This popular stretch of sandy coast is perfect for a family day out!

A perfect area for beginner and young snorkellers, with lots of accessible facilities alongside this beautiful stretch of coastline. Explore a mixture of sandy beach, boulders and rocky reef, home to an abundant variety of marine life.

Scottish Seabird Centre - Scottish Seabird Centre

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Facilities

Car park
Accessible by public transport (bus and ferry)
Accessible public toilets
Accessible picnic benches
Showers
Bike park

What other people say

How to get there

By road

Gullane Bents beach is only 0.7 miles (a 15 minute walk) from Gullane town centre. Travel down Sandy Loan towards the coastline, then turn left to enter Gullane beach car park (pay and display, height restrictions apply). From the car park, head down the sandy track and through the sand dunes to reach the beach.

Several electric vehicle charging stations are available in Gullane town centre.

By rail

The nearest train station is North Berwick (5 miles east) with services also running regularly to/from Edinburgh.

By bus

Bus services are provided locally by East Coast Buses/Lothian Buses (services 124 and X5, which travel between Edinburgh and North Berwick).

Get directions

Provided by Google Maps

Local conditions

Here is the wind forecast and tide times for this snorkel site. It is your responsibility to assess whether these conditions are suitable for snorkelling.

Other considerations

More information

  • Accessible toilets, showering facilities and accessible picnic tables can be found a short walk away from the car park.
  • Bike parking is available at Gullane beach car park, with local businesses offering bike hire options.
  • Reach out to Coast to Coast Surf School, who offer snorkelling equipment hire and exciting ocean experiences such as surfing, paddleboarding and coasteering led by expert instructors.
  • Visit the Scottish Seabird Centre’s interactive Discovery Experience, take part in their events programme, relax in their seabird cafe, browse the gift shop or hop onto a seasonal boat trip around the local islands teeming with wildlife.
  • Nearby, the charity Beach Wheelchairs offer free hire of beach wheelchairs in North Berwick (call to pre-book).

Wildlife warning

Please be a responsible snorkeller; do not touch, take or tease wildlife.

This area is home to internationally important colonies of breeding seabirds (April-September) and seals (harbour seals June-July, grey seals August-December). Please behave responsibly and stay distant, wildlife should be left undisturbed. For more information see sealalliance.org and nature.scot. Avoid disturbing ground-nesting birds and livestock; follow the Outdoor Access and Marine Wildlife Watching codes.

Stay safe

Snorkelling can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk. Information is provided free of charge; it is your responsibility to check the conditions present on the day and assess whether it is safe to snorkel.

Please read our top tips to being a safe and responsible snorkeller.

Other snorkel sites on this trail

Top tips

Snorkelling can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk.

Information is provided free of charge; it is your responsibility to check the conditions present on the day and assess whether it is safe to snorkel.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust strives to provide accurate information but cannot accept responsibility for changes, errors or omissions.

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