WHAT’S THE VIBE?
What’s full of birds, has cracking beaches and was crowned the best place to live in 2025? Magaluf? Nah, North Berwick. Christened the Biarritz of the north, this Scottish harbour town, located just a 40-minute train from Edinburgh, is graced with brawny shores, Attenborough-approved puffin populations and lobster rolls worthy of New England. Volcanic outcrops pepper this elemental seascape, including Bass Rock, once a prison for Covenanter rebels, now a stronghold for 150,000 gannets. North Berwick is a place where golfers, birdwatchers, and anyone with a penchant for sucking in the sea air all come to, well, get their rocks off. Marine & Lawn North Berwick does its beautiful East Lothian locale justice. Constructed in 1875 as a hydropathic institute, its grand Victorian bones remain, dressed in dark stone, parquet floors, and tartan upholstery.
A double bedroom at Marine & Lawn North Berwick
Rooms embrace the building’s history with high-Victorian wallpaper and rich wooden finishes, while the best offer uninterrupted views of North Berwick’s immaculate beach. While many guests come to tee off on the region’s world-famous links courses, the hotel’s spa makes a compelling case for swapping the fairway for a thermal suite. Featuring two saunas, two steam rooms, and a hydrotherapy pool, it’s a place of refuge for those who prefer not to brave the marrow-chilling single-digit temperatures of the North Sea.
What to eat and drink?
Swapping tatties and stovies for tagliatelle and spaghetti, the menu at Marine & Lawn’s all-day dining restaurant, The Lawn, skews Italian. Expect crowd-pleasing dishes like mussels marinara, scallop and scampi tortellini and wild mushroom risotto made with local Scottish produce. Breakfast is served in the same light-flooded dining room, which used to function as the hotel’s original ballroom. Waltz over the buffet spread laid with pastries, fruit and cereal before hunkering down for a traditional full Scottish breakfast.
Scottish oysters served at Bass Rock Bar
A Manhattan at Bass Rock Bar
You’re in the land of the dram, so expect to warm your cockles with a considerable collection of single malt served at the Bass Rock Bar. A dark, chandelier-clad space that looks like it should smell of cigar smoke, it’s a fitting sanctuary after a day contending with the elemental forces of East Lothian. Should you not be fond of whisky (or thumping headaches the next morning), there are cocktails on offer, including a quaffable Bass Rock Manhattan.
What’s nearby?
If you’re normally inhaling the back of a bus back in London, do yourself a favour and breathe in East Lothian’s crisp, briny air. You can do so either by following one of the coastal walking trails or, if you’re feeling brave, throw on your togs for a North Sea baptism. If you choose to take the gentler approach, The John Muir Way threads past East Lothian’s most arresting beaches, from the dune-backed expanse of Yellowcraig to the sweep of Gullane Bents.
A sauna in the hotel's thermal suite
From the hotel, amble into town via the beach, pootling around the independent shops before making the requisite pilgrimage to The Lobster Shack for a roll groaning under the weight of buttery lobster. Of course, this is hallowed ground for golfers, and the hotel’s course is as fine a place as any to calibrate your swing.
