Smugglers Trail ~ Eyemouth to Burnmouth
Discover the dramatic coastline, where the smugglers of old plied their trade!
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Smugglers Tales
(Please note – numbers are keyed to the map on the right)
1. Gunsgreen House. With John Nisbet, the owner of Gunsgreen House, such an active participant in the smuggling business, 18th-century records have plenty of references to his activities. For example, the Haugh – the flat area behind the house – was the scene of an incident in 1773 when three of ‘Mr Nisbet’s servants’ were caught with brandy and madeira ‘part lying on the beach and part carrying off on the Haugh at Gunsgreen’. This area was also where, under the direction of Nisbet’s clerk, a Nisbet brothers’ ship the Molly, also landed contraband (according to the contemporary account of an informer!)
2) Viewpoint to Fairneyside. From the higher points of the walk, looking south, the farm of Fairneyside (2) is visible near the A1. In the 1780s, the family living there, the Gibsons, were involved in a variety of smuggling enterprises. A daughter of the household even married into one of the most notorious families of the English smuggling trade on the south coast – the Dangerfields of Folkestone. By this time in the early 1800s, smuggling was in decline in Eyemouth as the Revenue were becoming better equipped to deal with it.
3) Burnmouth. Also visible looking south towards Burnmouth is the Ross Shore. This is the rugged coastline immediately beyond – to the south of – the last houses along the shore. It was another stretch often used as a smuggling rendezvous of old. For example, the Excise records record the seizing of a cargo here from schooner Jean of Eyemouth in 1774.
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What Else To See
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Refreshments / toilets on the walk
Eyemouth has a wide choice of cafes, pubs and restaurants. There are toilet facilities at Eyemouth harbour car park. There is a pub at Burnmouth, by the A1 and a public portaloo at Burnmouth harbour. There is also tea and coffee available as well as toilet facilities at Gunsgreen House (for house visitors).
Getting back to Eyemouth
Fit walkers will want to go back on foot! Otherwise Perryman’s buses connect Burnmouth with Eyemouth. Full timetable details from Perryman’s buses website. Or select an Eyemouth taxi service on that link.
DisclaimerAll walking information provided here by Gunsgreen House and their agents is purely advisory and offered free of charge. Walkers must assess their own fitness and the route’s suitability for their party. Gunsgreen House can accept no responsibility for any accident or loss while on the Smugglers Trail or Berwickshire Coastal Path.
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