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About Dunbar Harbour

Dunbar Harbour

Situated at the mouth of the Firth of Forth Dunbar is one of East Lothian's most beautiful & popular seaside towns, it is known nationally & internationally as the birthplace of John Muir, renowned naturalist & conservationist.

Dunbar is located 30 miles east of Edinburgh and approximately 30 miles north of Berwick upon Tweed with good bus and train links both north to the Capital and South to Newcastle and beyond.

Dunbar features historic buildings, spectacular landscapes and rugged coastlines and around the harbours are attractive former warehouses and granaries.

A town of three harbours, Dunbar was once a major herring and whaling port.Its old harbour dates from the 17th century. Dunbar Harbour is a busy working harbour with a commercial fleet landing mainly shellfish. The harbour is also home to one of the largest lifeboat stations in the area and there is a thriving Sailing Club and a Coastal Rowing Club as well as attracting many diving clubs to enjoy the seas around Dunbar.

Facilities

Meeting rooms

Dunbar Harbour Trust have a meeting room available at McArthur’s Store, the fishermen's store building at Cromwell Harbour.

Pleasure Yachts

Pleasure yachts are welcome to visit the harbour. Read our instructions how to enter the harbour.

Water and Fuel

We have water points and power sockets available for visiting boats. There is a slipway for launching.
Fuel can be provided by can or direct into boats.

Dog-ends ..... yours and the dogs'.

As part of our Keep Our Harbour Tidy Project the Dunbar Harbour Trust has installed some new bins to help you keep our harbours tidy and healthy.

Dog-end bins:

beside Tasty Toasty
on upper, outside landing at McArthur's Store, Cromwell Harbour

Dog-waste bins:

beside the Fishermen's Monument, Cromwell Harbour
just below Dr. Badger's Bench, Victoria Harbour

We appreciate your help to maintain a clean and tidy harbour, not just because it looks good, but it also makes it a safe and healthy environment for all harbour users. Follow this link if you would like to view our short video that advises about the dangers of dog mess and litter and how you can help.

Keep Our Harbour, filmed by Fraser Stewart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRe-k8EXNjE&t=414s

Many thanks from Yvonne Wemyss and Quentin Dimmer!

photos by Kenny Maule

Practice Rescue.

Have you ever watched the breakers crashing over the bar at the harbour entrance, especially when the tide is low?

Despite keeping a close eye on swell forecasts the Rowing Club could return to harbour after two hours to find the waves are quite dangerous. In preparation, the rowers and the RNLI agreed to do a practice exercise of ferrying in two skiff-crews from their anchored skiffs. The ILB was used to transfer the rowers into the harbour and then return to tow in the two skiffs.

This is part of continuing training exercises, conducted by the RNLI for the benefit of all sea-users.

Click READ MORE for next photo.

photos by Kenny Maule

Audit of harbour walls

Every 2 years the Harbour Trust carries out a condition-survey of all the harbour walls using engineering consultant Arch Henderson. Following a detailed inspection by engineers, a defects schedule is drawn up together with plans, elevations and photos of every section of wall. From this information priority repairs are identified:

Red - immediate Yellow - as soon as possible Green - continue to observe

This information is used to justify grant applications. Repairs to the walls are not cheap, over the last 7 years we have had 10 grants (mainly from Marine Scotland Fisheries Grants) amounting to a total of over £400,000. Grants from Historic Environment Scotland and Viridor have allowed us to carry out many individual repairs. Most of work was done by AG Thomsons who has a real commitment to the harbour. The 2019 report is due within the next few weeks.

Information courtesy Robin Hamilton

Click READ MORE for a typical wall-crack, although the INVISIBLE cracks and voids are often more urgent: 'jings, crivens an' help ma boab!'

photo by Kenny Maule

Warm welcome to Oor Millie.

Owned by Neil Brunton and family, Oor Millie is a recent addition to Dunbar's commercial fleet. She was built in 1958 by Watts of Banff, now Macduff Shipyard but the same family.

An old traditional wooden boat with a 127hp Gardner engine, her dimensions are length 33 foot x 10 foot beam x 5 foot draft, 7.6 ton registered (but gross weight would easily be greater than 10 ton).

Originally named Lustre (Latin for 'light'), she was in Shetland for years with the Lerwick registration LK315, then she went to the Isle of Rassay. Neil purchased her in December 2018 from Donald Mckenzie of Rassay. She is now registered in Leith (LH315) and called Oor Millie after the Bruntons' granddaughter Millie

She was a trawler when bought but Neil is now converting her for potting (creels). Neil and crew are 'getting there', hoping to have her ready for this winter.

Good luck and happy landings!

Photos courtesy Neil Brunton.

Water Sports

Kayaking

Kayaking on the sea is gaining in popularity and the beaches and reefs in East Lothian provide excellent conditions. Sea kayaking can give you a wonderful sense of exploration and adventure

Paddle Boarding

Stand Up Paddling feels as though you are gliding, or “the closest thing to walking on water”. Literally standing upright and on the top of the SUP board, the gentle activity allows a small group to move quietly across the water.

Diving

Diving off Scotland's South East coast has been described as world class with a huge variety of ship wrecks and underwater cliff dives in and around the Forth, Bass Rock and the Isle of May!

Sailing

Both local and visiting yachtsmen alike can be assured of a warm welcome from members of the friendly and informal Dunbar Sailing Club. The scenic harbour of Dunbar is popular with visiting yachts from far afield and close to home. .

Coastal Rowing

Dunbar Coastal Rowing Club was established in 2010, to offer traditional rowing skills to the Dunbar and surrounding communities. The club currently has two St Ayles skiffs, The Volunteer and Black Agnes, which were built by club members.

Surfing

Dunbar plays host to some of the best surfable waves in the area, with local surfers having surfed wave faces as big as 12ft. Local surf lessons take place at Belhaven bay, the closest consistently surfed beach to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

About Dunbar Harbour

Dunbar Harbour

Facilities

Meeting rooms

Pleasure Yachts

Water and Fuel

Welcome to Dunbar

Dog-ends ..... yours and the dogs'.

Practice Rescue.

Audit of harbour walls

Warm welcome to Oor Millie.

Dunbar Harbour Video

Water Sports

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