Seacliff Beach and Harbour

Seacliff Beach is a private beach that is part of the Seacliff Estate, but the public are able to access it on foot for free and via car for a fee of £5 per car (cost in 2025) to park. Its is a beautiful, un-spoilt beach that can be very quiet if you are lucky though on sunny weekends or summer holidays I imagine it will be a busy place!

When we visited we were lucky enough to be staying a short distance away so could walk along the access road to it, but there is parking for 120 cars so you should be able to get parked. Keep your eyes peeled on the walk down to the beach because you will walk past Auldhame Castle, which is tucked away in the trees.

The beach is a lovely sandy crescent shape though there are some rocky areas which are great for rock pooling when the tide is out. There are spectacular views of Tantallon Castle and Bass Rock from the beach.

Bass Rock as you may know, is a huge seabird colony and the Gannets were starting to arrive in March. We were lucky enough to also see some Eider Ducks, Razorbills and some Red Throated Divers while we were there so it's a great place if you are a bird watcher.

Hidden away within the large rocky outcrop at the northern end of the beach is a harbour that has been cut directly into the stone of the outcrop. This is said to be the smallest harbour in the UK.

There is good reason for this as it is actually only 12m in length with an entrance only 2m wide. Constructed by Andrew Laidley, the owner of Seacliff House at the time, in 1890 using a steam engine and compressed air to cut the stone.

Even when the tide is out there is water in the harbour so it can be accessed at all times, though not by many boats at the same time! It is mainly used by local crab fishermen these days.

It's a wonderful place to spend a few hours relaxing, walking the dog, surfing or scrambling over the rocks looking for hermit crabs, but don't tell anyone about it as they will all want to visit!