John Muir Link and the Berwickshire Coastal Path

Monday 1st September 2025

Two day before this walk I finished the one hundred thirty-four mile trail that runs across Scotland from Helensburgh, on the mouth of the Clyde, to Dunbar, the birthplace of John Muir, the father of the conservation movement. However, previously the John Muir Way was a much shorter trail solely within the county of East Lothian and while most of this older route is within the much longer, newer trail, there is a section of the old route that is not and extends the trail to the Scottish Borders at Cockburnspath. These ten miles are now known as the John Muir Link, with the word “Link” often pasted over the word “Way” on the signposts, and it provides an important connection with two Scottish “Great Trails” that start or end at Cockburnspath. I had originally planned on doing the John Muir Link on the day after I finished the John Muir Way but with no buses running on a Sunday to bring me back to Dunbar I was forced to take a day off, which I greatly appreciated as the John Muir Way had left me exhausted and with very large blisters. However, this left me with a very long day to do both the previous day’s walk and the one originally planned for this day, so I got up extra early and set off from Dunbar, soon walking beside the coast, though with the inevitable golf course inland. Fortunately, since I was so early, the only person on the course was the grounds keeper and no one was playing their nonsensical game. 

It is usual to do a long distance trail in Britain heading north and/or east so the prevailing winds and the sun are behind you, but on this second week of my holiday I was heading south, so I had the sun ahead of me into a brisk wind. Since this was a long walk I tried to maintain a brisk pace, particularly at first to get past the golf course, while behind me I had good views towards Dunbar, while ahead of me the views were less appealing with the tall chimney of a cement works dominating the skyline and the vast buildings of Torness Nuclear Power Station in the distance. Eventually I passed Barns Ness Lighthouse and along the concrete breakwater that surrounds the power station, all while enjoying extensive views out to sea and along the coast. After negotiating a caravan park I enjoyed a walk along the beach and atop a grass bank which afforded me with better views up and down the coast. There was an interesting crossing of the mouth of Bilsdean Burn, though there was hardly any water coming over the falls, and not long after that I finally came off the beach to pass under the Great Old North Road Bridge that spans the deep valley of Dunglass Dean. Several more bridges followed, one of which I crossed taking me into the Scottish Borders, so this was the actual point where the original John Muir Way ended, but a steady climb brought me out of the wooded valley and into the village of Cockburnspath where the John Muir Link now ends. 

Knowing I had a long walk ahead of me, I had considered missing out the diversion inland to Cockburnspath, but I appreciated the views from higher up and it was great for me to be back in the centre of the village where I had ended the Southern Upland Way two years earlier. The Berwickshire Coastal Path also begins at that point, so, after having something to eat I set off along the trail, initially retracing my steps along the Southern Upland Way. I enjoyed remembering that trail as I passed under the A1 bypass and the railway line to reach the coast at Cove Harbour and walk above awesome cliffs with stunning views back to the power station. The poor weather that was passing overhead when I reached Cockburnspath had soon gone to reveal lovely sunshine, though this also did not last long as dark clouds began to cover the sky again. When I reached Pease Burn I said goodbye to the Southern Upland Way and climbed the hillside to Greenheugh Point with views back over the bay spoilt by a cramped-looking caravan park. Soon, I turned inland to reach a track that led me towards a large industrial complex, but fortunately I turned off the track before I reached the buildings to continue climbing up to a road. A prolonged spell of walking along the road brought me to Redheugh Farm and beyond there I was climbing again, further away from the sea. I was becoming frustrated that this coastal path was nowhere near the coast!

The benefit of climbing so high was that I now had stunning views back north, up the coast with the nuclear power station and the cement works far in the distance. Later, the trail took to a narrow path through heather and bracken above a steep slope falling precipitously all the down to the sea while poor weather, including rain, passed overhead. By the time the rain had stopped I was passing Dowlaw and descended grassy fields, across Dowlaw Burn and finally returned to the coast above Rough Heugh. I now had impressive views ahead of me along the coast towards St Abb’s Head, but undulating terrain meant that it was not going to be easy for me to get there. A steep descent brought me down to Westerside Dean and an even steeper ascent brought me back up the hill to Tun Law where a dramatic walk followed above sea cliffs with the promontory before me. Finally a steady descent brought me to a road and this took me up onto St Abb’s Head and the lighthouse. I wasn’t particularly excited by the nature reserve, perhaps because of the strong winds, which had been present all day, and because of the overcast skies. The top of the promontory was covered in grass, so there was no interest there, and the sea cliffs were difficult for me to see and nothing I hadn’t seen all day. 

A grassy path led me back down the hill beside the crags and continued with a short section of spectacular coastal scenery that had me rethinking my opinion of St Abb’s Head, which could simply have been due to my fatigue after a long walk. Soon I reached the village of St Abbs where I waited for a bus to take me to my accommodation in Berwick-upon-Tweed. This was an epic walk of twenty-five miles that was curiously satisfying and exhilarating. The coastline was always spectacular but the weather was not as it was frequently changeable, which didn’t help with the views. The main problem I had with the weather was the strong winds, which I really don’t like walking in, so the best bits on this walk were when I was sheltered from the wind.