John Muir Way
Follow the John Muir Way along the East Lothian Coast on this walk named after the father of the environment movement, John Muir. Muir grew up in Dunbar before emigrating to the USA where he established America's National Parks (video below).
The walk is often completed in 5 sections:
Fisherrow (Musselburgh) to Cockenzie
Cockenzie to Aberlady
Aberlady to North Berwick
North Berwick to Dunbar
Dunbar to Dunglass
You will pass sandy beaches, cliffs, dunes and rolling lowland all to the backdrop of the Lammermuir Hills. The route also passes by rivers, woodland and waterfalls. Wildlife lovers should look out for a variety of seabirds such as gannets, terns and curlew. The walk also takes you through the delightful John Muir Country Park.
Here you can explore the Dunbar Castle ruins, the Peffer Burn, a Cliff Top Trail with fine views of the sea and the historic Bass Rock, the long sandy sweep of Belhaven Bay and the River Tyne estuary(video below). Just to the south of Dunbar you could take a detour from the trail and visit the Dunbar Bear. The large bear sculpture celebrates the life of the locally born John Muir. The sculpture symbolises the role Muir played in establishing the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks where the brown bear has survived and thrived.
Named signs serve as waymarks for the route.
Please click here for more information
John Muir Way Ordnance Survey Map 
- view and print off detailed OS map
John Muir Way Open Street Map 
- view and print off detailed map
John Muir Way OS Map 
- Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking
John Muir Way Open Street Map 
- Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking
Further Information and Other Local Ideas
The circular Gullane to North Berwick Walk uses part of the John Muir Way to visit the beautiful Gullane sand dunes, the historic Muirfield Golf Course and the ruined Dirleton Castle.
On the western fringes of Edinburgh there's a lovely section through the Cammo Estate. The historic park includes some splendid trails with lakes and the photogenic Cammo Tower to see.
At Dirleton a section of the walk runs along the fascinating Dirleton Solar Walk. The educational walk will take you along a wonderful scale model of the Solar System with some splendid countryside views to enjoy too.
Cycle Routes and Walking Routes Nearby
Photos
Dunbar golf course.
Cuthill. Beach and seaside housing taken from one of Prestongrange's old coalmine bings.
Fisherow Sands. Beach, looking towards the harbour, with North Berwick Law in the distance.
The coastline at Dunbar. A rugged part of the coast to the east-northeast of Winterfield Golf Course. The walkers on the right are on a cliff-top path that is part of the John Muir Way.
Natural arch near Bilsdean. Is this East Lothian's finest beach? It is hard to access, with steep crags and grass slopes separating it from the John Muir Way path above. The arch is close to collapse now, there has been fresh rockfalls, so this is a good example of a catching a stack about to be formed. Obviously visiting the site requires some care.
Lawrie's Den. Rock formations at Lawrie's Den on the Firth of Forth Estuary. Here the John Muir Way passes through Dunbar Golf Course
Port Seton Links. The view of the trail as it crosses the Port Seton Links, where it is believed that Mary Queen of Scots once played golf. The houses on the right have a fine sea view
Fish - Corrennie Granite. On the trail at the beach at Skateraw is sited this sculpture by Ronald Rae. It is on loan to the Demarco Skateraw Project. The granite has been dated at 460 million years old. The fish has been used to symbolise Christ in early Christian times, a link with the early Christian burials unearthed at Skateraw.