-Tweed has stout Elizabethan walls, to prevent the Scots recapturing it.
• Kelso is a pleasant Borders town with an abbey and Floors Castle.
• Dunbar is a traditional fishing port, with a castle stump teetering over the harbour entrance.