In partnership with
Visit East Lothian
Does anything embody pure, unadulterated joy as much as a dog at the beach? Doubtful.
Unfortunately for my dog – Paddy the springerdoodle – we live in the west end of Glasgow, making walks on the beach a lot less frequent than he would like. A weekend away in East Lothian, with 40 miles of coastline and some of the best beaches in Scotland, was therefore his equivalent of a five-star all-inclusive fortnight in the sun.
I always thought that East Lothian was a bit of a hassle to get to from Glasgow, so it was a pleasant surprise to pull up in the village of Aberlady just over 90 minutes after leaving home. Aberlady is a gorgeous place with a nature reserve and a quaint high street, and it was also our home for the night, staying in the boutique Leddie hotel.
Dog-friendly but still luxurious, The Leddie reopened last year with a mission to “do the basics, brilliantly.” And it certainly does.
Having 27 rooms allows the staff to focus on quality, not quantity, and that is evident across everything from the food to the housekeeping. Many hotels advertise themselves as dog-friendly – not many offer a doggy welcome pack that includes a tennis ball, treats and a large cushioned dog bed.
Another bonus, the dog-friendly dining area was every bit as stylish and elegant as the main restaurant, which, again, is not always the case.
And thanks to newly-appointed Michelin-trained head chef Lewis Lane, the food was just as impressive as the surroundings. The Leddie prioritises local, seasonal food, with classic dishes like chicken pie and apple crumble that are bold and full of flavour, without trying to be pretentious.
It was a delight to enjoy proper dishes like haggis bon bons and sirloin steak from local butcher John Gilmour, rather than grappling with a confusing ‘small plates’ menu that somehow still ends up leaving you hungry. Full marks for drinks and service, too, especially the cocktails that finished our evening off on a high.
The beach in Aberlady is lovely for a short walk, and is a great place to spot birds, but the next morning our sights were instead set on one of East Lothian’s most famous beaches. Yellowcraig Beach is hugely popular with day-trippers from Edinburgh, as well as families and dog walkers, thanks to its expansive sandy stretches and views of Fidra Island.
The island, and its 1885 lighthouse, was said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novel Treasure Island. Paddy certainly seemed in search of treasure himself, excavating half the beach as part of his favourite game of ‘bury-a-ball-and-then-dig-it-back-up-again’.
Not content to leave East Lothian without taking him to another, and arguably better beach, we made a short stop in the upmarket village of Gullane. Its combination of grassland, dunes and pristine sands makes Gullane Beach a dog’s paradise (and it’s not too shabby for humans either).
It was a genuine joy to see so many happy dogs swimming and running along the shore, along with families, walkers and hardy wild swimmers braving the bracing North Sea.
There are plenty of lovely delis, cafes and coffee shops in Gullane if you want to make a whole day of it. But we were keen to squeeze in one last drop of East Lothian’s scenery before making the drive back to Glasgow, in the shape of Gosford House and Estate.
The neoclassical Gosford House has been home to the Wemyss family since 1808, and is one of the last great architectural commissions of the celebrated Scots architect, Robert Adam. A popular location for film and TV productions, the house itself is available to access via guided tours (subject to availability).
But for those visiting outwith tour times, or with a dog in tow, there’s still plenty to see. The majestic grounds are set within 5,000 acres of land and are open all year round for walkers and families to explore. The car park is small, and gets busy quickly, which was an early indication of how popular the estate was locally.
And with good reason – it’s a gorgeous mixture of woodland, parkland, ponds and the showstopping Gosford House itself. It was lovely to be able to admire the architecture of the building and surrounding grounds without being charged for entry, and demonstrated the sheer variety of walking routes available for visitors to East Lothian.
After all, there aren’t many places when you can go from spectacular beach to majestic country house within less than 10 minutes. Paddy was by this point in a state of nirvana, having had the chance to swim in the sea and explore a forest within the same day – I felt very guilty taking him back to Glasgow.
East Lothian really proved to be the perfect weekend escape from city life, for both dogs and humans alike. It gets a resounding ‘round of a-paws’ from us.
