Hidden Scotland
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Museums and history
in Lothian.

It’s 20:54 in Lothian.
Lothian

Tolbooths, hangars and coastal villages.

The past in East Lothian is close at hand, from its fishing villages to the airfields of the Second World War. Dunbar's tolbooth has stood on the High Street since the 16th century, with a bell, a clock and old sundials on its tower, and a local history room inside. North Berwick's volunteer museum tells the story of Dirleton, Gullane, Aberlady and the seabirds of the Bass Rock. At East Fortune, an old wartime airfield is home to Scotland's national collection of aircraft. The town museums are free, and the volunteers are always glad to talk.

Newhailes→
The Chesters→
House of the Binns→
Preston Mill→
Forth Bridge→
Coastal Communities Museum→
National Museum of Flight→
Gosford House→
Place of the day19 hours ago

Dunbar Town House Museum & Gallery.

Dunbar's 16th-century tolbooth on the High Street, with its witch's hat tower, now a free museum and gallery of the town's history.

Read about it
From our collectionsA collection17 hours agoLothianDunbar Golf CourseLothianLuffness New Golf ClubLothianMuirfieldLothianNorth Berwick Golf Club

The Best Links in East Lothian

East Lothian has one links after another along the shore of the Forth. From championship courses to quiet members' clubs with a warm welcome for visitors, these are the links to play here.

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From our guide15 hours ago

Newhailes.

On the edge of Musselburgh, Newhailes is a Palladian house that played its part in the Scottish Enlightenment, when it belonged to the Dalrymple family. The National Trust for Scotland shows it on guided tours, and it's full of curiosities: rococo interiors, Italian marble fireplaces, a Chinese sitting room and a fine collection of paintings. Outside, woodland walks lead past a shell grotto and a tea house, with views across the Forth. Children head for the Weehailes playpark, and the Stables Cafe is there for lunch.

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Newly discovered14 hours agoLothianRestoration YardCafeLothianMilsey BayAttractionLothianNorth Berwick HarbourAttractionLothianDunbar Clifftop Path to Belhaven BayWalkLothianDunbar High StreetAttractionLothianThe Creel LoadersAttraction

Some good places to go, newly added to the site.

The newest places on our pages in Lothian.

Browse everywhere to go
Lunch12 hours agoLothianThe Bonnie Badger3.2 milesLothianThe Herringbone5.1 milesLothianZanzibar5.2 miles

Lunch near The Chesters.

The three good places closest to it: The Bonnie Badger, The Herringbone and Zanzibar.

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From our guide10 hours ago

Gosford House.

On the shore near Longniddry, Gosford House is the seat of the Earls of Wemyss and March, and one of the last great houses designed by Robert Adam. Its story is a long one. Adam died before it was finished, and later Earls pulled down the wings and rebuilt them, so it was only completed in 1891, a century after the first stone was laid. Inside, the marble hall with its double staircase is wonderfully grand. Gosford is a private house that opens for guided tours on set days, so check before you go.

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From our guide9 hours ago

Forth Bridge.

Few sights say Scotland quite like the Forth Bridge. Its three great red cantilevers stride across the firth between South and North Queensferry, and when it opened in 1890 it was the wonder of the age. Until 1917 it had the longest span of any bridge on earth. It still carries only trains, so to feel its size, stand on the shore at South Queensferry and look up at the approach spans. In 2015 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then take a train over it and look down on the water.

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From our guide7 hours ago

John Muir's Birthplace.

John Muir was born in this white-harled house on Dunbar's High Street in 1838. He grew up to become a writer, explorer and campaigner whose work helped bring about the national parks of the United States. The house is now a free museum telling the story of his life as an inventor, botanist, geologist and much else besides, and of the wild places he fought to protect. A statue of Muir stands outside. The John Muir Way, named after him, runs 134 miles across Scotland between Dunbar and Helensburgh.

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From our guide5 hours ago

National Museum of Flight.

Out in the farmland near North Berwick, the old airfield at East Fortune holds Scotland's national collection of aircraft. The airfield is one of the best preserved of the Second World War in Britain, and the star of the show is Concorde. You can walk right beneath its great white delta wing and imagine crossing the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound. Around it stand more than fifty other aircraft, from light planes to a Red Arrows Hawk, with cockpits to peer into. There are science shows and activities in the school holidays.

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From our guide2 hours ago

Preston Mill.

On the banks of the Tyne at East Linton, Preston Mill has been delighting painters for generations. Its red stone kiln wears a conical roof of pantiles in the Dutch style, and the whole building sits reflected in the millpond. It ground grain until 1959. On a guided tour you see the machinery turning and hear about the millers' hard lives, from heavy sacks to floods and mice. Outlander fans may know it as the mill at Lallybroch. A riverside path leads on to Phantassie Doocot, a round dovecote of the 16th century built for five hundred pigeons.

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From our guide36 minutes ago

House of the Binns.

The Dalyell family have lived at the House of the Binns, between Linlithgow and the Forth, for more than four hundred years. Thomas Dalyell built it in 1612, and his son, General Tam Dalyell, raised the Royal Scots Greys and gathered plenty of stories, including tales of his dealings with the devil. Guided tours, booked in advance, show off plaster ceilings made in 1630 for a visit by King Charles I, along with family portraits and silver. The parkland is open every day. Walk up to the tower on the hill for the view, and look out for the peafowl.

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