Hidden Scotland
Sign in
John Muir's Birthplace on Dunbar High Street, a white-harled house with flowers by the open door.
Lothian

John Muir's Birthplace

The house on Dunbar's High Street where John Muir, the Scot who helped create America's national parks, was born in 1838, now a free museum.

Visit website
Welcome

In a white-harled house on Dunbar's High Street, John Muir was born in 1838.

He grew up to become one of the most influential naturalists who ever lived: a writer, explorer and campaigner whose work helped bring about the national parks of the United States. A plaque by the door calls him the Father of America's National Parks and, simply, forever a Scot.

The house is now a museum, free to visit, telling the story of his remarkable life as an inventor, botanist, geologist, glaciologist, farmer and artist, and of the wild places he fought to protect. In his own words, as a boy in Scotland he was fond of everything that was wild.

It is also the start of the John Muir Way, the long-distance path named after him. A statue of Muir stands on the High Street outside.

Round the cornerThe Creel, DunbarA small restaurant by Dunbar harbour cooking local seafood and East Lothian produce, much recommended by the town's own people.1 min by roadSee itThe Creel Restaurant lit up on a wet street corner at night
Before you go

Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm; closed Monday and Tuesday.

Free.

Where
High Street, Dunbar, EH42 1JJ.
Born
1838.
Entry
Free.
Where it is

At the north end of the High Street in Dunbar, EH42 1JJ.

Close byDunbar.
  1. Dunbar High Street under a blue sky, the white Town House with its tower and spire among the old buildings.Dunbar Town House Museum & GalleryThe town's old tolbooth and museum.Under a mile1 min by road
  2. Railed path leads from grassy clifftop down to a rocky shorelineDunbar High StreetIt’s worth having a look along the High Street in Dunbar to grab a souvenir in one of the many wee gift shops.Under a mile1 min by road
  3. Fishing boats moor beneath Dunbar Castle's red sandstone ruins on the harbourThe Creel LoadersUnder a mile1 min by road
  4. Dunbar CastleDunbar CastleThe castle ruins by the harbour.Under a mile1 min by road
  5. Waves breaking on a sandy beach under a blue sky with scattered cloudsDunbar Clifftop Path to Belhaven BayThe clifftop path on the John Muir Way.1 mile3 min by road
Directions
The Creel Restaurant lit up on a wet street corner at nightRestaurantsThe Creel, Dunbar0.2 miles
Aerial view of North Berwick's twin harbours, rooftops and coastline stretching inlandAttractionsDunbar Battery0.3 miles
White clubhouse with red tiled roof beside a links golf courseAttractionsDunbar Golf Course0.9 miles
Metal footbridge crosses a tidal creek on a wide sandy beachAttractionsBelhaven Bridge1.2 miles
Grassy dunes overlook a curving sandy beach with Bass Rock offshoreAttractionsTyninghame Links3.3 miles over the water
Stone dovecot with conical tiled roof and outside stair, set in grassAttractionsPreston Mill7.8 miles
Ruined stone castle with wooden staircase leading to an arched doorwayAttractionsHailes Castle8.3 miles
Grassy headland overlooking a rocky shoreline and calm coastal watersAttractionsBerwickshire Coastal Path8.5 miles
A landscape view of the Blue Cabin at the foot of the brae, lamps lit by its red door and boats drawn up on the grass.CockburnspathBlue Cabin by the SeaSleeps 4 · 8.6 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the museum, and when each is next free.

A landscape view of the Blue Cabin at the foot of the brae, lamps lit by its red door and boats drawn up on the grass.Blue Cabin by the Sea
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Cockburnspath
  • 8 miles from John Muir's Birthplace
Check datesA stone cottage with red pantiled roofs and a gabled dormer sits behind a gravel courtyard, an apple tree in the foreground.Maybell Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Lothian
  • 17 miles from John Muir's Birthplace
Check datesAn orange leather sofa draped with a sheepskin faces a stone fireplace beneath a timber ceiling, a staircase rising behind.The Old Stable
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Lothian
  • 17 miles from John Muir's Birthplace
Free 18–20 OctThe Crow’s Nest, FifeThe Crow’s Nest
  • Sleeps 5
  • In Lothian
  • 17 miles from John Muir's Birthplace
Free 2–4 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in LothianAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.