Pretty spot just 30 minutes drive from Edinburgh named among 'UK’s best beach towns'

It comes as respected travel magazine National Geographic published its Coastal Collection 2025 list.

North Berwick, in East Lothian, was named alongside six other locations across the country, including Margate, Penzance, Barmouth, Scarborough, Weymouth and Whitley Bay.

Introducing the 2025 ranking, National Geographic said “these once-vaunted seaside towns are experiencing a remarkable revival, clawing themselves back from the dark days of the end of the last century”.

The magazine points to a range of factors for their initial decline, before going on to add: “Fast forward to 2025, and it’s a very different picture. Just as the decline stemmed from multiple factors, the resurgence is driven by a complex web of influences. The cost-of-living crisis, flight scepticism and the lure of the great outdoors are all playing a part. So too is the staycation boom, which was accelerated by the pandemic”.

As for North Berwick itself, National Geographic writes: “Granted, there are coastal resorts that have suffered greater travails than this affluent East Lothian town. But it still had to endure a choppy few decades at the close of the 20th century as its ‘Biarritz of the North’ epithet slipped, hotels closed and local tensions around the courting of tourists grew.

“A healthy truce has since descended and visitors can enjoy a town that’s lauded for everything from its long sandy beach to its nation-leading living standards”.

North Berwick is enjoying something of a boom right now. In March this year, the town took top spot in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live in Scotland guide.The newspaper pointed to its sandy beaches, top-quality schools and thriving independent businesses.

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