Distance 4.5 miles (7km)
Classification Moderate
Duration 2 hours
Begins St Abb's car park
OS grid reference NT913674
Walk in a nutshell
Leaving from the outskirts of St Abb's, clear paths and tracks climb above the North Sea and along cliffs to reach the National Trust for Scotland's national nature reserve at St Abb's Head – the wildlife and the coastal views are outstanding. Care should be taken at St Abb's Head as the cliffs can be exposed. Quiet road and countryside paths bring you back to the start.
Why it's special
The 90m cliffs at St Abb's Head, formed millions of years ago by active volcanoes, are an area of outstanding beauty and an exhilarating vantage point from which to enjoy the magnificent seabird colony, including thousands of guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars, shags, puffins, shearwaters and skuas. If bird spotting isn't your thing, away from the cliffs, the grassland and freshwater lochs are rich in wildflowers and butterflies.
Keep your eyes peeled for
Gannets catching fish. They plunge to the sea from around 30m, hitting the water at up to 100km/h. The outward route culminates at St Abb's Head Lighthouse, which was built by David and Thomas Stevenson (members of the renowned Stevenson family of lighthouse engineers) in 1862 and was automated in 1993.
Recover afterwards
Five miles south of St Abb's lies the historic fishing village of Eyemouth, which is teeming with sweet and salty seaside delights. Try Giacopazzi's (giacopazzis.co.uk), a traditional chippie and ice-cream parlour that makes fresh ice-creams and sorbets on the premises. The award-winning cranberry sorbet will perk you up instantly.
If it's tipping down
Gunsgreen House in Eyemouth (gunsgreenhouse.org) has a tale or two to tell. Built in the 1750s for smuggler John Nisbet, it had special adaptations – including a secret tea chute – that allowed John and his brother David to smuggle in style for years.
How to get there
Limited bus service from Edinburgh to St Abb's. Regular buses from Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Step by step
1 Exit the car park by an information board on to a path which descends past a visitor centre and runs parallel with the main road. At the end of the path turn left through a gate where the path continues through a little pocket of woodland and then begins to climb gradually along a cliff path around Starney Bay. Continue along the path by some dramatic rock structures and then walk along a grassy path down to Horsecastle Bay.
2 Once over a stile the path then begins to climb steeply away from Horsecastle Bay. Continue to follow the well-worn paths along the clifftops (care should be taken when walking here) to reach the dramatic setting of St Abb's Head Lighthouse.
3 Walk around the front of the lighthouse buildings to reach a single-track road. Follow this a little inland away from the lighthouse, dropping down towards Mire Loch to reach a cattle grid.
4 Turn left on to a path here. This is indistinct at first but improves as you follow it by the loch (which is to your left), where there is a fantastic variety of flora and fauna. Continue to the head of the loch to reach a gate.
5 Turn right on to a broad track and follow this to a road.
6 Here turn left and continue over a cattle grid and then follow a tarmac track down through some beautiful, open countryside to eventually return to the car park.
