Eyemouth to St Abb's Head

Smugglers Trail ~ Eyemouth to St Abb’s Head

Explore the old haunts of smugglers on the dramatic Berwickshire coast!

From Gunsgreen House, Eyemouth to St Abb’s Head

Advice for walkers

The section of the Smugglers Trail Eyemouth to St Abb’s Head starts from Gunsgreen House and goes round the harbour and through the town to join the path along the coast, heading north-west and round the caravan park. (There is a short-cut via the B6355 taking the road Pocklaw Slap on the right.) The path out of Eyemouth is fairly level and across coastal fields. Though the section between Eyemouth and St Abbs has the lowest cliffs of the entire route, the coast is still rugged and wild.

The path soon descends to sea level and walkers can enjoy the Linkim Shore. View looking north-west to St Abbs.

The Smugglers Trail Eyemouth to St Abbs then descends to sea-level along the Linkim Shore – a pebbly beach with rock pools – before several short ‘ups and downs’ brings walkers to the sands of Coldingham Bay. The far end of the sands have steep steps to a surfaced path along the low cliffs that leads on to the village of St Abbs. NB There’s also an Eyemouth circular walk option you can take from the Linkim Shore. More details on that link.

The Smugglers Trail along the Linkim Shore.

From the village of St Abbs to St Abb’s Head the path is clearly signposted, while the cliffs get higher and more spectacular. Though this is probably the most popular part of the route, great care is needed – for all ages!
This route is unsuitable for wheelchair users except on the surfaced path from above Coldingham Bay to St Abbs; also within St Abbs itself and on the ‘Lighthouse Road’ from the Northfield carpark.

Distance: Gunsgreen House to St Abb’s Head – 6.5 miles / 10.5 km.
Grade: Gunsgreen to Coldingham Bay: easy to moderate. The path is unsurfaced. Suitable for families with younger children – but consider only walking as far as Coldingham Bay. (Approx.4 miles /6.5km from Gunsgreen House.) Coldingham Bay to St Abbs: easy, surfaced path. St Abbs village to St Abb’s Head : moderate – some short steep sections. Path narrow in places. Sheer drops.

The sands at Coldingham Bay are very popular in the summer season.

Tales from the Smugglers Trail, Eyemouth to St Abb’s Head

1 Gunsgreen House Visit here to discover why Eyemouth was such a hotbed of smuggling – with
Gunsgreen’s owner, John Nisbet, merchant by day, smuggler by night, at the forefront! Gunsgreen House is Britain’s finest monument to the smuggling trade.
2 Linkim Shore. This is where sailing ships would shelter and wait for wind and tide to take them safely into Eyemouth Harbour.
3 St Abbs village. Though the village in its present form did not exist when smuggling activities were at their height, the rocky coves hereabouts certainly saw plenty of activity. The waters close inshore by St Abbs were also used by vessels discreetly waiting to sail into Eyemouth at night.
4 Northfield. An early fishing settlement, the Northfield fishers had a reputation as ‘stop-at-nothing’ smugglers. Records show that a company of them once attacked customs officers and ‘liberated’ a seized cargo. Northfield Farm resident Charles Swanston was a ringleader in a raid on the Eyemouth customs warehouse in 1780, while as early as 1765 a previous occupier of the the farm, James Weatherley, is recorded as being heavily involved in contraband. Many farms all along the coast here, like Northfield, were occupied by tenants actively engaged in the trade.

The harbour at St Abbs on the Smugglers Trail

What else to see – Eyemouth to St Abbs

Especially on the stretch from Eyemouth to Coldingham, seashore birds like redshank, oystercatcher and curlew overlap with birds of the coastal fields and rough grasslands: such as meadow pipit, skylark, stonechat, linnet and goldfinch. Expect to see kestrel and buzzard, with perhaps a peregrine if you are very lucky! Children have easy access to rockpools along the Linkim Shore, as well as at Coldingham Bay.

St Abb’s Head Lighthouse, from the west. Spectacular cliffs and seabird colonies – but take care on this part of the Smugglers Trail

Further on, from St Abbs to St Abb’s Head, the cliffs rise and there are good views of the ‘seabird cities’ – the colonies of seabirds, including kittiwakes, and auks, such as guillemots and razorbills (and small numbers of puffins) that are a feature of this rugged area.

The area around the St Abb’s Head is a National Nature Reserve managed by the National Trust for Scotland. They have a small visitor centre at Northfield.
Before 1820, a signal station was established on St Abb’s Head that was used by HM Coastguard. The wreck of the vessel Martello near the Head in 1857 resulted in the Northern Lighthouse Board recommending a light here. St Abb’s Head Lighthouse was first lit in 1862 – long after the heyday of smuggling.

Refreshments / toilets on the walk – Eyemouth information as per the Eyemouth to Burnmouth page. Coldingham Bay has a hotel, St Vedas and toilet facilities.

St Abbs village has a choice of cafes; EbbCarrs Cafe at the harbour and The Old School Cafe in The Ebba Centre at the top of village plus there are toilets at the harbour and in The Ebba Centre. Northfield Farm has the Old Smiddy Cafe and toilets. There are no facilities on St Abb’s Head itself.

Getting back to Gunsgreen House / Eyemouth

Perryman’s operate a bus service from St Abbs. A fast rib boat shuttle service runs from Eyemouth to St Abbs (and back) in the summer. Pre-booking essential. Further information from Eyemouth Rib Trips. Choose an Eyemouth Taxi Service on that link.

Disclaimer

All 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.